By Pete Cava
PBR Indiana Correspondent

AVON, Ind. –  “They’ve been terrific,” Cathedral coach Rich Andriole said Monday night after his 4A #2 Fighting Irish captured the Avon Regional to nail down a berth in Saturday’s Semi-States.  

Undefeated Cathedral (27-0) got airtight pitching in the semifinal game with Greenfield-Central and again in the championship contest against Brownsburg.    

“I made the comment this morning to our athletics director that this is a group that you wish you could keep coaching,” Andriole continued.  “They’re a team, in caps.  They flew under the radar in pre-season and in the early season.  They’re very professional about the way they do their stuff every day.  They’ve been terrific.”     

CHAMPIONSHIP – CATHEDRAL 5, BROWNSBURG 0:   Will Birch didn’t have his best stuff early on, but the Cathedral senior put his trust in his Irish teammates and got outs when he needed them. 

“I had confidence in my team all the time,” said Birch.  “I knew they would make plays behind me, no matter what.”  

The right-hander went the distance, striking out five while doling out five hits and giving up no walks.  Brownsburg (18-10) had runners in scoring position in each of the first four innings, but Birch worked his way out of it every time. 

“I wasn’t feeling great the first five innings,” he said, “so I tried to work backwards.  I just used the slider in and out, trying to get batters off-balance.  And whenever I could, sneak a fastball in there and try to get ground balls.” 

Meanwhile, Brownsburg starter Ty McCoy found himself in a first-inning jam. After a double by Brendan Flood, the junior left-hander drilled Harry Shipley with a pitch and walked Alex Boos to load the bases with one out. 

Austin Sparks followed with a single to left that brought in Flood, but Shipley was out at the plate on a fine throw by Bulldogs left fielder Hunter Leum. McCoy avoided further damage by getting Mike Hammel on a grounder to short. 

Cathedral chased McCoy in the bottom of the third.  Flood opened the inning with a hit, moved to second on an infield out and scored on Luke Cureton's single up the middle. 

Boos and Sparks walked to fill the sacks, prompting a visit to the mound by Brownsburg coach Eric Mattingly.  With a 1-1 count on Hammel, McCoy bounced a pitch that caromed off the home plate ump and sailed all the way to the backstop.  

Cureton flew home, followed by Boos as two runs scored on the wild pitch.  “I saw the ball go down, saw it hit off the umpires’s helmet,” said Boos, “and it went up in the air.  I was almost all the way to third already.  Coach said ‘It’s your read,’ and I didn’t think the catcher had a play on it, so I just took it. That’s how we run the bases – aggressively.” 

Sparks went to third on the play and came in on Hammel's sac fly as Cathedral went up 5-0. Haden Shipman relieved McCoy and got the final out. 

Leum led off the top of the seventh for Brownsburg and reached second on a throwing error.  One out later, he advanced to third on a wild pitch.  But Birch retired the next two Bulldog batters to give the Irish their first regional title in two years.     

Flood, Cathedral's senior first baseman, led the Irish with a 3-for-4 night. 

1^st SEMIFINAL – BROWNBURG 6, TERRE HAUTE NORTH 1: Mike Hartnagel had a perfect day at the plate and provided dazzling glovework as the Bulldogs (18-9) nailed down a berth in the title game. 

“I just didn't want it to be my last high school game, that's all I gotta say,” the Brownsburg shortstop said. “I didn't want it to end yet, so I came out and did it all for the team.” 

Hartnagel, the Bulldogs' leadoff hitter, went 3-for-3 with a walk, a triple and a double to back a complete-game performance by junior right-hander Tyler Houston. Houston scattered five hits, walked three and had three strikeouts. 

Greg Hannum, a sophomore righty, started for 4A No. 9 Terre Haute North (24-7) and traded blanks with Houston until the bottom of the third. With two out, Gabe Sevigny stroked a base hit for the Patriots and Zach Milam walked. TJ Collett, THN's hard-hitting freshman catcher, followed with a sharp single to right that brought in Sevigny for the game's first run. 

