By RICHIE HALL
When the Hamilton Southeastern baseball team began practices this week, coach Jeremy Sassanella noticed that there were “an awful lot of smiles” that day.
There’s a reason for all the Royal smiles: Southeastern is getting ready to play for a state championship. The Royals will play Columbus East for the Class 4A state title on Monday at Victory Field, with the first pitch scheduled for 8:30 p.m.
“They’re focused and approaching the week with great anticipation, excitement, and pride,” said Sassanella, who guided the Royals to state in his first year as HSE’s head coach. Sassanella said he believes his players understand the task at hand, as well as what it means to be the first Southeastern team to go to the baseball state finals.
“These kids are living up the moment and enjoying the ride,” said Sassanella.
While Southeastern is making its first-ever appearance in the state finals, Columbus East will be playing at state for the fourth time. The Olympians also reached state in 1979, 1987 and 1989, back when four teams played at that level. Columbus East lost in the semi-finals each time, so the Olympians are making their first appearance in the championship game as well.
Columbus East is 25-4 for the season. The Olympians won their first seven games before falling to Brownsburg, then won six of their next seven contests before dropping consecutive games to Columbus North and Floyd Central.
Since then, Columbus East has won 12 straight games – six in the regular season, six in the tournament. The Olympians won a tough sectional at East Central by beating Shelbyville 1-0, Bloomington South 2-1 and Columbus North 5-3.
Columbus East picked up two more close victories at the Evansville Reitz regional, first squeezing past Jeffersonville 8-7 in 10 innings, then beating Castle 5-1 in the championship. The Olympians then won their first semi-state in 30 years, traveling to Mooresville and beating Avon 10-3.
Two batters in the Columbus East lineup are batting over .400. Senior Julian Greenwell averages .421, while junior Dalton Back hits at a .404 clip. Both have the most hits on the team with 40, while Back leads in runs batted in (35), runs scored (33), triples (five) and is tied for first with six home runs. Greenwell and junior Cole Gilley both have nine doubles, while senior Nash Murphy also has cracked six home runs.
Gilley is one of three solid pitchers for the Olympians, with a 7-1 record; he also leads the team in strikeouts with 86. Sophomore Cole Taylor is 8-0 with a 1.09 earned-run average, while sophomore Kaden Wise is 7-1 with an ERA of 1.63.
While the Royals haven’t been able to see Columbus East play in person, Sassanella said they were able to speak with several teams that took on the Olympians.
“They’ve got some very quality arms and have been stout offensively,” said Sassanella. “Have some quality wins on the year and we know they’re a very competitive bunch who plays with a ton of confidence.”
The same could be said of Southeastern, which comes into state with a 22-8 record. The Royals are on a 10-game win streak that includes a regular-season finale sweep of Franklin Central, which helped Southeastern clinch the Hoosier Crossroads Conference championship.
Playing at the Noblesville sectional, HSE beat North Central 7-0, Westfield 1-0 and Carmel 7-1 to win its first sectional title since 2015. The Royals then cruised to a win at the Lafayette Jefferson regional, overwhelming Fort Wayne South Side 14-0 and Fort Wayne Carroll 6-1.
Southeastern then won its first-ever semi-state championship by beating Mishawaka 4-2. In doing so, the Royals are now the fourth HCC team to play in the state finals over the past six years, joining Noblesville (2014), Zionsville (2016) and Fishers (2018).
“I’d confidently put our conference up against any conference in Indiana as the toughest out there,” said Sassanella. “The teams are full of high quality players and coaches year in and year out. The teams are well prepared, well rounded, and well coached. Having so much quality talent in Central Indiana and in the HCC helps in a big way come post season play.”
Senior Greyson Droste is the Royals’ leading hitter with a .410 average; he also leads the team in hits (34) and doubles (11). Droste shares the top spot when it comes to RBI with Matthew Buckingham, as both have 25. Jake Stout and Jake Huston lead in runs scored with 21 each.
On the mound, the Royals have two great pitchers. Michael Dillon is 9-1 for the season with a 2.12 ERA and 74 strikeouts, while Tyler Schweitzer is 8-2, with an ERA of 1.43 and a team-leading 87 strikeouts.
“We’ve obviously been very pleased with the efforts of our staff this year and their development over the season,” said Sassanella. “I’m most impressed with their composure and execution in a ton of big games. So much focus on kids these days with big arms and not enough on kids becoming pitchers. I feel the most proud of how our pitching staff has executed their pitches and stayed composed against a gauntlet of our regular season schedule and post season journey. They’ve learned to compete at a high level which requires more than just being able to throw hard. They’ve also supported each other as a staff and done so with little regard for who gets the credit. They care for each other and just want to do their part to help the team win.”
Hamilton Southeastern’s Greyson Droste is the leading hitter for the Royals, averaging .410 at the plate, along with 34 hits, 25 runs batted in and 11 doubles. Southeastern will travel to Victory Field on Monday to take on Columbus East in the Class 4A baseball state finals. (File photo)