Prep Baseball Report

IHSBCA All-Stars: Plenty of Offense on Display as North, South Split First Two Games


Steve Krah
PBR Indiana Correspondent

MADISON — When the rain stopped, the all-stars sprinkled more than a little offense around Madison Consolidated High School’s Gary O’Neal Field.

On a Saturday, June 22 that saw more than a two-hour weather delay, two teams combined for 29 runs and 32 hits (including a home run and seven doubles) in the first two games of the 2019 Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association North/South All-Star Series.

After the South won 7-3 in Game 1, the North came back with a 16-3 triumph in Game 2 and now leads the all-time series 67-63 heading into Game 3 at noon Sunday. The all-stars will wear their high school uniforms and swing wood bats. Like Saturday, the contest is scheduled for nine innings.

Game 1

SOUTH 7, NORTH 3

Parker Maddox (Columbus North) was winning pitcher. Wyatt Geesaman (Jay County) absorbed the loss in relief.

The North scored one run against Lane Oesterling (Batesville) in the top of the ninth inning to make 7-3.

With one out (swinging strikeout), Matt Dutkowski (NorthWood) was hit by a pitch, moved to second on a single to left field by right-hander Hunter Robinson (New Prairie) then to third base on a passed ball and scored on a wild pitch.

All three outs were strikeouts.

The South went down in order against right-hander Reece Rodabaugh (Lewis Cass) in the bottom of the eighth with a fly-out, groundout and infield pop-out.

The North scored a run against Oesterling in the top of the eighth to cut the score to 7-2.

Brock Boynton (Penn) doubled to left and moved to third base and then scored on a wild pitch and passed ball.

South went down in order against Rodabaugh in the bottom of the seventh with a fly-out, line drive snagged by Rodabaugh and strikeout (looking).

The North left a runner at second base against right-hander Drew Buhr (Austin) in the top of the seventh.

Garrison Brege (Norwell) on reached on an error and stole second base.

The outs were a come-backer to the mound and two strikeouts (swinging and looking).

White out the South away in order in the bottom of the sixth with a fly-out, strikeout and groundout.

Buhr set the North down 1-2-3 in the top of the sixth with a groundout, fly-out and come-backer.

The South produced two runs against right-hander Kyle Iwinski (Griffith) in the bottom of the fifth for a 7-1 lead.

Ethan Vecrumba (Edgewood) reached on an error and Julian Greenwell (Columbus East) walked.

Brodey Heaton (Castle) singled to right, plating Vecrumba. Denton Shepler (Union County) singled to right, knocking in Greenwell.

Gavin White (Western) then replaced Iwinski on the mound for the North.

The North turned a double play, cutting down runners trying to steal and second base and at the plate to end the inning.

North stranded a runner at third base against Buhr in the top of the fifth.

Chase Franz (Eastside) drew a lead-off walk, stole second base and moved to third base on a groundout. The threat ended with a infield pop-out and fly-out.

The South tallied three runs against Iwinski in the bottom of the fourth for a 5-1 edge.

Greenwell singled to left and later scored on an outfield error.

Kiel Brenczewski (Fishers) singled to left and later crossed the plate on an infield single by Jack Walker (New Palestine).

Courtesy runner Steven Molinet (Tecumseh) scored on a single to left by Brian Keeney (Roncalli).

The North went scoreless against right-hander Maddox in the top of the fourth.

Josh Dippold (Fort Wayne Bishop Luers) drew a lead-off walk, moved to second base on a balk, third base on a groundout and was tagged out at the plate by catcher Keeney after he retrieved a wild pitch.

Blaine McMahel (Jeffersonville) rapped a two-run single to left against right-hander Geesaman with two outs in the bottom of the third to put the South up 2-1.

Walker drew a lead-off walk (Park Tudor’s Chris Wilson ran for him) and Mark Broderick (Danville) was hit by a pitch. Wilson and Broderick scored on McMahel’s two-bagger.

The North left a runner at first base in the top of the third.

Boynton pulled a one-out single to right. Maddox then replaced Helton on the mound for the South with one out and one on.

South catcher Keeney threw a strike to second baseman Brege to cut down Boynton trying to steal second base for the second out.

After a single to right by Kyle Schmack (South Central of Union Mills), Maddox racked up a strikeout for the third out.

Left-hander Grant Besser (South Adams) set the North down in order in the second with two groundouts and strikeout (swinging).

The North took a 1-0 lead against right-hander Helton in the top of the second.

Schmack smacked a lead-off double to center.

After two strikeouts (one looking, one swinging), Dutkowski lashed a single to left to drive in Schmack.

