By RICHIE HALL
The Hamilton Southeastern baseball team is headed to La Porte on Friday, and the Royals are hoping to come with a semi-state trophy and a ticket to the IHSAA state finals.
Southeastern is one of four teams playing in the Class 4A north semi-state, which takes place Saturday at Schreiber Field in La Porte. The Royals will take on Homestead in the first semifinal game, which begins at 11:30 a.m. ET (10:30 a.m. CT). Penn and No. 3-ranked Lake Central play the second semifinal, starting at around 2 p.m. ET. The winners will play in the championship game at 8 p.m. ET.
Southeastern played the Spartans earlier in the season back on April 24 at Taylor University. Homestead won the game 9-6; the contest was tied at 1-1 when the Spartans put up seven runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. The Royals scored five runs in the top of the sixth before Homestead pulled out the win.
“We got a little preview of what we’re going to see,” said Southeastern coach Kory Seitz. “We know they got some kids that can swing it. We’re obviously going to have to play really well.”
The Spartans are 19-9 for the season, and have yet to give up a run during the post-season. Homestead won the Northridge sectional by beating Columbia City 5-0 in the first round, Huntington North 1-0 in the semifinal and Fort Wayne South Side 10-0 in the championship game. The Spartans claimed the Plymouth regional title with a 10-0 victory over DeKalb.
Junior Alex Graber is Homestead’s top hitter, batting .425 with a team-leading 37 hits. Senior Jake Goode is next in line with .367; he leads the teams in both runs scored (23) and batted in (20), along with three home runs. Goode and junior Brady Minnick both have eight doubles; Minnick is averaging .351 at the plate.
Junior Mason Weaver is the Spartans’ leading pitcher at 8-1 for the season; he carries a 0.99 earned-run average and has 90 strikeouts.
Southeastern is 19-14 for the season and triumphed at the Carmel sectional for their first championship at that level since 2019. The Royals beat Westfield 5-2 in the semifinals and No. 2-ranked Noblesville 3-1 in the championship. Southeastern then beat Harrison 4-0 to win the Lafayette Jefferson regional.
A pair of seniors lead the HSE offense. Ty Bradle is the Royals’ top hitter with a .319 average, leading the teams in doubles and triples with five each. Griffen Haas is not far away with a .317 average; he leads the team in hits with 33.
Another senior, Cole Earlewine, has 21 RBIs to his credit; he and Bradle each have hit four home runs. Sophomore Maddux Bach leads the runs scored count with 21, followed by Bradle with 20 and Haas with 19. Bradle has 30 hits.
“If you have a picture or a definition of a kid that’s a gamer, it is Ty Bradle right now,” said Seitz. “That kid seems to get better under pressure. That’s fun to have. I think kids feed off of that. Ty is going to be a great competitor.”
Bradle is also the leading pitcher, with an 8-1 record. He holds a 1.02 ERA and is far and away the strikeout lead with 88. Junior Ethan Lund is next on the strikeout list with 47. The Royals have a solid lineup of throwers, with senior Brady Strawmeyer tossing 39 strikeouts, senior Eli Lantz throwing 30 and junior Jacob Payne tossing 28.