By Phil Wade
Director, PBR Indiana  

It’s not often you get a match-up of the two top ranked teams in the state during the first week of the season, however, quality wins by both Cathedral and Westfield Friday and early Saturday in the Inaugural Midwest Classic at Grand Park in Westfield, IN, set up the early No. 1 vs No. 2 match-up in the championship game late Saturday afternoon.

No. 1 Cathedral started off the tournament with a battle against No. 10 Lake Central, where the Irish eventually won 6-5.  Ashe Russell, the No. 1 ranked prospect in Indiana’s 2015 class, got the start and the win going 4 2/3 innings.  The Irish would then beat No. 13 Zionsville in a semi-final game 7-4. 

No. 2 Westfield won their first game in the Midwest Classic 7-1 over Michigan’s No. 18 ranked team Howell High School. The Shamrocks won a semi-final match-up 7-1 over who many considered the team to beat in the tournament, St. Laurence High school, the No. 2 ranked team in Illinois. 

With both team’s number one arms done for the weekend, the heavy weight battle featured Cathedral Senior RHP Jake McCarty vs. Westfield Junior RHP Jacob Robinson. 

Both teams had opportunities to in the first two innings to put runs on the board, but both McCarty and Robinson were able to get out of jams.  It wasn't until the bottom half of the third where we would see runs cross the plate. Westfield senior Alec Nelson singled in the first run of the game giving the Shamrocks a 1-0 lead.  Junior Chris Ayers, an Indiana State commit, would later triple, driving in two more Westfield runs extending the lead to 3-0.

The three runs were all the Shamrocks would need as Robinson shut down the Irish offense throughout the game allowing just four hits and a walk while striking out five.  

CLICK HERE to read scouting notes from this game and from other action this season.