Angel DiFederico (New Haven) walked and Brege reached on an infield single to load the bases and that’s how the frame ended.

The South went down 1-2-3 against Besser in the bottom of the first with two strikeouts (one looking, one swinging) and a come-backer.

The North went down in order against Helton in the top of the first with two groundouts and infield pop-out.

Game 2

North 16, South 3

Right-hander Ryan Fender (Crown Point) was the winning pitcher.

Right-hander Dylan Steele (Bloomington North) took the loss.

Connor Ayers (McCutcheon) came on to pitch the top of the ninth for the North.

Tucker Schank (Southridge) was hit by a pitch and was later thrown out at third base on a single to left by Cooper Terry (South Vermillion).

A fielder’s choice and strikeout (looking) put an end to the contest.

The North scored four two-out runs against credited to Terry in the bottom of the eighth for a 16-3 edge.

Dippold singled to left. After two groundouts moved Dippold to third base, Tucker Platt (Logansport) singled to center to drive him in.

Charlie Howe (Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger) doubled to center to drive in pinch-runner White and Manous (who walked).

Austin Weimer (Lawrenceburg) then relieved Terry. Patrick Farrisee (South Bend St. Joseph) singled in Howe with the 16th run.

Right-hander Grant Jablonski (Mishawaka) retired the South in order in the top of the eighth with two strikeouts (looking and swinging) and a groundout.

The North went down in order against right-hander Damien Wallace (Indianapolis Cardinal Ritter) in the bottom of the seventh with a fly-out and two strikeouts (looking and swinging).

The South scored one run against Jablonski in the top of the  seventh to cut the gap to 12-3.

Ethan Getz (South Dearborn) smacked a two-out single to left to drive in Greenwell (dropped third strike).

Vecrumba and Keeney walked to load the bases before Jablonski racked up his fourth strikeout of the inning.

The North sent 10 batters to the plate and five runners crossed it in the bottom of the sixth for a 12-2 advantage.

With one out, Farrisee reached on an error. With two outs, Garrett Manous (Munster) was hit by pitch. Trey Stokes (Alexandria) then drew a walk.

Brege singled to right to drive in Farrisee Wallace then relieved right-hander Cody Swimm (Hagerstown). Angel DiFederico (New Haven) singled to right to score Manous and Stokes.

Schmack’s bad-hop single plated Brege and DiFederico.

The South left one runner against Geesaman in the top of the sixth.

After a groundout, Tyler Kapust (Silver Creek) drew a walk before two strikeouts (both looking).

The North produced two runs against Swimm in the bottom of the fifth for a 7-2 lead.

With two outs, Schmack doubled to right, plating Stokes (walk) and Brege (walk).

The South left runners at first and second against White in the top of the fifth.

Greenwell singled to right was wiped out when Schank reached on a fielder’s choice. Getz walked with two outs before an inning-ending strikeout by White.

The North tallied one run in the bottom of the fourth for a 5-2 lead.

With one out, Brege walked and Schmack singled to center. Brege moved to second base on an error, third base on Schmack’s single and scored on a passed ball.

Boynton walked before Swimm came on in relief of Steele and coerced a fly-out and groundout.

The South left a runner at first base against Fender in the top of the fourth.

With one out, Kapust was hit by a pitch before a groundout and inning-ending strikeout (swinging).

Ayers rapped a two-out, three-run double to the fence in left to against Steele in the bottom of the third to put the North ahead 4-2.

Boynton reached on dropped third strike while Howe and Kyle Pepiot (Westfield) both walked. All three scored on the game-cleaner by Ayers.

Fender struck out the side in the South top of the third (two looking, one swinging).

The North had a runner thrown out at third base for the second out in the bottom of the second.

With one out, Dippold walked against right-hander Cam Saunders (Crawfordsville) in the top of the third. Dippold was gunned out —right fielder Molinet to third baseman Shepler — on a single to right by Franz.

The South stranded runners at second and third against right-hander Robinson in the top of the second.

Kapust doubled to left and Shepler singled to center. Both moved up a base on an error. Robinson coerced an inning-ending groundout.

The North scored one run against Saunders in the bottom of the first to pull within 2-1.

With two outs, Platt singled to center and courtesy runner Jablonski later scored when Pepiot walked with the bases loaded.

A Saunders curveball yielded an inning-ending strikeout (swinging).

A day after competing in the all-star home run derby, Vecrumba socked a two-out, two-run homer to center against Robinson in the top of the first to give the South a 2-0 lead.

The first out of the game was a spectacular running catch in short center field by shortstop Dippold to take a hit away from Schank.

After a fly-out, McMahel walked and scored on Vecrumba’s dinger.

The third out was a strikeout (looking).