'It's meant to be.' New Prairie baseball wins IHSAA Class 3A state championship over Brebeuf Jesuit
INDIANAPOLIS — For the first time in program history, New Prairie baseball is a state champion.
The Cougars knocked off Indianapolis Brebeuf Jesuit, 7-2, in the IHSAA Class 3A state championship game Friday night at Victory Field in Indianapolis. It's the second state title overall in school history, joining last year's softball team.
“Every time I’ve talked with people, I’ve said it’s meant to be,” senior Joe Kinney said. “I said I knew we were going to do this, and it showed. God was on our side. It was amazing. This team is amazing.”
New Prairie (27-5) scored the first two runs, getting one in each of the first two innings. Sophomore Reed Robinson drew a one-out walk, then advanced to second a few moments later via an error on a pickoff attempt. Junior Jordan Davis followed with a walk to put two runners on.
With senior Tyson Greenwood up, Robinson went to steal third base. The throw from Braves catcher Will Loftus was airmailed into right field, though, allowing Robinson to score.
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The Cougars took advantage of another Braves error in the second inning. Senior Joe Kinney hit a dribbler to third base, with the ensuing throw off-line, allowing Kinney to reach second base. Senior Colin Laskowski beat out an infield bunt single on the next at-bat, which setup senior Colin Wind to drive Kinney home on a sacrifice flyout to center field.
Brebeuf (25-10) would tie it in the top of the fourth. Loftus hit a one-out double, then advanced to third on a passed ball a few pitches later. Dylan Wells drew a walk and stole second base, with the Cougars not attempting a throw to prevent Loftus from trying to score.
It wouldn’t matter, as Aidan Holtzapple hit a tough liner off the glove of Wind at shortstop, with the ball going into the outfield and allowing both runners to score.
New Prairie didn’t let the game stay tied for too long. After recording two outs to start the bottom of the fourth, the next five Cougars reached base, four of which scored. Laskowski hit a single and both Wind and senior Brody Traxler drew walks to load the bases. This setup Robinson, who drove a 1-2 pitch into left field for a single, scoring Laskowski and Wind.
After Robinson stole second base, Zak Henrich was brought in as a courtesy runner. Davis would hit a slow roller up the middle, fielded by Brebeuf second baseman Josh Bingman. Traxler scored easily, and heads-up running by Henrich allowed him to round third and score as well. Davis was thrown out trying to advance to second base, but the scoreboard still read 6-2 New Prairie after four innings.
The Cougars' seventh run came in the bottom of the fifth when Laskowski drew a bases-loaded walk, plating sophomore Ryley Conley.
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Greenwood pitched six innings for New Prairie, allowing five hits, two runs (one earned) while striking out seven Brave hitters. Kinney came into the seventh, with Brebeuf loading the bases with one out. The senior composed himself in the moment, though, getting Loftus to popout and striking out Wells to punctuate the victory.
“We came here looking forward to the challenge,” Greenwood said. “We knew we were going to have to embrace the ups and downs of the game, and we totally did. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy. … We did our thing. We stayed resilient and poised. We kept our cool and did what we do.”
It’s the second state title for Schellinger, who won the Class 4A state title as a player for LaPorte in 2000.
“I don’t think either one is better,” Schellinger said. “As a player, it’s awesome to do it with your buddies. As a coach, you’re looking at them, watching these guys with the smiles and enjoy it. That’s what it’s really about. We’ve talked a lot about positive relationships, and I really think this team bought into that from the beginning.”
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: New Prairie baseball wins IHSAA Class 3A state championship
