By Pete Cava
PBR Indiana Correspondent

INDIANAPOLIS – Even with the International League West Division-leading Indians on the road in Pawtucket, Indianapolis fans enjoyed outstanding baseball Friday night. 

The seventh annual Victory Field Classic featured a doubleheader between four central Indiana 4A powers, with the Plainfield Quakers taking on the No. 9 Franklin Central Flashes in the first contest. 

In the nightcap, the No. 6 Carmel Greyhounds took on the  No. 15 Westfield Shamrocks. Westfield was the IHSAA State 4A runnerup in 2009. 

The event was presented by the Indiana National Guard. The first contest began at 5:30 under cloudy skies with temperatures hovering around the 50-degree mark. 

Durm's hitting, Jake Sprinkle's hurling spark Flashes: No. 9 Franklin Central won its eighth in a row, beating Plainfield 3-1 behind right-hander Jake Sprinkle's compete game performance and a 2-for3 night by Cory Durm that ignited a pair of run-scoring rallies. 

The Flashes (12-2 ) took a 1-0 lead in the third when Durm, hitting in the nine-hole, led off with a ringing double down the third base line. He scored one out later on Ben Sprinkle's single up the middle. 

The Quakers (11-6) made it 1-1 in the bottom of the fourth. Peyton Jones doubled and went to third on a Alec Caprarella's base hit to right. Jake Sprinkle fanned the next two Plainfield batters, but Hunter Smith followed with a run-scoring ground single to center.

Caprarella, who started for Plainfield, gave way to Nick Cottongim when Franklin Central regained the lead in the top of the fifth. 

Durm started things again, this time with a one-out double to right, and took third when Jon Knies bunted safely to third. Ben Sprinkle's single to short plated Durm as the Flashes went up 2-1 to end Caprarella's night. 

Franklin Central struck again in the top of the sixth when Ryne Carnes led off with a triple to right-center and flew home on Jake Sprinkle's sac fly to left. 

Anton Hummel pitched a scoreless seventh for Plainfield.

“We knew coming in, (Plainfield) would would hit the ball pretty well,” said Jake Sprinkle, who said he relied on his fastball, mixed in with “a couple of curves, sliders and two-strike change-ups, to keep them off-balance.” 

Winning at Victory Field was “a thrill,” Jake said. “We're really excited now. We played really well.” 

Jake praised Durm's performance at the plate and in left field. “He hit the ball pretty good,” said Jake, “and made some pretty good plays in the outfield, too.” 

Jake, who scattered seven hits, also gave credit to his brother Ben, who had four hits in four trips to the plate. “He's been hitting good lately,” Jake added. “He stayed hot this game, and that's what we needed.”

                                                  R  H  E

Franklin Central  0 0 1   0 1 1   0 - 3  9   0

Plainfield             0 0 0   1 0 0   0 - 1  7   0  

Strong pitching, baserunning lifts Westfield past Carmel Luke Dietz's five-hit pitching and Westfield's daring baserunning lifted the Shamrocks past Carmel 5-2 in the nightcap.

Class 4A No. 15 Westfield (9-5) ended a seven-game win streak for the No. 6 Greyhounds (10-2).

Westfield took a 1-0 advantage in the top of the third. Matt Kinney drew a one-out walk and was forced at second by Chris Ayers' grounder to Carmel shortstop Sam Berry. After a walk to Jake Dietz, Ayers rode in on Bailey Partlow's single to center.

The Shamrocks tacked on three more in in the fifth. Carmel starter Ryan Campbell issued a two-out walk to Ayers, followed by Jake Dietz's infield hit.

With Partlow batting, Ayers stole third to put runners at the corners. “The pitcher (Campbell) was in a pattern, and we noticed that early,” said Westfield manager Ryan Bunnell. “We told him (Ayers) if he was on second and (Campbell) was in that pattern, he could take advantage of it.”

After Dietz took to second without a throw, and Partlow had an infield hit that scored Ayers and moved Dietz to third.

With an 0-2 count on clean-up hitter Cole McCrary, Campbell threw over to first and appeared to have Partlow picked off. On the ensuing rundown, however, Dietz took off from third and beat the throw home.

