By Pete Cava
PBR Indiana Correspondent 

Cardinal Ritter advanced to the next weekend's Class 2A Semi-States with a pair of wins in Regional 11 play Saturday at Park Tudor in Indianapolis.  

Jake Purichia, who quarterbacked the Raiders to a state football title last fall, sparked Ritter with his arm in the first game and with his bat in the nightcap. 

1^st Game – Knightstown 12, Covenant Christian 11 (9 innings):  Sophomore shortstop Drake Peggs singled home two runs in the bottom of the ninth, ending a three-hour, 13-minute marathon and propelling the Panthers to Saturday night's championship contest. 

“I've had a knot in my stomach about this game since I got up this morning,” said Knightstown coach Daren Hardesty, who watched his team squander a 7-3 lead and bounce back twice from extra-inning deficits.  “We came out here knowing it was going to be a close game.  We knew it was going to be a fight.  We knew they weren't going to give us anything.”   

Coming into Saturday's game, Covenant Christian (13-16) had won seven of its last eight, including an 8-7 victory over Cascade in the Sectional 44 title game Tuesday at Speedway.  Knightstown claimed the Sectional 43 crown with a 3-1 win over Centerville.  

The Warriors scored a run off Knightstown left-hander Tyler Richardson in the top of the first.  After Jake LaBounty led off with a base hit and was caught stealing, Eric Murphy drew a walk.  Evan Jackman's single advanced Murphy to second, and Steven Watson's line drive to left gave the Warriors a 1-0 lead. 

Knightstown (23-7) came back in the bottom of the first with three runs off Covenant Christian starter Grayson Prather. 

Peggs started the inning with a walk and took second on a wild pitch.  One out later, Richardson helped his own cause with a run-scoring single.  Isaac McRoberts' hit moved Richardson to second, and when Spencer Mattix laced a single to center, Knightstown took the lead.  McRoberts came home on a fielder's choice for a 3-1 Panthers lead. 

Covenant Christian came up with a run in the top of the second on Peter Gegg's leadoff double and a one-out single by A.J. Taylor.  The Warriors loaded the bases, but Richardson struck out the next two batters to prevent further damage.  

The Panthers added three more in the bottom of the frame.  Mike Jones started things with a leadoff double and strolled home on Peggs' two-base hit to right-center.  

That ended Prather's outing.  LaBounty moved from shortstop to the mound, with Taylor going from behind the plate to short and Prather taking over behind the plate. 

Peggs moved to third on a fly to right and scored on a wild pitch.  With two out, McRoberts went to third on a single by Mattix.  With a 1-1 count on Jake Bearhope, Mattix took off for second and got hung up.  A second before he was tagged out, McRoberts crossed the plate to give Knightstown a 6-2 lead.  

In the top of the sixth, Covenant Christian picked up a run when Taylor's two-out single scored Prather from second.

Knightstown made it 7-3 in its half of the fifth when Bearhope's single brought in McRoberts from third.

In the top of the sixth, Knightstown coach Hardesty replaced Richardson with another southpaw, sophomore Max Rhinehart.  Covenant Christian loaded the bases on an outfield error, a hit batsman and a single.  Ethan Law's sacrifice fly brought in a run, and when Gegg followed with a triple to left-center, Knightown's lead was down to one run.  Spencer Mattix moved over from third to replace Rhinehart for Knightstown.  The next Covenant Christian batter, Caleb Keehner, hit a sacrifice fly that tied the game.  Taylor walked and stole second, and when LaBounty followed with a double, Covenant Christian had the lead.  Eric Murphy grounded to short, but was safe on a two-base throwing error that scored LaBounty as the Warriors pulled ahead 9-7. 

Knightstown knotted the score at 9-all in its half of the sixth.  With one away, Peggs legged out an infield hit.  One out later, he moved to third on Richardson's line single to right.  After Richardson stole second, McRoberts  hit a grounder to short.  McRoberts beat the throw to first, which was wild, and two runs scored to make it 9-9.

Neither side could muster a run in the seventh, sending the game into overtime.

In the top of the eighth, Covenant Christian went up 10-9 when Watson's double plated Jackman, who had drawn a two-out walk. 

Knightstown pulled even in the bottm of the eighth.  After singles by Peggs and Kaleb Kinnaman, LaBounty left in favor of Jackman, who had started the game at first base for Covenant Christian.  Jackman walked Richardson to fill the sacks.  McRoberts flied to right, and when the ball was misplayed for an error, Peggs waltzed home to make it 10-all.

Covenant Christian took the lead again in the ninth.  Gegg's one-out single and Keehner's muffed fly ball gave the Warriors runners at first and second.  With Knightstown's infield in, Taylor laid down a squeeze bunt to score Gegg.

The Warriors took an 11-10 lead into the bottom of the ninth, and Jackman struck out Knightstown's first batter.  The next three Panthers walked, and with Covenant Christian's infield drawn in, Peggs ended the game with a sharp single to right that scored two runs.

