Larry's nonsense, stuff & other stuff!!!

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

2011 Boys All-State Baseball-Area Teams

Prep Baseball Report recently released its All-State teams. Several area players were recognized:

CLASS 3A

C—Chris Minks, Crawfordsville

1B—Joel Hobson, Crawfordsville

OF—Jordan Jackson, Crawfordsville

CLASS 2A

INF—Jeff Scott, Clinton Central

CLASS 1A

3B—Travis Demerly, Frontier

SS—Jake Churchill, Central Catholic

OF—Nick Stone, Central Catholic; Cyle Knecht, Covington

P—Hunter Gladish, Frontier; Austin Munn, Central Catholic; Brett Haan, Central Catholic

Central Catholic Football

Central Catholic football win streak reaching historic levels

By Nathan Baird

With a 55-0 victory over Heritage Christian last Friday, Central Catholic extended its winning streak to 37 games, currently the longest in the state.

According to the Indiana Football Coaches Association website, the Knights also tied Eastern (Howard) for the third-longest winning streak in state history. The Comets, located in Greentown, posted their streak from 1961-65.

If Central Catholic beats Rensselaer on Friday, it will have third place all to itself. Next up is Sheridan, which won 44 straight from 2005-08. The Blackhawks were also the last team to beat CC, narrowly doing so in a Class A sectional semifinal in 2008.

(TRIVIA: What team defeated Sheridan the week before it started its win streak in 2005, then beat the Blackhawks again to end it in 2008? Answer at the bottom of this post.)

Central Catholic would need to win its final two regular-season games — including beating Class 3A No. 1 West Lafayette — then complete its third straight unbeaten state tournament run to reach 45 wins and surpass Sheridan.

Then, if CC can come back and complete an unprecedented fourth straight undefeated state title, it would only TIE the top team on the list. Bloomington won 60 straight, beginning in 1967 and ending in 1973, the first season of the IHSAA state tournament.

The complete list, with local teams in italics:

60—Bloomington (1967-73)

44—Sheridan (2005-08)

37—Central Catholic (2009-11)

37—Eastern (Howard) (1961-65)

34—Warren Central (1983-86)

34—East Chicago Roosevelt (1944-48)

33—Delphi (1964-67)

32—Evansville Reitz (1959-63)

32—Lowell (1934-37)

31—South Bend St. Joseph's (1978-81)

31—Valparaiso (1974-76)

30—Tri-West Hendricks (2003-05)

30—Jimtown (1997-98)

30—Brownsburg (1983-86)

30—Gary Emerson (1920-23)(Trivia answer: West Lafayette defeated Sheridan 28-6 on Oct. 14, 2005 and 37-7 on Oct. 17, 2008. The week before that 2005 victory over Sheridan, the Red Devils beat Seeger to end the state's fifth-longest regular-season winning streak at 49 games.)

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Nicks Hot Streak!!!

CC offense relies on big sticks and Stone

By: SAM KING

Another roster makeover didn't deter the Central Catholic baseball program's dreams of a third Class A state championship in a row.

But the Knights knew they had to have a productive leadoff hitter to make a deep tournament run.Nick Stone made an adjustment to his swing and has suddenly become a leadoff hitter who is nearly impossible for pitchers to get out.

In three sectional victories, Stone went 7-for-11, continuing the junior left fielder's late-season hot streak at the plate.Coach Casey Taylor "has done a really good job helping us with our mechanics," Stone said after Monday's sectional championship win over No. 1 Frontier. "The smallest thing can set you off, and he found it and fixed it."Stone said he was guessing at too many pitches, and his arms were in the wrong spot to react quicker to the ball."I can't hit when I guess," he said.No more guessing. A lot more hitting.

Stone's hitting leadoff has helped solidify a Central Catholic team trying to win its fifth state championship and fourth in five seasons."That's your job when you're hitting at the top of the lineup -- get on base," coach Tim Bordenet said. "He's been doing a great job of that."He's also has been a consistent outfielder who plays with reckless abandon.His defense is not overlooked by the CC pitching staff, of which Stone is a part of as well."He is always after everything, always diving," said Austin Munn, who earned a win and a save in Monday's two sectional games. "He is 100 miles an hour all the time."On Saturday, Stone and his CC teammates get a home game against Rockville in a regional semifinal.

Stone is in his first season as a varsity starter. While he has two state championship rings and is undefeated in the postseason, he is ready to be a key component of a team that makes a deep tournament run.His teammates hope are counting on it.His increased productivity also increases theirs. When he gets on base, those behind him in the lineup hope to drive in the speedy Stone."He is on fire right now," Munn said. "He is really helping us being the leadoff and getting on so we have the momentum and go get hits behind him."

