“It’s Unbelievable.” I can not believe that just happened.” Coursen Carr said right after the game. Then as I am walking to my car an 80 year old man stopped me and asked “Did the Vikes or the Evil Empire (Homestead) win the title?” I responded with South Side. He slumped in his seat and said “I have heard it all, South Side wow.” That summed up how special of a victory it was for the Archers of Fort Wayne South Side. According to the IHSAA, that is the Archers first sectional baseball title. This group of Archers also set a school record with wins. South Side currently boasts a record of 19-7 and has won 13 of its last 14 games. 

The Archers knocked off Homestead in what was a team effort with a star in the middle. Carr was the star he controlled the game on the mound and worked out of a 2^nd and third inning jam. I predicted Carr needed 12 ks for his team to win; he had 11. Which meant his defense had to make 10 plays behind him. Every player on the field made atleast one play in the game.

Homestead struck first with a run in the first inning. South Side did not flinch though and responded in the third with 3 of their own. Carr had a 2 RBI single and Justin Kiesling executed a safety squeeze and Homestead’s catcher could not hold onto the ball. Which put South Side up for good. After, the three spot momentum was clearly in South Side’s dugout along with confidence. It was a different team after that point. It was a team with a belief that they would pull off the upset.  Carr was that much better from that point on. His fastball was consistently on a corner and 87-90 touching 91 on several occasions. Carr’s breaking ball went from 70-73 and more of 3 to 9 curve ball in the first 2 innings to a 74-76 hard slider with downward action. Carr became unhittable. Homestead’s bid for a state title was cut short the same way they cut Huntington North’s run; a pitcher had a special day. That is what is great about sectional baseball, you really do not know who will rise up in the biggest games. Today it was Jake Weber in game one and Will Coursen Carr in game two.