By RICH TORRES
INDIANAPOLIS – Luke Albright recognized what was about to happen. All he needed was confirmation, and the expression on Grant Richardson’s face was telling, if not prognostic, prior to the bottom of the seventh at Victory Field.
“I saw Grant smile before he went out to pitch, and I knew, ‘this is it, man,’” Albright said. “I just know when he has a smile, he’s having fun. It means he’s on.”
The 1A to Albright’s 1B, or vice versa if you ask the other senior co-ace, Richardson was locked in as he closed out the final 1 2/3 innings for Fishers (29-7) during the IHSAA Class 4A state championship on Friday night.
After halting a potential Cathedral rally in the bottom of the sixth with a pair of strikeouts, including a four-pitch punch-out with the bases loaded, Albright had full confidence in Richardson with only three outs separating the Tigers from the program’s first-ever state title.
It boiled down to execution, and both were on point in the clutch against the defending state champion Fighting Irish (23-9-1), who were attempting to claim the state’s first repeat since Fort Wayne Carroll in 2010 and ‘11.
Albright carried a no-hitter through four innings and was later relieved in the bottom of the sixth with one out and two runners on base. He limited Cathedral to three hits, struck out three and walked four with 101 pitches thrown.
“We knew Luke was going to show up, no matter what. He always comes out strong, and if he needed any help, I knew I would be there to back him up,” Richardson said.
Despite not allowing a hit until a leadoff single in the bottom of the fifth to Peyton Schofield, Albright, a Kent State recruit, retired eight straight after Cathedral went up 1-0 in the first inning due to two Fishers’ throwing errors.
For some, an early deficit and the pressure of the state finals could have spelled disaster, but Albright never flinched en route to the win and a 9-2 record. Instead, he stuck to the plan.
“With our guys, our goal was to get ahead and then that way we can execute with our secondary pitches,” Fishers assistant coach Craig Huls said. “Albright did a great job of it, getting ahead.”
Two of the three runs charged to Albright were earned, and by the second inning the Tigers offense put him in front 3-1 and eventually 4-2 in the top of the fifth, providing him breathing room.
“I know what this team is about. We can be down five after the first inning, and I know we can come back from that,” Albright said. “We have something special here.”
They’ve had something unique from 60 feet, 6 inches all season.
With the addition of Richardson, who transferred from Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger last summer, neither pitcher was asked to do too much, and it paid off.
The duo combined for 14 wins and 169 strikeouts this season, a result of trust and mutual support, especially on Friday as they worked in unison in front of a crown of 4,308 in downtown Indianapolis.
“(Richardson) coming here was just unreal. I knew from the start, this was going to be something special. Had I known he was going to close out my last two games; it’s just amazing. I love him to death,” Albright said.
Richardson struck out three and induced back-to-back pop ups in Cathedral’s final two at-bats to nail down his second consecutive save. He also came out of the bullpens to close out Fishers’ 5-3 semi-state win against Chesterton in Plymouth last Saturday.
“Grant’s a special kid. His fastball is 81 to 91 (mph), which is ridiculous because you never know if you’re getting the hard one or the soft one. You gear up for the hard one, and he’ll take a little bit off,” Fishers head coach Matthew Cherry said. “That’s what makes him effective.”
In the seventh, he was challenged.
After hitting Bo Sanders, Richardson walked Mack Murphy, which gave Cathedral runners on first and second base and one out. Facing Louisville recruit Jared Poland, who was 1-for-2 and reached base in his three prior plate appearances, Richardson, an Indiana recruit, had to be precise.
“Going into the Big Ten, there’s going to be tons of matchups like that where you have to make the perfect pitch, and you can’t just go up there and throw,” Richardson said. “I did for a couple of batters because I was worried, but when Poland came up, I wasn’t worried.”
Richardson fell behind 2-1, but a fastball on the inner-half of the plate equalized the situation as Poland flew out to center field.
“We decided to stay hard on him after his first couple of at-bats,” Cherry said. “We weren’t going to do that, but the way his swing looked tonight, and again, he’s a great hitter, but we thought we could get him with the fastball.”
The left-hander had the arsenal and he delivered similar to the sectional championship against Noblesville when he shut down the Millers in consecutive innings with three straight strikeouts, including in a bases-loaded scenario.
“I just didn’t want to miss a fastball location. That’s all I was worried about,” Richardson said. “If I threw it in on him, it might get jammed, and that’s what happened. It was perfect pitch, perfect time. It couldn’t have been a better pitch selection.”
For the Tigers, it couldn’t have played out any other way.
The offense and it’s .319 batting average supplied a lead to topple Cathedral’s touted 1.83 ERA. The defense rebounded from two first-inning errors, turning a key 7-6-4 pickoff at second in a near momentum-swinging bottom of the fifth, and the Tigers’ dual aces did the rest to best their staff’s 3.55 ERA.
“It’s special. It started last year with the dominant arms Albright was able to learn from. So he got some experience there and with Grant, we just rode those guys all year,” Huls said. “Our offense was what it was. They were able to score runs when they needed it, but without those guys on the bump, I don’t think we’re here today.”
Fishers pitcher Grant Richardson came into the game in the sixth inning and threw a solid one and two-thirds innings to get the save in the Class 4A state championship. The Tigers beat Cathedral 4-3 to win their first-ever baseball state title. (Kent Graham)
Luke Albright threw five and a third innings for Fishers, striking out three. Albright got the win, giving him a 9-2 record for his senior season. (Kent Graham)