By Pete Cava
PBR Indiana Correspondent

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CLASS 2A – #3 PROVIDENCE 7, KNIGHTSTOWN 4:  Prior to Saturday’s Class 2A semistate contest at Plainfield High School, a young fan sat in the bleachers, blowing soap bubbles that drifted down toward the playing field. 

When the contest got underway, Jake Lewis and Joe Wilkinson of Providence burst Knightstown’s bubble as the third-ranked Pioneers (26-2) advanced to next weekend's Class 2A championship game at Victory Field in Indianapolis.   

Providence (Clarksville, Ind.) meets Lafayette Central Catholic, 6-1 winners over Hebron in Saturday’s other 2A semistate contest at Plymouth. 

Wilkinson, a freshman right fielder, ignited the Pioneers with a three-run homer while Lewis, a 6-2, 193-pound senior left-hander, pitched a complete-game two-hitter. 

The game was scoreless heading into the bottom of the second, when Parker Graf of Providence reached on an error and went to third on Reece Davis’s double to right-center.   

Wilkinson, batting seventh for the Pioneers, blasted a 2-1 delivery from Knightstown starter Spencer Mattix over the right field fence.  “It was an outside fastball,” said the 6-2, 180-pound Wilkinson, who committed to the University of Louisville this year.  “I thought it was going to hit the top of the fence.  But it just kept going, and then I saw the outfielder's back turned.” 

Knightstown (22-9) made it 3-all in the top of the third on one hit and a pair of Providence errors.  Kaunner Cleek opened the frame for the Panthers with a base on balls.  Jose Olivo followed with a bunt, and when the throw to second was off the mark, all hands were safe. 

After Lewis struck out of the next batter, Mattix lifted a fly ball down the right field line. Wilkinson made a diving catch to prevent a sure extra-base hit, with Cleek taking third. 

Two runs crossed the plate when Drake Peggs doubled to center and went to third on an outfield error. 

Isaac McRoberts walked to put runners at first and third for the Panthers, and with Jake Bearhope batting, McRoberts took off for second.  As McRoberts slid into the bag ahead of the throw, Peggs raced home with the tying run. 

Providence went up 7-3 in the bottom of the fourth, sending eight men to the plate and knocking Mattix out of the box. 

Graf started the inning with a base on balls and stole second.  One out later, the Pioneers loaded the bases on a walk to Wilkinson and single to center by Jay Lorenz.  After two runs scored on Juston Betz’s base hit, Mattix switched positions with third baseman Kaunner Cleek. 

Bret Aria, the first batter Cleek faced, executed a suicide squeeze that scored Lorenz and sent Betz to third.  Lewis followed with a double down the right field line that scored Betz with the fourth tally of the inning. 

Knightstown picked up a run in the top of the sixth on a walk to McRoberts, a two-base outfield error and an infield out. 

Lewis closed out the 94-minute contest with a perfect seventh inning, getting the final out on a called third strike.  He finished with four strikeouts and four walks.  

All four Knightstown runs were unearned but, said Lewis, “They hit me really well today.  They're just an overall good-hitting team.” 

The Eastern Kentucky recruit said the complete-game victory meant more to him than his 2-for-4 performance at the plate. “Especially in this heat,” Lewis added.  

Saturday's first game took place under mostly sunny skies, with temperatures in the low 90s. 

CLASS 4A – RONCALLI 8, CENTER GROVE 5 (8 INNINGS):  The Rebels (22-9) tied the game in the top of the seventh and scored four runs in the eighth to get past the never-say-die Trojans (24-4).  

Saturday’s second contest at Plainfield figured to be a duel between two of the premier high school pitchers in Indiana – Center Grove’s Jacob Cantleberry and Michael McAvene of Roncalli.    

The left-handed Cantleberry will pitch for San Jacinto next season, while McAvene is still pondering his future.  The 6-foot-5 right-hander decommitted from Purdue after Boilermaker coach Doug Schreiber stepped down last month.  

With McAvene considering his next move, there was considerable speculation he’d be selected in this week’s Major League Baseball draft.  

Saturday ended with McAvene’s future still up in the air … except for next week’s engagement with Zionsville for the 4A championship.  The Eagles defeated Penn 9-5 in Saturday’s other 4A semistate at Kokomo.      

While McAvene finished with a dozen strikeouts and Cantleberry fanned nine, the seesaw contest wouldn’t exactly qualify as a pitchers’ battle. 

“It was exciting,” said Roncalli coach Aaron Kroll.  “It was a game that pretty much had about everything, I think – two really gritty teams that never gave up.  It was just one heck of a baseball game.” 