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

National Coach of the Year!!!

Congratulations to Central Catholic Baseball Coach Tim Bordenet who has been chosen by the National High School Baseball Coaches Association as the District 4 Coach of the Year. Bordenet is now in the running for national coach of the year honors, which will be announced Dec. 3 in Nashville, Tennessee.

“It is an honor to be recognized by coaching peers especially on a national level. I am pleased to be able to receive this award as the coach of Central Catholic Junior-Senior High School, but I know that our players, especially our graduating seniors, were responsible for our success and the accolades that follow,” explains Bordenet. Bordenet led the Central Catholic Knights to the Indiana Class A state championship this year - the team's third state title in four years. Bordenet has been the coach at Central Catholic for 13 years (1991-1993 and 2001-present) with a record of 304-104-1. Way to go Coach Bordenet!

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Tribstar's view on Regional win CC vs Rockville!!!

LAFAYETTE — If Rockville’s high school baseball players had been able to plan their trip to the Class A Lafayette Central Catholic Regional on Saturday, none of what actually occurred would have been on their lists.

The host Knights, ranked third in the state and sectional winners over top-ranked Frontier, took advantage of some shaky play by the Rox in the first inning, did some long-ball hitting in the second frame and added insult to insult in an 11-run fifth inning for an 18-0 win in the second semifinal game on Saturday.

Scarier than that outcome? The potential of the championship game later Saturday night, when the Knights faced Seton Catholic.

“They’re a great team,” Rockville senior Tyler Bradburn said of the Knights afterward. “They have a great shot at going to state [finals]. They had great hitters, a pretty good pitcher and a good defense behind him.”

Coach Bob Kyle of the Rox — who missed all but the first inning and a half — wasn’t in the mood to be quite as kind to the Knights afterward.

“They’re good,” he admitted. “They hit the ball on the button and we didn’t.”

Having the regional at LCC — where the Knights can display four Class A state championship banners, including the last two and three of the last four — provided the host team with an advantage, Kyle felt.

“It’s a situation where you hope your kids can rise above [the intimidation factor], and we didn’t do that,” Kyle said.

And the Knights’ demonstrative celebrations didn’t sit well with the old-school Rockville coach either, which is why his time in the dugout was shortened.

Visiting team on the scoreboard because of the tournament draw, the Knights got on the board quickly in the top of the first inning.

Leadoff batter Nick Stone — at about 6-foot-3 and maybe 215 pounds the biggest player to bat in the regional so far, although not the biggest of the Knights — singled up the middle and scored when Jake Churchill’s line drive got past a diving Rox outfielder for an RBI double. The Rox lost an infield popup in the high sky and wind, Ryan DeBoy singled for a second run, and two more came in when a line drive was dropped in the outfield.

“Everything fell apart early,” Kyle said later.

“I missed my spots, and [the Knights] took advantage,” added starting pitcher Zac Kempf.

With one out in the second inning, Stone reached on a bad-hop single and Churchill and Austin Munn followed with back-to-back homers.

Kyle visited Kempf on the mound and pointed out loudly that one of the Knights had taunted his pitcher during his home run trot. The next pitch hit DeBoy in the back, Kyle was ejected and both benches were warned about future retaliation.

With LCC’s Brett Haan — about 6-5, with a 90-mile-per-hour fastball — dealing on the mound, that was probably all the runs the host team needed. An infield single by Nate Fisher was all the Rox could muster, although when Derek Gregg was hit by a pitch in the bottom of the fourth inning the many Rockville fans wondered — loudly — why Haan got to stay in the game.

And in the top of the fifth, the Knights added their extra runs, including three more home run celebrations.

Disappointing as the day turned out to be, though, the three Rockville seniors — two of whom also had their basketball seasons end at the semistate in Lafayette back in March — were emphatic that it didn’t mar their season.

“My senior year has been awesome,” Kempf said. “This was my second regional appearance [of the year]. We had an up and down [baseball] season, but in the end we came through. We knocked out our No. 1 rival, [Class A’s] No. 4 Riverton Parke, in the sectional, and we got where we wanted to be.”

“It’s been awesome,” agreed first baseman Tyler Cooper. “We started off rough [this spring], but in the end we came through. It was fun; we had a great senior year and we’ve got a great team behind us.”

“It’s been amazing,” said Bradburn. “Basketball, baseball … it’s been one of the most memorable years of my life, and I’m grateful for every moment.”

Seton Catholic, a school with fewer than 75 students, got the benefit of eight errors by Wes-Del to win Saturday’s regional opener 11-1 and took a 14-12 record into the championship contest.