By Pete Cava
PBR Indiana Correspondent

FISHERS 2, NORTH CENTRAL 0  

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Cameron Boyd and Luke Albright combined for a two-hit shutout Thursday, and the Tigers scored in their first and last at-bats as Fishers advanced to Monday's semifinal round in Class 4A Sectional 8 at Noblesville’s Dunker Field.   

The contest was a replay of last year’s sectional match-up between the two schools at Zionsville on May 29, 2015, when Luke Duermit beat North Central by the same score.  

Duermit also contributed to Thursday's win … this time with his bat. 

“It was definitely deja vu,” said Fishers coach Matthew Cherry. “I would have liked to have gotten a big hit in the first inning with the bases loaded, but a win's a win in the sectionals.” 

Fishers (17-13) touched North Central starter Alan Lozer for a run in the bottom of the first. Brendan Toungate, Taylor Soper and Craig Yoho singled to load the bases with nobody out. Lozer caught cleanup hitter Matthew Wolf looking for the first out. 

Andy Bennett followed with a sharp grounder to North Central first baseman Sam Behrmann, who smothered the ball and stepped on the bag for the second out. Berhmann fired to home plate, but Collin Statz, running for Toungate, beat the throw for a 1-0 Fishers lead. 

Lozer and Boyd then settled into a pitchers duel.  Boyd, one of three seniors on the Fishers roster, gave up a first-inning single to Lozer.  The right-hander didn't allow another hit until Sammy Lee's double in the fourth.  Boyd struck out the side in the second and made it four straight when he whiffed North Central's leadoff batter in the top of the third. 

After the first frame, the DePauw-bound Lozer held Fishers hitless until the bottom of the fourth inning with two away when Parker Wells beat out a single to short.  Lozer retired nine in a row before hitting Wolf with a pitch to start the fourth.  

In the top of the sixth, North Central (14-16-1) had the tying run 90 feet from home plate when Allbry Major drew a two-out walk and went to third on a wild pickoff throw. 

Boyd's next pitch bounced off the helmet of North Central's George Henss. With runners at the corners, Coach Cherry summoned Albright from the Fishers pen. The sophomore right-hander had an 0-2 count on Sammy Lee when Jordan Lloyd, running for Henss, broke for second. Albright turned and fired to second baseman Andy Bennett, who tagged Lloyd for the final out. 

Fishers threatened in the bottom of the frame when Caleb Brenczewski slammed an 0-2 pitch to center. Roy Thurman III raced back, attempting an over-the-shoulder diving catch. The ball grazed the glove of the Panthers center fielder and fell safely as Brenczewski flew around the bases for a triple. 

Cherry went to his bench and sent in Duermit, the pitching hero of last year's sectional game with North Central, to pinch-hit for Parker Wells. Duermit came through with a line single to center that made it 2-0. 

In the top of the seventh, Albright struck out the side to close out the one-hour, 45-minute game. Albright, who got credit for the save, threw 17 pitches, all but two of them for strikes. The victory went to Boyd, the IPFW recruit who notched five strikeouts and walked two over five and two-thirds innings. 

“It was great – really gutsy,” Cherry said of Boyd's performance. “He was our Number One going into the season, and then he had a little hiccup and missed a couple of weeks – kind of fatigue in his shoulder and elbow. He's doing great now. He's had a great last few outings.” 

WESTFIELD 4, HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN 1 
Ryan Pepiot threw four innings of no-hit ball for the Shamrocks and his teammates scored four times in the fourth en route to a win over the 4A No. 10 Royals. 

Hamilton Southeastern closed out its season with a record of 19 wins and nine losses. Three of those defeats were to Westfield (14-15), which opened the season with eight consecutive losses.    

“We were lucky,” said Westfield coach Ryan Bunnell:  “We’ve won three out of four now (against HSE this season).  We had two one run games – the first one and the second one, and we lost the third one 18-7. 

“We always play close games,” Bunnell added.  “They’re a good club, and Scott (Henson, HSE’s coach) does a great job with them.  We’re always in close, tight ballgames, so it’s a lot of fun.”     

The right-handed Pepiot and HSE southpaw Michael Pachmayer traded blanks until Westfield erupted in the bottom of the fourth inning. 

Harrison Freed led off the frame with a base hit and went to second on a wild pitch.  One out later, Matt Meyer drilled a rope to center that sent Freed sprinting toward the plate. Freed beat the throw home, with Meyer taking second.   

Jackson Garrett followed with a fly ball that landed just inside the right field foul line for a run-scoring double. Cam Nance ran for Garrett, and rode home on Logan Schneider's two-base hit to left.   

When Will McCool grounded to third, the throw to first was way off the mark for a two-base error and Schneider scored to give Westfield a 4-0 advantage. 

Pepiot didn't allow a hit until the top of the fifth, when the Royals made it 4-1.  After Brock Burns was struck by a pitch, Pachmayer laced a double to left for HSE's first hit of the game. That put runners at second and third for the Royals, and Cole Jacobs drew a four-pitch walk to load the bases. 

Burns scored on a short-to-second-to-first double play, and Pepiot got the next batter on a grounder to third to end the inning. 

HSE had the tying run at the plate in the top of the seventh when Pachmayer singled with one out and Jacobs was hit by a pitch.  Pepiot got the next batter on a called third strike and concluded the one-hour, 47-minute contest with a fly ball to left. 

Relying on a fastball, curve and changeup and aided by several fielding gems, Pepiot finished with a two hitter.  He walked one and hit four batters while striking out six.  

“It was a good win, a good team win,” said the Butler-bound Pepiot.  “That’s a good HSE team.  My teammates helped me out.  They had my back when (HSE) hit the ball, so I’ve got to thank them.” 

Pachmayer had both HSE hits.  The Ball State recruit’s pitching line included eight hits, no walks and eight strikeouts.  

Since the woeful start, Westfield has gone 14-7.  “We started out 0-and-8,” said Coach Bunnell, “so to be 13-15 coming into the tournament, I’m pretty proud of the guys for that, and the rebound there.  

“Last week we weren’t playing as well as I felt like we could, so I didn’t know really what we’d get tonight.  But we had some timely hitting and we played good defense, and we can’t say enough about the job Ryan did.”  

AROUND THE BASES:  Westfield’s previous victories over the Royals include a 7-6 home triumph on April 22 and a 2-1 win in the first game of an April 23doubleheader at HSE.  The 18-7 loss to the Royals came in the nightcap.     

Luke Duermit could be back in the starting lineup next week for Fishers. “He potentially will be back on Monday,” said Tigers skipper Matthew Cherry. “He was shut down the last couple of weeks. Just a little fatigue in his shoulder. He's all right. He'll be fine.” 

Alan Lozer also took the loss when Fishers beat North Central in last year’s sectionals.  

Fishers meets Westfield at 10:00 a.m. Monday in the first semifinal, while Noblesville plays Carmel at 12:30 p.m.  The winners square off for the Sectional 8 championship at 7:30. 

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