Roncalli took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second.  With two out, Will Harris reached second on a throwing error and Tyler Lucas drew an intentional walk.  The strategy backfired when Hayden Harper, the Rebels' ninth-place hitter, looped an RBI single to right. 

In the third, Roncalli added two more runs.  Jake Franklin led off with a double, and Nick Schnell's single made it 2-0.  After Schnell stole second, Cody Smith was hit by a pitch. Blake Chitwood followed with a bunt, which Cantleberry scooped up and fired to third. But Schnell beat the throw, filling the sacks, and when Dylan Williams grounded into a force at second, Schnell came in for a 3-0 Rebels lead. 

McAvene breezed through the first three innings in the meantime, striking out seven of the first nine Trojan batters he faced while not allowing a hit. 

Center Grove broke the spell in the bottom of the fourth on a walk to Will Smithey, Michael Wyman's ground single to left, and a bloop hit to center by Ryan Sauter that scored courtesy runner Jaylen Evans. 

The Trojans cut the deficit to 3-2 in the bottom of the fifth.  With one out, Ethan Brooks reached base on an error and Tye Thixton walked.  Both runners advanced when the home plate umpire called a balk on McAvene. 

With Roncalli playing in at the corners, Nick Coy sent a hard smash toward Rebel first baseman Tyler Lucas.  Lucas made a diving stop and got to the bag for the out as Brooks scored.  

Center Grove struck again in its half of the sixth.  Brian Gudeman started the frame with a single.  Sauter’s bunt sacrifice moved up pinch-runner Braden Parks. McAvene fanned the next batter, but Roncalli’s catcher couldn’t hold on to the third strike and pegged the ball to second in a vain attempt to pick off Parks. 

That put men at first and second for Center Grove with no outs.  A wild pitch moved the runners up a base.  McAvene caught the next hitter looking for the first out.  A passed ball brought home Parks with the tying run, and when Ethan Brooks drove a 3-1 pitch into center field for a triple, the Trojans were up 4-3. 

Three outs away from victory, Cantleberry walked Roncalli leadoff hitter Robbie Strader to open the seventh.  Strader took second on Franklin’s sacrifice, and when Schnell singled up the middle, Strader came in with the tying run. 

McAvene retired the Trojans in order in the bottom of the seventh. 

The decisive eighth inning began with a double to left by Roncalli designated hitter Dylan Williams.  Mark Cobb, batting for Will Harris, laid down a bunt toward the mound.  Cantleberry fielded the ball and fired to third, but his throw pulled Ryan Sauter off the bag.  

With runners at first and third for Roncalli, the Trojans intentionally walked Tyler Lucas and pulled in their infield.  Cantleberry struck out the next Rebel batter, but Strader followed with a hard grounder to short that went for an error.  Cobb scored on the play to give Roncalli a 5-4 lead. 

When Franklin singled to right, two more runs scored and Strader took third.  Jack Kellams relieved Cantleberry and walked Schnell to put runners at the corners once again for the Rebels.   When Kellams got Cody Smith on a grounder to second, Strader came in with Roncalli’s fourth run of the inning. 

Now, all McAvene needed in the bottom of the eighth was three outs.  

He didn’t get them.  Gudeman led off and was hit by a pitch, and after a walk to Sauter, Coach Kroll went to his bullpen.  “Michael battled hard,” said Kroll.  “We could tell he was getting tired, but we still like our chances with him on the mound, so we stuck with him.   He gave us everything he had.”      

Conrad Daniels replaced McAvene, and the lanky right-hander got the next batter to hit into a second-to-short-to first double play.  “We were fortunate enough to get the double-play ball,” Kroll said.  “It took a little bit of pressure off.”  

When Braden Pinegar followed with an RBI single and Brooks walked, Center Grove had the tying run at the plate.  Daniels got the next Trojan batter on a fly ball to center that ended the two-hour, 28-minute game. 

“They kept battling back, credit to them,” Kroll said.  “They’re a great team, and they never quit.  It was really tough for us to seal the deal.”  

Jake Franklin, Roncalli’s Missouri-bound shortstop, went 3-for-4 and knocked in two runs, while Schnell and Smith each had a pair of RBI. 

Center Grove collected five hits, four off McAvene and one off Daniels, who picked up the save.        

When the MLB draft ended Saturday, McAvene’s name hadn’t been announced.  He’ll continue to mull over his college options, according to Kroll.  ”He re-opened his recruiting due to the coaching change at Purdue.  He’s got a few schools that are in play right now.”  

Pete Cava is the author of Indiana-Born Major League Baseball Players:  A Biographical Dictionary, 1871-2014, now available from McFarland Publishers