Class 3A Glenn Baseball Sectional final: New Prairie 10, Glenn 1

LAKEVILLE — Hitting got John Glenn and New Prairie to the Class 3A-Sectional 18 championship game at Newton Park in Lakeville.

But pitching is the reason why coach Mark Schellinger’s Cougars will be heading into next Saturday’s regional championship round of the Indiana High School Athletic Association baseball tournament. After putting themselves behind the 8-ball by allowing the Cougars six runs in the top of the first inning, coach John Nadolny’s Falcons could do virtually nothing against New Prairie’s 6-foot-3 junior left-hander Tyson Greenwood, whose one-hitter helped produce a 10-1 victory.

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Glenn (22-5), which edged out New Prairie for third place in the Northern Indiana Conference regular season thanks in part to a 12-10 slugfest victory May 8 in New Carlisle, did not look anything like a team that brought a .369 batting average into the game. Except for a six-batter bottom of the second which produced the Falcons’ lone hit — a single by senior Matt Ciula which followed Glenn’s only walk of the game — Greenwood was downright masterful while mixing his fastball and slider during a 91-pitch (63 strikes) performance.  He finished with nine strikeouts and retired 15 batters in a row between the second inning and a hit batter with two outs in the bottom of the seventh.

“My slider was off the first couple of innings — my arm action was late with the slider,” said Greenwood, who also helped his own cause with a pair of hits and two runs batted in. “I wasn’t worried about their hitters so much as I was worried about my game, responding to what happened and adjusting. I knew they could put the ball in play.”

Schellinger was impressed how Greenwood worked his way through the Falcons’ potent lineup which included seven batters with batting averages between .342 (Ciula) and .587 (senior third baseman-pitcher Brycen Hannah). Hannah struck out three times swinging, and leadoff batter Chase Miller (.430) struck out twice.

“To do what he did to that lineup is very impressive,” Schellinger said. “Other than one play, we played really impressive behind Tyson, who got a lot of swing-and-miss and a lot of weak contact. Tyson deserves all the credit right now.”

It didn’t hurt, of course, that the Cougars’ bats have been hot this season — a .334 average coming into the game. Monday in 41 plate appearances, New Prairie managed nine hits, seven walks and three hit batsmen while striking out just three times.

Freshman catcher Reed Robinson, whose .403 batting average coming into the game was second only to team-leader Mason Braun’s .425 average, is someone whose overall game deserves serious attention going forward. Not only did he handle Greenwood, but Robinson also went 3-for-5 with two RBIs. Grady Kepplin also had a pair of hits for the Cougars.

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“Not only does Reed do a nice job behind the plate,” Schellinger said, “but his bat speaks for itself. He actually didn’t have a great start to the year. But once he got adjusted to varsity pitching, he’s really taken off.”

The 5-foot-10 muscular Robinson has serious fun playing the game he has played since he was five years old.

“Tyson and I talked before the game — let’s just have fun,” Robinson said. “Play the game you love. Stepping into the box today, I was really confident.”

New Prairie started quickly against junior right-hander Joe Chrapliwy, who had trouble with his control. He walked leadoff batter Dallas Ryans and surrendered a single to Francisco Bibian. After an out, Chrapliwy surrendered three walks, two hit batsmen and singles by Robinson and Greenwood as New Prairie sent 10 batters to the plate and scored six times on 55 pitches. Chrapliwy ended his afternoon in the fourth after 97 pitches and Hannah finished, throwing another 61.

Nadolny, whose Falcons have won eight sectional titles since the turn of the century, was blunt when talking about his team’s flat performance Monday.

“It was a freaking mess,” Nadolny said. “There was nothing good about today. I feel sorry for my seniors (catcher Ciula, Hannah and second baseman Braylon Smith). Brycen’s had one heckuva career here. Our pitching wasn’t the sharpest. Greenwood threw a lot better today than he did against CMA (in an 8-4 victory Wednesday). He’s a nice-sized kid. I like everything about him.”

Schellinger saluted his counterpart and the Glenn program. “Glenn and New Prairie go back a long time,” Schellinger said after New Prairie won its fourth sectional in school history and first since 2005. “John does a great job there. To play like we did against a quality team — I thought we had a really good approach today against a quality program like John Glenn.”

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: New Prairie beat Glenn, 10-1, for high school baseball 3A Sectional title