By RICHIE HALL
INDIANAPOLIS – The Fishers baseball team fell just short of winning a second state championship, but the future still looks bright for the Tigers.
Fishers battled it out with Jasper Tuesday night at Victory Field in the IHSAA Class 4A state finals. One inning made the difference, and it was the third inning. That’s when the Wildcats scored all three of their runs, and they rode it to a 3-1 win over the Tigers.
The victory was Jasper’s sixth state championship and its first since 2006. Fishers was making its second appearance in the state finals; the Tigers won a 4A state title in 2018.
“Our guys fought so hard all year,” said Fishers coach Matt Cherry. “They were awesome. They never quit, even that last inning.”
Neither team allowed a hit until the bottom of the second inning, when the Wildcats’ Ross Peter cracked a long double to get on base. Jasper might have scored on the next at-bat when Jobe Luebbehusen hit a rocket into the outfield, but center fielder Zach Cox made a big catch to stop that threat. Fishers pitcher Tate Warner then struck out the next two batters to end the inning.
After taking care of Fishers three up, three down in the top of the third, the Wildcats got their offense going in the third inning. Caleb Burger drew a walk, moved to second a sacrifice bunt, then got home after Eli Hopf reached on error.
“We gave them a couple free bases with a walk and an error there,” said Cherry. “That was a great ball club. You can’t give them free things.”
Hopf scored on the next at-bat when Connor Foley hit a deep ball into the outfield that bounced over the fence. It was a ground-rule double, but it was enough to get Hopf home. After Warner got a strikeout for the second out, Peter smacked his second double of the game to score Foley.
“Coach (Terry) Gobert’s been there for a long time and they’re very, very disciplined,” said Cherry. “They do everything correct. They put pressure on you. You saw they bunted, put pressure on you to make plays. The error that led to the big inning. It was two strikes, guy put a bat on the ball. They were just very disciplined. Coach Gobert does a great job of getting them prepared.”
Fishers scored its run in the fifth inning. With one out, Jack Braun got on base after being hit by pitch, then advanced to third after back-to-back singles by Cox and Gavin Clayton. That brought up Dom Oliverio, and his sacrifice fly sent Braun home.
Jasper pitcher Grant Stratton ended the inning with a strikeout, keeping his team ahead 3-1 after five innings. Neither team scored again, although the Wildcats got runners on first and second in the sixth inning before a groundout for the third out.
The Tigers, true to form, never gave up. Braun got on base with a one-out hit. But Stratton tossed a strikeout for the second out, and a left field catch ended the game.
“They just kept fighting,” said Cherry. “It’s what they did all year.”
Stratton pitched a complete game for Jasper, striking out seven and allowing no walks. Warner threw six strikeouts in four innings. Jack Brown relieved him in the fifth, striking out three over two innings against just one hit.
“Jack Brown, he’s pitched in big games all year,” said Cherry. Brown is a freshman on the team, along with catcher Caulin Brown.
“Caulin Brown led us in doubles all year,” said Cherry. “Everybody competed. Jack Braun, his last AB, gets a single there in the seventh to try to spark us as a senior. There’s a lot of guys that competed and fought, fought for each other.”
Fishers finished the season 23-13. The Tigers got off to a rough start, but had put together a 10-game win streak that carried them to the state championship game.
“They love one another,” said Cherry. “They fought for each other. They didn’t want to quit.”
Cherry, who has been coaching at Fishers since the school re-opened in 2006, called this team “a special, special group.”
“They came together towards the beginning of May,” said Cherry. “It just clicked for them. They found their roles. We talked a lot about being the hero of your story and being the hero of your role, and they all bought in. Even the guys that were on the bench. They fought and they were the hero of their story, and I just hope they take that with them as they move on in life, too.”
JASPER 3, FISHERS 1
Fishers AB R H RBI
Carson Dunn 2 0 1 0
Joey Brenczewski 3 0 1 0
Jack Brown 3 0 0 0
Caulin Brown 3 0 0 0
JP Preston 3 0 0 0
Jack Braun 2 1 1 0
Zach Cox 3 0 1 0
Gavin Clayton 3 0 1 0
Matt Bryant 0 0 0 0
Dom Oliverio 1 0 0 1
Totals 23 1 5 1
SAC: Oliverio. HBP: Braun, Dunn.
Fishers pitching IP R ER H
Tate Warner 4 3 1 3
J. Brown 2 0 0 1
Strikeouts: Warner 6, J. Brown 3. Walks: Warner 2, J. Brown 2.
Jasper AB R H RBI
Kody Morton 2 0 1 0
Eli Hopf 3 1 0 0
Connor Foley 2 1 1 0
Andrew Wallace 3 0 0 0
Ross Peter 2 0 2 2
Jobe Luebbehusen 3 0 0 0
Ben Henke 2 0 0 0
Grant Stratton 2 0 0 0
Chris Hedinger 1 0 0 0
Caleb Burger 1 1 0 0
Totals 21 3 4 2
2B: Peter 2, Foley. SAC: Morton.
Jasper pitching IP R ER H
Stratton 7 1 1 5
Strikeouts: Stratton 7. Walks: none.
Score by Innings
Fishers 000 010 0 – 1 5 1
Jasper 003 000 x – 3 4 0