Brownsburg evened the scored in the top of the fourth, when Hartnagel led off with a drive to deep center that fell for three bases. One out later, he raced home on a passed ball by Collett.

In the sixth Hartnagel ignited a rally that put Brownsburg in front for good. He opened the frame with a two-base hit off the wall in left. Following a walk to Houston, the Bulldogs executed a double steal. With Anthony Travelsted batting, Hannum uncorked a wild pitch that scored Hartnagel and sent Houston to third. 

Hannum gave way to right-hander Austin Hicks, who completed the walk to Travelsted. Cody Gill followed with a fly to right that brought in Houston, stretching Brownsburg's lead to 3-1. 

The Bulldogs batted around in the top of the seventh to put the game out of reach. With the bases full, Houston drew a walk and Travelsted was hit by a pitch. The Bulldogs' final tally strolled home on a balk. 

In the top of the seventh, THN had runners at first and second. But Houston retired Milam on a grounder to second baseman Caleb Sampen to end the one-hour, 45-minute contest. 

“I was just throwing strikes,” said Houston, who claimed he wasn't surprised by Hartnagel's sparkling defensive play. 

Hartnagel turned in a pair of web gems, including a jaw-dropping effort in the sixth. On a softly-hit grounder, he charged in and made an off-balance throw to first that nipped THN's Nathan Will. “He makes those plays in practice all the time,” said Houston, “so I'm kind of used to it. But to see it out there today, that was phenomenal.” 

2^nd SEMIFINAL – CATHEDRAL 3, GREENFIELD-CENTRAL 0:  The contest showcased two of Indiana's top prep right-handers, Cathedral's Ashe Russell and Curtiss Irving of Greenfield-Central. 

Russell, a sophomore who committed to Notre Dame earlier this season, threw a four-hit shutout. He had support from his catcher, Austin Sparks, who belted a three-run homer. 

All of Cathedral's runs came in the bottom of the fourth. Luke Cureton led off with a walk, stole second and scored on a single to center by Alex Boos. When Sparks lofted Irving's 1-2 delivery over the left field wall, the Irish went up 3-0. “It was a fastball inside,” said Sparks. “I knew I hit it pretty hard right off the bat.” 

Sparks'  blast gave Russell a boost. “It was a big hit,” said the Irish hurler. “It helped me pick my confidence back up after some long innings.”

The Cougars (23-8-1) had the tying run at the plate in the top of the sixth, when Brendon Neal led off with a walk and Adam Rains followed with a single. After a visit from Rich Andriole, Russell got Irving on a foul out behind the plate, retired Jayden Jackson on a fly ball to right and induced Kyle Gleeson to ground out to short.

“He (Russell) worked through it,” said Sparks. “We've been in these situations before, and he's always come through. I had faith in him.”

Irving, who'll play for Ohio State next year, went all the way for Greenfield-Central. He struck out nine while allowing six hits and a walk and a hit batsman.

Family Matters:  It’s been back-to-back celebrations for Cathedral center fielder Luke Cureton and his family.  Sunday, Justin Cureton, Luke’s older brother and a senior center fielder for Indiana University, made a spectacular leaping catch as the Hoosiers completed a sweep of the NCAA regional in Bloomington to advance to next weekend’s Super Regional series in Tallahassee.  “I was there,” said a beaming Luke Cureton.  So were Luke and Justin’s parents, Marie and Jerome, who traveled to Avon Monday night for the Cathedral’s regional triumph.  Luke will follow Justin – who won a state title with Cathedral as a junior – to IU this fall. 

Caleb Sampen, Brownsburg's sophomore second baseman, is the son of ex-big league pitcher and former Indianapolis Indian Bill Sampen.

Greenfield-Central junior shortstop Mitch Gibson's cousin, Kyle Gibson, is the Minnesota Twins' top pitching prospect. Kyle, who played for Greenfield-Central and the University of Missouri, is a former first-round draft pick who currently pitches for the Rochester Red Wings (International/AAA).