“Just getting those big hits when we needed them – I can't say enough about my guys,” said Hardesty.  “They all just stepped up. ”

Notes:  Knightstown has only two seniors – twin  brothers Levi Jessup and Drew Jessup.  The rest of the 16-man Panthers squad consists of five juniors, six sophomores and three freshmen. 

Covenant Christian coach Andy Gossel said two of his players have made college commitments thus far.  LaBounty will attend Trine while Keehner is headed for Bethel. 

2^nd Game – Cardinal Ritter 3, Heritage Christian 2:  The second semifinal was a very different contest, with Jake Purichia of the Raiders and Eagles sophomore Ronnie Timmerman hooking up in a pitcher's duel. 

The two right-handers went all the way.  Puricihia, a University of Indianapolis football recruit, scattered six hits and walked three while striking out five.  Timmerman, a diminutive sophomore, surrendered six hits, three bases on balls and hit a batter.  

Ritter (21-7) took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first.  Logan Beaman opened with a single and Jake Hagan walked.  One out later, Beaman came home on Tommy Waites' single.

Heritage Christian (18-14) got the run back in the second.  Timmerman's base hit and a walk to Brock Grinstead put runners at first and second.  Miles Furnish followed with a grounder to third, but the throw to first was wild and Timmerman scored to tie the game at 1-1.

The Eagles struck again in the fourth when Alec Barber ripped a two-out single, stole second and came home on John Bryant's two-bagger.

Ritter made it 2-2 in the bottom of the inning.  Kyle Matter and Isaac Wynne opened the frame with singles and moved up on Danny Kivett's bunt.  Dylan Faulkenburg followed with a squeeze bunt that brought in Matter. 

Ritter scored the deciding run in the bottom of the sixth.  Matter singled and one out later, Timmerman drilled pinch-hitter Blake Malatestinic.  Faulkenburg followed with a grounder to third, where Heritage Christian's Lake Webb fielded the ball and threw to second for the force.  The second baseman dropped the ball, however, and Matter scooted home for a 3-2 Raiders lead.

Purichia, who pitched shutout ball over the last three frames, said he went to his fastball, curve and changeup against the Eagles.  “That's my main three pitches.” he said.  “My curve ball was working.  Once I got on top of it, and threw it like I normally throw it, it was really working.” 

Ritter and Heritage Christian split two previous meetings, with the Eagles victorious by a 5-4 score on May 10 and the Raiders winning a 15-0 blowout on May 19.

“I expected us to come out and do more than we did” said Purichia.  “But then they came out and played good ball, and we're lucky we got the win.” 

Purichia praised Timmerman, his mound opponent.  “His fastball was looking real good” said Purichia.  “His curve ball got me a few times.  I don't know what grade he's in, but he's pretty good.”

Championship – Cardinal Ritter 11, Knightstown 1 (5 innings):  Raiders scored four runs in the third inning, one in the fourth and six more in the bottom of the fifth to put away the Panthers. 

Jake Purichia, who played second base, drove in five runs for the winners with a pair of doubles in four trips to the plate, while center fielder Jake Hagan contributed three hits.

Knightstown nicked Ritter left-hander Logan Beaman for a run in the top of the first.  Kaleb Kinnaman smacked a one-out double to left and moved to third on Beaman's wild pitch.  When another pitch from Beaman was in the dirt, Kinnaman scored standing up.

Ritter went ahead in the bottom of the third.  Anthony Ryback, Beaman and Jake Hagan opened the inning with consecutive singles, and Purichia's towering double to center cleared the bases.  Purichia took third on a wild pitch and scored on an infield out for a 4-1 Raiders advantage.

With two gone in the fifth, Ritter added another run.  Ryback walked and pilfered second, and Beaman's single to right made it 5-1.

The game ended on the 10-run rule in the bottom of the fifth.  The Raiders scored three runs off Knightstown starter Jake Kwisz, and three more off reliever Max Rhinehart.  A pair of errors, two walks and a wild pitch did most of the damage.  Hagan's double made it 9-1, and Purichia's two-base hit to right center plated two more to cap off the one hour, 27-minute game.

“They just went out and played the game the way we taught them to play all year,” said Ritter coach Dave Scott.  “They executed when they were supposed to.  I think the way we're playing right know, if we can keep this momentum going, we'll be tough.  We're a tough team”

Scott said Ritter's success in football transfers to the baseball team.  “I think we have seven or eight guys who played on the state championship team,” he added.  “That was a great thing coming into this program.  We've got great talent, but you've also got guys who know how to win.  And that's something that's hard to teach.” 

Notes:  Senior Dylan Falkenburg is a three-sport athlete for Cardinal Ritter.  The burly backstop was an offensive and defensive lineman as well as a long snapper on the football squad.  He also placed fourth in the 220-pound weight class at the IHSAA wrestling championships.