By Deryck Ramey
PBR Indiana 

Friday, LN Advances Past Roncalli 5-2 In Round One

A match up of two of the state's top pitchers produced what one would expect Friday night, high velocity and scattered hits. Roncalli sophomore standout Michael McAvene (Purdue) took the hill against Lawrence North junior Nolan Watson (Vanderbilt) for the first round of the 2014 Marion County Tournament. 

Lawrence North started the game with two runs in the top half of the first. Duncan Hewitt singled and came around to score on an error. A Grant Moulton single followed and drove home Drew Madden to give the visitors an early lead. 

The Wildcats scored once more in each of the next two innings. Tyler Doerner took advantage of an error scoring from second in the second inning. Madden crossed the plate on another Roncalli error in the third giving North a 4-0 lead. 

McAvene was replaced on the mound after 2 1/3 innings of work. He walked six, struck out three and gave up no earned runs. Though he threw limited innings, fastball sat 85-87 and heavy.  

On the other side, Watson was strong both at the plate and on the bump. The North pitcher went the distance striking out 11 and allowing no earned runs. Fastball sat 89-91, and featured a new cutter that has very strong projectability at this level and the next. Cutter sat 83-85 with sharp late action that got the better of many hitters. Watson did his part at the plate as well, going 2-4 with a pair of doubles. 

Roncalli did battle back in the bottom of the 6th after trailing by five. Paulie Milto doubled and scored on a two out single by Tyler Schoettle. Schoettle then crossed the plate on a Casey Gore double. But then Watson shut the door. 

Lawrence North advanced to round two where they would face off against Trinity Lutheran Saturday morning.

Saturday, 3A No. 6 Brebeuf Downs 4A No. 7 Franklin Central in Round 2

A rainy Saturday morning moved the contest between 4A  No. 7 Franklin Central and 3A No. 6 Brebeuf Jesuit to Franklin Central High School, but the team making the longest trip seemed not to be phased.  

Franklin Central advanced to round two with an impressive performance Friday night from Jake Sprinkle and a victory over the Bears of Lawrence Central. Brebeuf moved on with a convincing 12-2 five-inning defeat of Perry Meridian. Both teams took the field with early confidence, and Brebeuf left with confidence remaining.  

Brebeuf loaded the bases in the bottom of the first on singles by Clay Farren and Adam Iffert and a walk from Ben Powell, but alert defense from Franklin Central cut runners down at home twice before any points were added to the board.  

The first run came in the bottom of the third as Brebeuf's Nick Chambers reached on a sac bunt attempt that was misplayed and eventually scored Powell. Bunts would prove critical to the Brebeuf attack throughout the game. 

The fourth inning was a clear example of head coach Jeff Scott's approach. After Tyler Holt led off with a single, the Braves bunted three consecutive times with runners reaching each time. With bases loaded, Jake Scott squeezed, reached and recorded an RBI as Holt beat the play home. Two sac flys from Iffert and Powell allotted the Braves three more runs and a four run advantage. 

Spencer Martin kept a strong Franklin Central team at bay throwing a complete game four hitter. Though he did not overpower hitters, Martin got ahead often (19/25 first pitch strikes) and changed pace keeping batters off balance.  

Franklin Central's Kevin Hammond also pitched well giving up just one earned run and striking out five in five innings of work. The Flashes defense did not provide a lot of support, however, as sacrifices turned to hits at critical points in the game. 

For Franklin Central, Jon Knies was 2-3 with a double. Brebeuf's Clay Farren was 3-4 and a stolen base. Iffert, Scott, and Powell each had RBIs.  

Brebeuf moved on for the afternoon match up with Lawrence North. Lawrence North overcame Trinity Lutheran in the morning session.  

Saturday, Brebeuf  Advances to County Final with 10-9 Win over LN

In what was surely one of the best games of the 2014 season so far, 3A  No. 6 Brebeuf met up with Lawrence North at Roncalli High School for a chance to advance to Victory Field and the Marion County Championship on May 17th. 

Coming in, both squads were brimming with confidence over their recent play. The 17-3 Brebeuf squad entered the afternoon contest riding a twelve game win streak in which they outscored opponents 134 to 37.  

In the other dugout, Lawrence North came in with four wins in a row including an impressive defeat of Roncalli. The Wildcats are able to send 3-4 starters to the mound with the capacity to dominate on any given day. On this day it was sophomore Justin Reed's chance to move North through to the championship. 

Thirteen lead changes saw this back and forth game go tied into the bottom of the seventh. Brebeuf struck first with a run in the first as Adam Iffert scored on a ground out to short. North evened it up the following frame as Nolan Watson doubled and scored on a sac fly by Andrew Herrman. 

Watson continued his strong performance at the plate during the game. The weekend's three contests saw him go 6 for 9 with five doubles and a pair of RBI.  

Fireworks came out in the third as the teams combined for eight runs. Lawrence North put four on the board with RBIs from Watson and Grant Moulton. Roncalli countered with four of their own as the Wildcats were not able to field and throw cleanly. Brebeuf led at this point 7-5. 

Lawrence North got one back in the following inning and took the lead again as Watson doubled home Drew Madden and scored on a wild pitch. Not to be outdone, Brebeuf's Jake Scott scored a run of his own on a passed ball as did teammate Clay Farren did later in the evening. Brebeuf again up a run. 

Things did get testy as a minor collision at the plate kept a Lawrence North run from scoring. Coaches and players were able to quickly put out fires and get all players back into the game without any necessary ejections or consequences. 

Duncan Hewitt tied the game at nine with an RBI single scoring John Scheil. 

Into the final inning, Brebeuf was able to get runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs. Ben Powell's drop third strike then set things in motion. Not needing to make a throw to first, Lawrence North catcher Zane Johnson caught the runner at first too far off and accurately threw down hoping to get a two for one. Adam Iffert, the runner at first, with significant speed and alertness got into a rundown allowing the runner at second to move to third and then towards home. A strong throw was unable to beat Clay Farren to the plate. Brebeuf 10 Lawrence North 9. 

Brebeuf's exciting victory sees them advancing to next weeks championship at the home of the Indianapolis Indians.  

For Lawrence North, Watson was 4-4 with three doubles, three runs scored, and two RBI. Drew Madden was 3-4 with a pair of runs. Jason Schwenk was also 3-4 with a run scored. On the mound Max Gray sat 89-90.  

For Brebeuf, Farren was 2-3 with a double, RBI, and three runs scored. Iffert went 3-4 with three RBI and a triple. 

MORE Round 1 SCORES

Southport 2 Warren Central 1
Franklin Central 3 Lawrence Central 1
Lutheran 7 Park Tudor 2
North Central 8 Decatur Central 7
Speedway 10 Pike 3
Ben Davis 9 Beech Grove 2
Brebeuf 12 Perry Meridian 2

More Round 2 Scores

Southport 5 Ben Davis 3
Brebeuf 4 Franklin Central 0
North Central 15 Speedway 1
Lawrence North 7 Lutheran 3

Semi-Final Scores

Brebeuf 10 Lawrence North 9
North Central 7 Southport 3