By RICHIE HALL
INDIANAPOLIS – So just how ready was University to play in the IHSAA Class 1A baseball state championship game?
Here’s the answer: It only took two pitches for the Trailblazers to score their first run.
Any other questions?
University got off to a great start on offense in the first inning, and the dominant performance of pitcher Reese Sharp led the way for the ‘Blazers, who beat Washington Township 4-1 Monday at Victory Field for the school’s first-ever state championship in any sport.
Even the soggy weather couldn’t keep University from cooling down. The start of the game was delayed by 35 minutes, then lightning interrupted play in the second inning for another half-hour. But those proved to be minor delays on the path to a Trailblazers victory.
“Trying to hold them back all week and having two extra days has been a nightmare, because they’re so loose anyway,” said University coach Chris Estep. “Their little clock’s going off and when they’re supposed to be focused to play, we still had two more days to go. It’s been tough to go, ‘Listen, everybody chill out, sleep in! Relax!’ It’s a great thing.”
The Trailblazers came to play right from the beginning. Dawson Estep took the game’s first pitch into right field for a base hit, then Reese Sharp smacked the next pitch into center field. It was a triple that just missed the fence, but it was enough to score Estep.
“It definitely felt a lot better to pitch with the lead,” said Sharp. “It just felt great to win with this great group of guys.”
Ethan Johnson came in to run for Sharp. Alex Washlock got on base with a walk, then Tyler Galyean batted Johnson in with a single, also moving Washlock to third base. Washlock later scored on a throwing error.
“Our offense was really good early,” said Chris Estep. “Dawson really helped set the tone, comes out, first pitch, wham, rocket into right and scores from first. The next pitch, Reese hits a triple. It was pretty awesome to go out and post three.”
The Senators loaded the bases in the first inning, but did so around two strikeouts from Sharp, who got the third strikeout to end the inning.
The second-inning rain delay stopped play, but not the momentum of Sharp or William Roberts, the Senators’ starting pitcher. After rough first innings, both of them settled down. Roberts took care of University three up, three down in the second and third innings, while Sharp allowed a leadoff hit in to start the second, but retired the next seven batters.
The ‘Blazers came close to adding runs in the fourth inning, but Washington Township made plays at the plate for the second and third outs. In the bottom of the fourth, the Senators got runners on first and second with one out, but Sharp took care of business with consecutive strikeouts.
Washington Township got its run in the bottom of the fifth. Stephen Hernandez got on base with a one-out double, then after another Sharp strikeout, Matt Rogers doubled him home.
But University answered in the top of the sixth. With one out, Matt Moore got on with a base hit, then moved to second when Kolton Stevens drew a walk. Rogers came out of the game at that point, with Hernandez coming in to relieve him.
Hernandez threw a strikeout for his first at-bat. That brought up Dawson Estep, and he delivered his second hit of the day, which scored Moore.
After that, Sharp finished up the game in style. He struck out the side in the sixth inning, then started the seventh inning by inducing a groundout to shortstop. Two more strikeouts ended the game, with Sharp totaling 118 pitches – he was close to the pitch-count limit of 120, but got the job done.
“I dialed it in that rain delay, it gave me a minute to stay within myself and do what I do best,” said Sharp.
“When we told him he had 11 pitches, he goes, ‘That’s all I’m needing,'” said Chris Estep. “That’s a beautiful thing when a kid tells you that, especially of his caliber. Pretty awesome.”
Sharp totaled 17 strikeouts in the game, and only allowed four hits.
Meanwhile, University totaled 10 hits in the game. Tyler Galyean went 3-for-4 at the plate, with Estep and Moore both getting two hits.
The Trailblazers were making their second consecutive appearance at state, and also got their second consecutive Mental Attitude Award winner. Nate Shatkowski won the L.V. Phillips Mental Attitude Award, following in the footsteps of Ryan Williams, who won last year.
“It’s just a complete honor,” said Shatkowski. “It’s a testament to my parents, my background, my coaches, my teammates, everybody that’s backed me throughout the years. So really, this is for them, and if it weren’t for them I wouldn’t be in the position that I am.”
University finished the season 22-10-1. Next year, the Trailblazers will be in Class 2A, but the goal will remain the same.
“We’ll get back to work when we’re allowed to and we’re going try to get back here next year,” said Estep.
University 4, Washington Township 1
University AB R H RBI
Dawson Estep 4 1 2 0
Reese Sharp 4 0 1 1
Ethan Johnson 0 1 0 0
Alex Washlock 3 1 0 0
Tyler Galyean 4 0 3 1
Ben Westerkamm 4 0 0 0
Adam Oxley 3 0 1 0
Matt Moore 3 1 2 0
Kolton Stephens 2 0 1 0
Thomas Price 0 0 0 0
Ben Ewer 3 0 0 0
Nate Shatkowski 0 0 0 0
Totals 30 4 10 2
3B: Sharp. SB: Washlock, Galyean.
University pitching IP R ER H
Sharp 7 1 1 4
Strikeouts: Sharp 17. Walks: Sharp 3.
Washington Township AB R H RBI
Bryce Malamatos 4 0 0 0
Steven Hernandez 3 1 1 0
William Roberts 2 0 0 0
Logan Curran 0 0 0 0
Matt Rogers 3 0 1 1
Colin Majda 0 0 0 0
Jared Armstrong 2 0 0 0
James Hernandez 3 0 1 0
Myles DeBold 2 0 1 0
Michael Funk 3 0 0 0
Chaz Brown 3 0 0 0
Layne Matson 0 0 0 0
Totals 25 1 4 1
2B: S. Hernandez, Rogers, J. Hernandez. SB: S. Hernandez, DeBold. HBP: Armstrong.
Washington Township pitching IP R ER H
Roberts 5.1 4 2 8
S. Hernandez 1.2 0 0 2
Strikeouts: Roberts 4, S. Hernandez 1. Walks: Roberts 3.
Score by innings
University 300 001 0 – 4 10 0
Washington Township 000 010 0 – 1 4 2
The University baseball team won the school’s first-ever state championship in any sport Monday at Victory Field. The Trailblazers beat Washington Township 4-1 in the Class 1A state title game, scoring three runs in the first inning and getting a dominant performance from pitcher Reese Sharp. (Kent Graham)
University’s Nate Shatkowski won the L.V. Phillips Mental Attitude Award for Class 1A baseball. Shatkowski is pictured with his parents Laura and David Shatkowski and received a full scholarship to Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. (Kent Graham)