Unlikely contributions lead Twin Lakes baseball to Hoosier Conference championship game
MONTICELLO, Ind. — Twin Lakes is entering a phase of baseball osmosis.
In a season where the stars lead the way, key defensive plays and offensive contributions have come from unlikely places.
Freshman designated Cooper Dold drove in a bases-clearing three-run double as the No. 9 hitter while outfielder Clayton Burton dragged three bunts for singles and Twin Lakes pieced together a 5-2 win over Central Catholic.
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Twin Lakes (16-3) will play Western on Friday for the Hoosier Conference Championship at Kokomo Municipal Stadium on Friday.
The defining highlight came in the seventh inning with Central Catholic threatening to score with the bases loaded. Sophomore pinch hitter Alex Schummer hit a single into center field that scored one run before the second base runner Jackson Cain was tagged out from a well-targeted throw from outfielder Tristan Robertson to catcher Ross Howard.
"That's not the first time we've done that," Robertson said. "We saw that the guy was on second so a groundball went my way, came up and chucked the ball and I knew (Howard) would catch it. I've got trust in him."
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Central Catholic coach Tim Bordenet argued Howard was in the baseline but lamented his team's loss wasn't defined by the collision at home plate.
"I thought the catcher didn't give your guy a lane to slide to but that's not the play that beat us by any stretch of the imagination," Bordenet said. "They outexecuted us tonight. They played better than we did in all facets of the game. Hats off to them. They deserved to win."
Central Catholic (16-6) plays Hamilton Heights in the Hoosier Conference third-place game.
Here are three takeaways from the thrilling battle between Twin Lakes and Central Catholic.
Mason Brummett was cool through the pressure
A bad throw doesn't make Brummett sulk and his command seemingly increases when there's more pressure heaped upon his shoulders. Even when the opportunities came for Central Catholic, he was quick to extinguish the threat for Twin Lakes, which is finding ways to win on multiple levels.
Brummett tossed 6 1/3 innings with three strikeouts, four hits, two earned runs, four hits and two earned runs. He executed his fastball, change and curve while holding Central Catholic's top hitters to a combined 0-of-12.
"I trust myself," Brummett said. "I know I've got some good stuff."
Drag bunts and defensive contributions
Twin Lakes secured its ninth consecutive win and avenged a 1-0 loss to Central Catholic in its home opener.
Senior Clayton Burton's bad control and base running caused the usually calm Knights to make uncharacteristic defensive mistakes.
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"It's been something we've been working on all season," Burton said. "I take one swing and the third baseman steps back."
With the bunts came the defense of Howard whose quick homes from home plate and composure proved to be a factor in his team's victory. He picked off two base runners and culminated the evening with a catch and tag to get Cain.
Central Catholic looks for improvement before the postseason
The two-time reigning IHSAA Class A champion found itself struggling in key moments.
The Knights had seven hits but struggled to capitalize with runners on second and third with one out in the third inning while struggling to adjust to Brummett. An error on a pickoff throw and allowing a throw from Cain to get into center field compounded their issues.
Cain hit a solo home run to break the shutout in the fifth inning but struggled with putting pressure on Twin Lakes until the seventh inning.
"The good thing is we have a couple of weeks to get it figured out," Bordenet said. "We need to play with a greater sense of urgency. Twin Lakes wanted it more than we did and we didn't answer their intensity."
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: IHSAA baseball: Twin Lakes tops Central Catholic in Hoosier Conference