“We actually didn't execute that the way we wanted,” said Bunnell. “We wanted to see if we could get (Campbell) to balk. It was supposed to be a hard break, and then pull up, and we just kind of walked off. We were down two strikes with Cole. Percentages really aren't in our favor there, and we thought we'd try to create something, and it worked out to our advantage.”

McCrary followed with a booming triple to center to make it 4-0.

The Shamrocks added one more run in the sixth. Jacob Robinson walked and took second on a single by Nick Ferrer. Nick Maier came in to pitch for Carmel, and Milo Beam greeted him with a scorching liner. Beam's drive knocked Maier to the ground, but the right-hander recovered and threw home. Robinson was safe when the throw went wide of the plate.

Ferrer attempted to score from second on the play, but was gunned down by a strong throw to Maier from Giannini, Carmel's catcher.

After giving up a leadoff single to Carmel's Thomas Baldwin, Westfield starter Luke Dietz didn't allow another hit until the bottom of the sixth. The Greyhounds scored a pair of runs that inning on Baldwin's single and back-to-back doubles by David Layman and Giannini.

Dietz went all the way for Westfield, allowing five hits and a pair of walks while striking out six. Partlow went 2-for-4 for the Shamrocks with a pair of runs batted in.

                                          R  H   E

Westfield  0 0 1    0 3 1    0 - 5   6    0           

Carmel      0 0 0    0 0 2    0 - 2   5   1 

Gimme a Head With Hair: At times, Franklin Central coach John Rockey has trouble telling his players apart. Not all of them – just seniors Ben and Jake Sprinkle, who are twins. 

Ben, who wears No. 6, played third Friday and batted second for the Flashes while Jake, No. 19, took the mound and hit sixth. 

“I really had a struggle their freshman and sophomore years,” said Rockey. “They looked so alike. I told one of them not to cut his hair, so that I could have one with long hair and one with short hair.” 

Since then, Rockey's had better luck figuring out who's who. “Jake's put on a few pounds, so he's actually a little bigger than Ben,” said the skipper. “Jake had the long hair, but it's not long any more. He cut it. But Ben pretty much burred his off, so I can tell them apart now.” 

The Sprinkles shouldn't have any problems next year in college. That's because Ben will attend Kentucky Wesleyan while Jake is headed to Indianapolis.  

Not everybody loves Lucy: Plainfield pitcher-outfielder Antonio Lucciola, a junior plays baseball underhanded. 

No, the right-hander doesn't throws spitters or load up on pine tar. He just throws that way.

And it can be an unsettling sight to hitters. “Usually, their mouths drop when they get up there,” he said. 

Lucciola – known to his Quaker teammates as 'Lucy' – said he switched from an overhand delivery when he was still in elementary school. “I hurt my arm in fourth grade,” he explained. “It hurt to throw over the top from the mound. So I started experimenting, and started throwing underhanded. It felt pretty good and I just kept practicing. Now, that's all I do.” 

Not all of his pitches come from down under. “Every once in a while, depending on the batter, I'll come over the top,” he said. “It keeps them off-balance.” 

Pass the Aspirin: Westfield coach Ryan Bunnell said his Shamrocks have been plagued by illness and injuries of late. 

“We've had trouble keeping everybody healthy,” said Bunnell. “Chris Ayers (junior pitcher-outfielder and an Indiana State commit) has a biceps issue, and we're dealing with a couple of knee injuries.” 

“We played well out first three games,” Bunnell continued. “The injuries started after spring break. Since then, we've been inconsistent. Pitching and defense are our strong points. We're still trying to find our rhythm. We're looking forward to getting everyone back to full strength.” 

Roman's Empire: Second-year Carmel coach Dan Roman says four of his players have made college choices. Catcher Tony Giannini will attend Ohio University, right-hander Matt Rearick plans to attend Olney Central (an Illinois junior college) and Matt Wehner, another righty, will head to Hope College in Michigan. Junior right-hander Ryan Campbell, Carmel's starting pitcher Friday, committed to Pittsburgh last year