Harrison baseball pulls off sectional three-peat, beats McCutcheon
KOKOMO − In recent years, Harrison baseball practices have had increased time allotment dedicated to the art of bunting.
Drag bunts. Sacrifice bunts. Squeeze bunts.
When games get tight, as they often do in the postseason, that could be a weapon the Raiders could rely on to perhaps steal a run.
"It's something over the past couple years we've slowly started focusing on a little bit," Harrison coach Pat Lowrey said. "We didn't show any drag bunts today, but that's been something that has been a nice weapon for us. We put down a safety squeeze, a couple nice sacrifices."
Execution in the bunting game and a patient approach at the plate is what lifted Harrison to a third-straight Class 4A, Sectional 7 championship at Kokomo Municipal Stadium on Monday afternoon with a 5-2 win over rival McCutcheon.
After singles by Brendan Gothrup and Sammy Hallada, Cal Gick dropped a sacrifice bunt that turned into a single. With the bases loaded. Drew McTagertt walked, then Hayden Slate walked and Eli Kelly ripped a single for an early 3-0 lead.
"Any way we can get it done," said Gick, who was 2-for-2 with a double, two runs and two stolen bases. "We have a lot of good bunters on the team that can get runs in on suicide squeezes. It all starts with base running. If we get one guy on, stealing, bunting, getting better reads on balls."
That was the bottom of the third inning after McCutcheon threatened to score first in the top half.
But a bunt single turned into a base running gaffe.
Instead of two one and no outs with the lineup turning over, McCutcheon had a runner on first with one out.
Corbin Payne then struck out consecutive hitters in what likely would've been a situation to bunt runners into second and third for the Mavericks.
"I think we were setting ourselves up to have a big inning where you get the merry-go-round going there with the first two guys on and probably a situation where we would've bunted again and force them to take care of the baseball," McCutcheon coach Tristan McIntyre said. "That's something we've got to learn from. It's the story of this year, file the ups and downs away and make sure we're not repeating mistakes and learn from that and we'll have a pretty good team moving forward."
Jacob Winger doubled in two runs in the fourth, cutting the deficit to 3-2, but Harrison again had an answer.
Drew McTagertt delivered a RBI triple in the bottom of the fourth and Slate scored in the fifth on Jackson Gwin's squeeze bunt.
Reliever Gavin Owsley didn't need any more help than that, giving up one hit, a Brody Zimmer single, in 2 ⅔ innings. Owsley pitched in sectional wins over Lafayette Jeff, Logansport and McCutcheon in a six-day span.
McCutcheon managed just four hits and the first four batters in the lineup were a combined 0-for-11.
"Every year is a new year. Each year brings its own challenges," McIntyre said. "We only get to play the game that is in front of us. It's a new game each time. The only thing we can control is to keep getting into the sectional championship game. Eventually we'll break through, but that is our challenge. We've got to keep working every day."
The Mavericks relied mostly on youth all season, which leaves a promising future.
Harrison had depth, but was driven by 10 seniors who, after missing their freshman season due to the coronavirus pandemic, never lost a sectional game.
"We're deep, which is nice. It provides some opportunities for competition within the program," Lowrey said. "These are great kids. There's not going to be a moment too big for them. They are just a poised group."
Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @samueltking.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Harrison baseball pulls off sectional three-peat, beats McCutcheon
