By RICHIE HALL
Two Hamilton County baseball teams will play for a first-ever regional championship on Saturday.
Fishers will travel to Loeb Stadium in Lafayette to take on familiar Hoosier Crossroads Conference rival Zionsville in the first semi-final game of the Class 4A Lafayette Jefferson regional, which starts at 11 a.m. Two Fort Wayne teams, Carroll and South Side will play in the second semi-final at 1 p.m. The championship game is set for 8 p.m.
University, a sectional champion for the first time in five years, travels to Morristown to play in that Class 1A regional. The Trailblazers play Indianapolis Lutheran in the first semi-final game, which begins at 10 a.m. The second semi-final, between Shakamak and Hauser, begins at noon, with the championship game at 7 p.m.
There are several layers to the Fishers-Zionsville regional match-up. The two teams played each other not long ago, with the Tigers sweeping the Eagles in an HCC series. With the win, Fishers passed Zionsville at the last turn to win the conference championship. However, the Eagles beat the Tigers in last year’s regional championship at Loeb Stadium.
Zionsville (22-8) won the Kokomo sectional by beating Logansport 11-1 in the semi-finals, then edging the host Wildkats 4-3. Zionsville’s lineup is full of solid hitters. Kyle Callahan is the most prolific, with a .420 average. Callahan leads the Eagles in hits with 37 and doubles with 14. He is also tied with another senior, Riley Bertram, for most runs scored this season with 35.
Junior Jack Firestone has three triples, while senior Stephen Karis is the home run leader with four; he is batting .389 for the season.
As for pitching, Zionsville has two seniors with a 4-1 record: Tyler Milby and Nick Brier, who leads the way in strikeouts with 43 and holds a 2.39 earned-run average. Milby has 34 strikeouts and a 3.71 ERA.
The Tigers have a decent offense too, starting with a pair of .400 hitters. Senior Craig Yoho is batting at a .417 clip, while classmate Matt Wolff hits .404. Yoho tops the Fishers list in runs scored (43) and doubles (12), and is tied with junior Kiel Brenczewski for the most home runs (five).
Brenczewski, a .381 hitter, has the most hits with 43. Senior Alex Jamieson leads the RBI list with 35, while junior JJ Woolwine and senior Grant Richardson both have two triples.
Richardson is also solid on the mound: He is 5-0 for the season with a 2.81 ERA and 60 strikeouts. Senior Luke Albright holds a 6-2 record, with 79 strikeouts and a 2.76 ERA.
Down at Morristown, the Trailblazers will take on a Lutheran team that is 14-10 for the season. The Saints also played their sectional at Morristown, beating Edinburgh 7-4, Waldron 14-1 and Southwestern Shelby 9-2.
University has a great mix of all classes on its team. The top hitter is freshman Tyler Galyean, who is batting .491 with 26 hits and 23 RBIs. Senior Garrett Hill is next at .467, and leads the categories of hits (49), RBIs (41), doubles (10) and home runs (10). Junior Dawson Estep, a .409 hitter, has the most runs scored with 46 and is tied with junior Brock Moore in the triples category; both have three.
Moore is also undefeated on the mound at 7-0 with a 2.37 ERA and 60 strikeouts. Senior Cade Carlson holds a 6-2 record and a 2.70 ERA; he leads the ‘Blazers in strikeouts with 73.
Fishers’ Luke Albright has a 6-2 record for the Tigers and leads the team with 79 strikeouts and a 2.76 earned-run average. Fishers plays Zionsville in the first semi-final of the Lafayette Jefferson regional Saturday at Loeb Stadium. (Kent Graham)