By RICHIE HALL
On Monday, the University baseball team will play in the Class 1A state championship game for the second consecutive year.
The occasion is still big, but the Trailblazers’ attitude will be different. University is ready for another chance at a state title, and the ‘Blazers will get it when they take on Washington Township, with the first pitch scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
University coach Chris Estep explained the change in his team’s attitude succinctly.
“Last year’s attitude was, ‘Oh my gosh, we’re going to the state finals,'” said Estep. “This year’s attitude is, ‘Hey, we set a goal, and we’re attaining it.’ And we know there’s a lot of unfinished business because we didn’t execute, we didn’t do some things.”
The Trailblazers lost the 1A championship game to Daleville 4-2 in nine innings, two more than the regulation seven innings. While it’s an achievement to make consecutive trips to the state finals – the last teams to do it in Class 1A were Shakamak and Rockville, who traded state titles in 2013 and 2014 – University would certainly like to have a different outcome. Estep has already noticed.
“Usually our Monday-Tuesday practices are not very good,” said Estep. “And our Monday-Tuesday practices have been very spirited, and very, very focused. I hate to say it, I think they’re going to play pretty well. And it’s not going to be, ‘Oh my gosh! We’re on Victory Field. Look at the grass, look at this.’ They’ve been there, they’ve done that already. They’re looking to go and play the game, not take in the sights. ”
The Trailblazers will need to be focused to beat Washington Township, which is located just east of Valparaiso. The Senators are 23-6 for the season and making their first-ever appearance in the state finals.
Washington Township hosted its own sectional, where it beat Marquette Catholic 3-0, Hammond Academy of Science & Tech 11-0 and Kouts 2-1. The Senators cruised through the South Bend Washington regional with victories over North Miami 8-1 and South Central Union Mills 6-2, then stunned Rossville 13-8 in the Plymouth semi-state championship.
“They’re extremely well-coached,” said Estep. “They are very tenacious at the plate. They’re sort of a base-hitting team. They play a lot of small ball. When you’re well-coached, you perform in the big moments. So we know it’s going to be an extremely, extremely difficult game for us. But what else would you expect? You’re in the state finals. It’s the final two teams to take home the crown.”
The Senators have six players batting at least .350, led by William Roberts’ .398 average; he also leads the team in doubles with 10. Roberts has 33 hits, second only to Steven Hernandez’s 34. Hernandez also has the most runs batted in with 29, and four triples to his credit as well. Jared Armstrong has scored the most runs with 37. Roberts is also Washington Township’s top pitcher, compiling an 8-2 record with a 2.11 earned-run average and 77 strikeouts.
University comes into state with a 21-10-1 record. The Trailblazers started the season with the tie, as its season-opening game with Huntland (Tenn.) was called after 10 innings and the score 1-1.
With a tougher schedule, University took some lumps at the beginning of the year: At one point its record was 1-4-1. The ‘Blazers rebounded to win six of their next seven games, but fell into a rough patch at the end of April. University dropped four straight contests, but they were to powerhouses: 4A Terre Haute South, 3A Western, 4A Cathedral and 2A Lafayette Central Catholic.
“The schedule has prepared us for this moment,” said Estep. After last year, the coach told his assistant Reid Andrews that the team needed to upgrade its schedule, which it did. The Trailblazers didn’t win as many games this year after getting 29 wins last year, but it certainly helped them out when it came to preparation for the post-season.
“If we were .500 or just a bit below .500, we’d have done our job,” said Estep. “And we were well on our way.”
The tough schedule began to pay off as the season went on. Since May 8, University has won 14 of 15 games. The only loss was to 2A Linton-Stockton – ” Man, they have a great program,” said Estep – and the ‘Blazers followed that with a victory in its regular-season finale, 7-2 over 2A Scecina.
Next stop was the Bethesda Christian sectional, which the Trailblazers won in overwhelming fashion, outscoring three opponents 62-1. University won the Morristown regional easily, over Indianapolis Lutheran 10-1 and Shakamak 9-0. That sent the ‘Blazers to the Jasper semi-state, where they beat Tecumseh 4-1 and qualified for state again.
The Trailblazers have some big hitters on the team. Alex Washlock is averaging .510, leading the team in hits (49) and doubles (11). Tyler Galyean is hitting at a .459 clip, while Dawson Estep hits .440 and is first in runs scored with 43 and triples with five. Ben Westerkamm has the most RBI with 33, while Adam Oxley has driven in 31 runs.
Regardless of what happens on Monday, University will be moving up to Class 2A next spring. With their back-to-back state finals appearances, the Trailblazers have six success factor points, which automatically bumps them up a class – although University was likely to have moved up to 2A by enrollment anyway.
“We want to play great schools, because great schools means great programs, great programs means hey, when I get to the tournament, I’m prepared,” said Estep. “We can go 0-28, but we just have to win the last seven. We have such a mix of older guys, younger guys, and it’s only helping those younger guys.”
University’s Tyler Galyean is averaging .459 at the plate for the Trailblazers, who will take on Washington Township Monday in the Class 1A state baseball finals. Also pictured is University assistant coach Reid Andrews. (Richie Hall)