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Lawrence North Knocks off No. 1 Cathedral for Sectional Crown; Recap of Sectional 10 Semi-Finals

June 1, 2015



By Phil Wade
Indiana Executive Director



INDIANAPOLIS—Saturday afternoon featured a rematch of last year’s sectional 10 final with No. 1 Cathedral and No. 13 Lawrence North squaring off.  The Irish defeated the Wildcats 6-5 in last year’s final and also handed LN a 5-1 loss earlier this spring.

With revenge on their minds, Lawrence North jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first.  Sophomore Drew Jones drew a lead-off walk to get things started for LN in the top half of the first.  Jones eventually moved to third off of Justin Reed’s sacrifice bunt and Nolan Watson’s ground ball to second.  With two outs and Jones on third, Junior Duncan Hewitt singled to left driving home Jones for the early 1-0 lead.  Looking to extend the inning and the lead, Junior left-handed hitter Coby Taylor stepped up to the plate.  After getting down 1-2, Taylor drove the next pitch deep over the left-field wall giving the Wildcats the 3-0 advantage.

Cathedral answered with a run of their own in the bottom of the second.  After consecutive walks from Jack Schmidt and Andy Krull, Junior Nick Andriole laid down a sacrifice bunt moving Schmidt and Krull to second and third with one out.  Sophomore Charlie Gomez hit a deep fly to center, scoring Schmidt which cut the deficit to two.

The Wildcats tacked on another run in the third off an RBI single from Taylor.  Watson, who singled to start the inning, scored on Taylor’s base hit giving LN a 4-1 lead. 

In the bottom half of the third, the Irish got back in the game scoring two runs of their own.  Freshman Jared Poland drove a two out double off the center-field wall, setting things up for senior Adam Neal.  On a 2-2 count Neal blasted a ball over the left center-field wall cutting the deficit to 4-3. 

Neal’s third inning homer was the last time the Irish would see runners cross the plate.  Lawrence North tacked on an insurance run in the top of the fourth when senior Sam Vandermark scored on back-to-back Irish errors. 

Lawrence North senior southpaw Myc Witty showed toughness and poise throughout the games entirety.  The 5-foot-10, 155 pound Lincoln Trail commit went all seven innings, despite an hour and 10 minute lightening delay, scattering five hits and struck out nine Irish hitters.  After giving up the two run homer in the third, Witty settled in striking out the side in the fourth and striking out Poland and getting Neal to fly out after a one out walk in the fifth.  After the delay, Witty retired six of the last seven hitters, getting his ninth strikeout to end the game. 

Lawrence North will play in their first Regional since 2003 and will face the winner of the Pendleton Heights sectional Saturday at 1 pm.  The winner of that game advances to the Regional final at 8 pm that night. 

Cathedral, Lawrence North Advance to Sectional Championship Game- 5/29/15

By Deryck Ramey
PBR Indiana

INDIANAPOLIS - Roncalli's LaPinta Field was home to four of the state's top teams Friday night as it played host to No. 1 Cathedral, No. 11 Roncalli, No. 12 Lawrence Central and No. 13 Lawrence North.  

The ballpark began filling up more than an hour before the game as fans, scouts, and front office personnel began filling up the bleachers and the backstop in anticipation of  two pitching duels. Game one would see Christian Beard (Indiana) challenge Ashe Russell (Texas A&M), and would be trailed by Nolan Watson (Vanderbilt) and Jarrett Montgomery (Florida State).  

And while a few big numbers flashed across the back of the 15 radar guns, bats took the stage and propelled Cathedral and Lawrence North to Saturday's afternoon championship. 

Roncalli 1, Cathedral 10

Ashe Russell brings with him a crowd of spectators as his draft stock has continued to rise throughout the last couple of years.  Russell will likely hear his name called early next month on the first day of the 2015 MLB draft.  

Russell highlighted his command early with a low-to-mid 90's fastball and slider that struck out nine Rebels on the evening including five of the first six batters that came to the dish.  

The Irish were able to give their ace some early relief by putting four runners across the plate with two outs in the bottom of the second. After retiring two, Rebel righty Christian Beard walked three of the next four hitters. Evan Whigham, Brantley Johnson, and Adam Neal picked up the RBIs.  

The bottom of the third was more of the same as an error and a Conner Mullin homerun gave the Irish a 7-0 lead. Three batters later, Freshman Jared Poland launched a three run shot over the left center fence to make the lead double digits.  

That was all Russell needed on the way to a 10-1 victory and a pass to Saturday's championship game where they would face the winner of the late game between Lawrence Central and Lawrence North. 

Lawrence Central 1, Lawrence North 9

Much of game one's crowd stuck around to see the battle between two rivals and two hard-throwing pitchers. This the third game between the two teams, with the previous two seeing Lawrence Central walking away with smiles. 

No runs and no hits in the first 2 1/2 innings as Watson and Montgomery struck out a combined five hitters with fastballs from 92-95 (Watson) and 88-91 (Montgomery).  

A big third inning saw fourteen Lawrence North hitters come to the plate, eight runs and three different pitchers that changed the game for good.  

Watson, who like Russell from the night's first game is starting to hear his name mentioned as an early round draft option, was dominate the entire evening. A high velocity fastball commanded the zone, but it was his slider that impressed and sat down 11 Bears hitters. His counterpart supplied the only blemish on his line as Montgomery lifted a two strike homerun high over the centerfield fence late in the game. 

Justin Reed led the Wildcats offensively with a 2 for 3 night, a walk and an RBI. Tyler Hofmann also added two RBIs to the cause.

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