By RICHIE HALL
Is it possible for a team to play loose when the stakes are high – and win?
Ask the Fishers baseball team. The Tigers have made a habit of playing loose and having fun throughout the season. Now you will have to wait a little bit for an answer – the Tigers are busy celebrating a state championship, so they’ll get back to you.
Fishers won a dramatic Class 4A IHSAA state title game Friday night at Victory Field. The Tigers dethroned the defender, Cathedral, by the score of 4-3. After giving up an early run, Fishers scored three in the top of the second and held the lead from that point forward despite the Irish threatening in what seemed like every one of their at-bats.
But the Tigers held firm throughout every pressure situation.
“It’s a testament to their families,” said Tigers coach Matthew Cherry. “Our community, our teachers in our building, teaching them to be tough. They fight till the end. They don’t really ever feel pressure. They’re loose as all get-out, sometimes too loose. They were goofing around today at BP (batting practice). You would never thought we were playing a state finals game tonight.”
Fishers’ loose attitude was tested briefly in the first inning, when Cathedral scored an unearned run. Jared Poland, the Irish’s star pitcher who is also a pretty good hitter, drew a walk to get on base. Carson Caito came in to pinch run for Poland, stole second, then made his way home on two throwing errors.
The Tigers responded right away. Matthew Wolff got on base with a hit, then stole second and moved to third on a passed ball. After a flyout to center field, Nick Lukac and Jack Roudebush both were walked, loading the bases with two outs.
That brought up Ben Burton, who stretched Poland to a full count, fouled off at 3-2, then smacked a double into left field. Wolff and Lukac easily scored.
“As soon as they (the Irish) got that run, I was not happy,” said Burton. “I was like, ‘We got to come back, we got to do something, put something on the board.’ Just at least keep the game going.”
“He got a big triple in the sectional championship game to take the lead in the seventh,” said Cherry. “And then that huge double to get the lead there early, forced them to play from behind and allowed us to pitch guys certain ways because we had the lead. But he’s been awesome. Went through a position change, didn’t like it at first but totally bought in. Just came up with big hit after big hit this season. He’s been awesome.”
Roudebush moved to third, and he was home seconds late: JJ Woolwine sent a single into center field on the very next pitch. Fishers flied out to right field for the third out, but the Tigers had what they needed: A 3-1 lead.
The score remained 3-1 until the bottom of the fourth, when Caito scored again for Cathedral on a sacrifice fly by Cole Vassilo. Fishers answered back in the top of the fifth with another run.
Grant Richardson cracked a double into left field to get on base with two outs, then moved to third on a throwing error. That brought up Kiel Brenczewski, and he drew a walk, then stole second.
Wolff was next up, and he was walked to load the bases. Alex Jamieson came to the plate next, and he drew a four-pitch walk, which scored Richardson and increased the Tigers’ lead to 4-2.
“Most people would be nervous, but personally, I was excited,” said Jamieson. The senior didn’t feel any nerves at all on the field – “I was just ready to play,” he said.
“Our guys have answered back,” said Cherry. “We talk about punching them in the mouth, and when we get punched in the mouth, answering back. Our guys have done that all year. They did it in the Zionsville series when we swept them at the end of the season and they did it a couple times in the tournament again tonight. Just been their M.O., answering right back and again, they don’t know how to lose, so when they fall behind, they take it personally and they get after it.”
The Irish scored one more run in the fifth inning, when Bo Sanders singled in Peyton Schofield. Neither team scored for the remainder of the game, although Fishers got itself out of some tricky situations in the final two innings.
Luke Albright pitched five and a third innings, allowing only three hits. Albright exited the game to a standing ovation with one out in the fifth, but with runners on second and third. Albright only gave up three hits against Cathedral’s big-hitting team in securing his ninth win of the season.
That brought in Richardson, who struck out two of the next three batters to end the inning. (For more on Fishers’ sensational pitchers, read the related story on Page 9.) Wolff got a two-out double for the Tigers in the top of the seventh, but a center field fly out brought Cathedral back out for one last chance.
