|
Photo provided by Joe Boswell
Crawfordsville
assistant coach Rhett Welliever (left) and pitcher Cameron Hobson hug as the
Athenians’ celebrate their first semistate
championship. |
 |
|
Photo provided by Joe Boswell
Crawfordsville coach
John Froedge gets drenched with Gatorade on Saturday
night. |
|
| Baseball
Saturday
IHSAA
Jasper Semistate
At Ruxer Field
Game 1
Crawfordsville 3,
West Vigo 1
West Vigo 100 000 0 – 1 3 1
Crawfordsville 100 002 X –
3 8 1
WP: Steven Rice C. LP: Tyler Wampler WV
West Vigo runs
scored: Jordan Pearson
Crawfordsville runs scored: Brett McKinney, Cody
Dowell, Steven Rice
West Vigo RBI: Jordan Pearson
Crawfordsville
RBI: Mitchell Ray, Blake Harris, J.D. Rice
West Vigo hits: Jordan
Pearson, Derek Edwards, Aaron Welch
Crawfordsville hits: Brett Linn 2,
Brett McKinney 2, Mitchell Ray, Cody Dowell, Steven Rice, Blake
Harris
HR: Jordan Pearson WV
2B: Cody Dowell C, Blake Harris
C
Stolen bases: West Vigo 2 (Drew Aff 2), Crawfordsville 1 (Brett Linn)
LOB: West Vigo 6, Crawfordsville 7
Records: Crawfordsville 30-4,
West Vigo 22-6
Game 2
Greensburg 9, Jasper 3
Records:
Greensburg 25-5-1, Jasper 26-7
Game 3
Championship
game
Crawfordsville 10, Greensburg 0
(5
innings)
Crawfordsville 203 50 – 10 8 1
Greensburg 000 00 – 0 2
1
WP: Cameron Hobson C. LP: Nick Springmeyer G
Crawfordsville runs
scored: Cameron Hobson 3, Brett Linn 2, Brett McKinney 2, Mitchell Ray, Blake
Harris, Justin Wright
Crawfordsville RBI: Cody Dowell 4, Brett Linn 2,
Mitchell Ray, J.D. Rice, Justin Wright
Crawfordsville hits: Brett Linn 2,
Cody Dowell 2, Cameron Hobson, Brett McKinney, Mitchell Ray, Justin
Wright
Greensburg hits: Alex Meyer, Chris Denton
2B: Brett Linn C;
Cody Dowell C
Stolen bases: Crawfordsville 1 (Brett McKinney)
LOB: Crawfordsville 2, Greensburg 5
Records: Crawfordsville 31-4,
Greensburg 25-6-1
|
|
JASPER,
Ind. – There’s only one more goal left on the Crawfordsville High School
baseball team’s lengthy list.
After Saturday’s first-ever semi-state
championship victory Saturday night, coach John Froedge and his Athenians will
aim for their final goal – an Indiana High School Athletic Association State
baseball title.
Using timely hitting and shutdown pitching, Class 3A No.
5 Crawfordsville came away with the IHSAA Jasper Semistate championship,
defeating Greensburg 10-0 in a five-inning championship game romp.
Cameron Hobson shut down Greensburg on two hits, as the Athenians gained
a semistate baseball crown for the first time in school history.
Crawfordsville will play Mishawaka Marian (21-10) at Victory Field in
Indianapolis next weekend. The date and time will be announced by the IHSAA
early this week.
Crawfordsville’s last boys’ team to advance to the
state championship in any sport came in 1958, when the Athenians’ boys’
basketball team lost to Muncie South, while the last Crawfordsville boys’ team
to win a State title was the 1911 Athenians’ boys basketball team.
Additionally, the last Montgomery County high school team to play in a
state championship game was the North Montgomery baseball team in the Class 2A
State title game in 2001.The last Montgomery County team to win a state
championship was the 1996 North Montgomery football team Class 2A. It was the
Chargers second-straight title.
“You put it context with these guys. It
means everything to them, from the guys who have been here one year to the guys
who have been here four years,” Crawfordsville coach John Froedge said. “It’s
definitely something they’ll remember all their lives. In the history of the
school, we have very few appearances ever for a team state title. It’s very,
very exciting.”
In his five innings of work, Hobson struck out seven and
walked one. He allowed only five baserunners the entire game.
Hobson was
supported by timely hitting as Crawfordsville (31-4) scored two runs in the
first inning, three in the third and five in the fourth. The Athenians left only
two runners on base.
Cody Dowell drove in four runs, with a two-RBI
single in the top of the first and a two-run double in the fourth inning.
Brett Linn also provided a pair of base hits and two RBI, as the first
five hitters in the line-up belted out seven hits.
As efficient as the
bats were, Hobson was equally impressive against a Greensburg (25-6-1) team that
entered the game with seven batters hitting over .300 and a team total of 49
home runs. Against Hobson, the Pirates managed only two singles.
Hobson
ended the game striking out two men with runners on second and third bases.
When the last batter swung and missed for strike three, the Athenians
erupted with joy and piled on Hobson and catcher Mitchell Ray in front of home
plate, showing true emotion and excitement for the first time in post-season
play.
Up until that moment, Crawfordsville had been very business-like
in their reaction to their tournament success. This however, was different.
Crawfordsville assistant coach Rhett Welliever, who was all smiles,
summed it all up.
“We accomplished something that we have never done
before, and we’re proud of it,” he said. “We did this not only for
Crawfordsville, but for Montgomery County and west-Central
Indiana.”
Senior Blake Harris echoed his coach’s
sentiments.
“We’ve talked about this since we were 8- or 9-years old,” he
said. “We’re going to Victory Field!”
Crawfordsville made it into the
championship game by knocking off West Vigo (22-6) in a hard-fought victory.
Steven Rice got the victory in relief of Andrew Swart with 2 1/3 innings
of stellar relief pitching, allowing no hits while striking out six.
Harris drove in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the sixth inning with
an RBI-double over the center fielder’s head, and J. D. Rice followed that with
a sacrifice fly to left field to push the Athenians in front.
Greensburg
advanced to the championship game by defeating Jasper 9-3 in the second
semifinal.
“It’s definitely rewarding,” Froedge said. “I’ve been working
at it for long time. We’ve had some very, very good teams. You’re in the
business to start with because you enjoy working with the kids, working with
teenagers and helping them grow up. It’s really rewarding in that sense.
“The greatest feeling is when kids reap some rewards for their hard
work.”
Although the Athenians are proud of their victory at Jasper, they
don’t consider their work to be done.
“We still have one thing left to
do,” Cody Dowell said. “We want to be state champs.”
Sports Edtior John
Groth contributed to |
Processing your request, Please wait....