Richardson got a strikeout for the first out. Sanders was hit by a pitch to get on base, then moved to second when Mack Murphy drew a walk. But the Irish would get no closer. Shortstop Craig Yoho caught a 2-1 pitch to retire the dangerous Poland for the second out, and Woolwine’s center field catch of an 0-1 delivery ended the game and started the Tigers’ celebration in front of a crowd of 4,308.
“When I first stepped on this field, I looked at the stands and I was like ‘Wow, that’s a lot of people,'” said Burton. “Never played in front of that many people before. It’s just an honor that we can even be state champs.”
Richardson got the save, his second of the season. Both he and Albright tossed three strikeouts
The Tigers received another honor after the game, when Wolff won the L.V. Phillips Mental Attitude Award. The son of Brian and Angie Wolff, Matt graduated with a 4.0 grade-point average, has been active in his church, served as a peer guide for junior high students and has been an excellent role model for youth, according to the school’s administration.
“It feels amazing,” said Wolff. “It’s such an honor to win and I just want to thank my parents for raising me up the right way. I owe a lot to them. My coaches for being with me every step of the way through high school.”
Wolff will serve our country by attending the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., also playing baseball for the Midshipmen.
“I’d always had a great appreciation for the Naval Academy and the military service academies and I never really thought of it as a true option until they started recruiting me last summer,” said Wolff. “I fell in love when I went there and I knew it was the place for me.”
The Tigers finished the season 29-7 and became the second Hamilton County baseball team to win a state championship. Noblesville was the first in 2014.
Friday’s state baseball triumph marked the fourth state championship for the Fishers athletic program. The Tigers won state in boys cross country in 2007, followed by a 5A football title in 2010 and a 2A girls soccer championship in 2014.
Fishers 4, Cathedral 3
Fishers AB R H RBI
JJ Woolwine 4 0 1 1
Craig Yoho 4 0 0 0
Grant Richardson 4 1 1 0
Kiel Brenczewski 3 0 0 0
Colin Shelton 0 0 0 0
Matthew Wolff 2 1 2 0
Alex Jamieson 2 0 0 1
Nick Lukac 3 1 0 0
Jack Roudebush 1 1 0 0
Ben Burton 2 0 1 2
Luke Albright 0 0 0 0
Totals 25 4 5 4
2B: Richardson, Wolff, Burton. SB: Wolff 2, Shelton. SAC: Burton.
Fishers pitching IP R ER H
Luke Albright (W) 5.1 3 2 3
Richardson (S) 1.2 0 0 0
Strikeouts: Albright 3, Richardson 3. Walks: Albright 4, Richardson 2.
Cathedral AB R H RBI
Mack Murphy 3 0 0 0
Jared Poland 2 0 1 0
Carson Caito 0 2 0 0
Collin Greene 4 0 0 0
Cole Vassilo 1 0 0 1
Evan Uhland 3 0 0 0
Peyton Schofield 2 1 1 0
Alex Scherer 2 0 0 0
Mitch Bertrand 2 0 0 0
Bo Sanders 2 0 1 1
Derek Haslett 0 0 0 0
Totals 21 3 3 2
SB: Poland 2, Caito 2. SAC: Scherer, Vassilo. HBP: Sanders.
Cathedral pitching IP R ER H
Poland 4.2 4 4 4
Betrand 0.1 0 0 0
Haslett 2.0 0 0 1
Strikeouts: Poland 2. Walks: Poland 6, Bertran 1, Haslett 1.
Score by innings
Fishers 030 010 0 – 4 5 2
Cathedral 100 110 0 – 3 3 1
The Fishers baseball team won a dramatic Class 4A IHSAA state championship game Friday at Victory Field. The Tigers beat defending champion Cathedral 4-3, taking the lead with a three-run second inning. It’s the first baseball state title for Fishers and the fourth overall for the Tigers’ athletic program. (Kent Graham)
Fishers’ Matthew Wolff won the L.V. Phillips Mental Attitude Award after the game. Wolff will serve our country by attending the United States Naval Academy, where he will also play baseball. (Kent Graham)