By Pete Cava
PBR Indiana Correspondent

CLASS A – VINCENNES RIVET 7, RISING SUN 0:  The Patriots (19-12) pushed across four fourth-inning runs at Plainfield High School Saturday and Chase Allen threw a four-hit shutout as Vincennes Rivet earned its second berth in the state title game in four years. 

Allen, the 6-foot-2, 205-pound junior right-hander, gave up a walk and fanned three, including a game-ending strikeout.

“He didn't have anywhere near his best stuff,” said Vincennes Rivet coach Bill Beard, whose team lost to Penn in the 2009 state championships. “But he kept the ball down, and he had his defense behind him.”

During sectionals, Allen concluded that he needed to rely more on his teammates.  “I decided I was going to let my defense do more work to try to lower my pitch count,” he said.  “They played incredible behind me today.  I couldn't have asked for better support.”

The Patriots squandered scoring opportunities in the first and second innings.  Miles Morris, the senior right-hander who started for Rising Sun (23-4), stranded runners at third in both frames.

Vincennes Rivet finally broke through in the top of the fourth.  Zach Templin led off with a single and stole second.  One out later, Peyton Cummins walked.  Miles tried to pick off Templin at second, but the toss went into center field as Templin took third. 

After Cummins stole second, Jackson Niehaus hit a sharp grounder to the right side.  Rising Sun first baseman Brandon Turner threw home, but not in time to nail the sliding Templin. “Coach told me, 'Go, unless you hear anything else,'” said Templin.  “I went off on contact, and I kind of glanced up and saw the kid [Turner] was squaring up for home.  So I really got down and got in there.”

A single by Tanner Thomas plated Cummins for Vincennes Rivet's second tally.  Tanner Allen's bunt sacrifice advanced Niehaus and Thomas, and Colin Vieke followed with a grounder to second that should have ended the inning.  The throw by Rising Sun's Kurtis Armstrong was wild, however, and two more runs scored.

The Patriots made it 5-0 in the fifth on a two-out single by Cummins that scored Andrew Lehman, who was pinch-running for Allen, from second base.

Shiners shortstop Cody Weaver relieved Morris in the sixth and surrendered two more runs. Vieke, the lone senior on Vincennes Rivet’s roster, started the inning with a line single off Weaver's glove and took second on a wild pitch.  Allen followed with a triple to deep center.

“Coach gave me a green light on 3-0 and I put my best swing on it,” said Allen, who went 3-for-4.  

Allen trotted home on Templin's single to top off the scoring. 

Chipping in with two hits apiece for the Vincennes Rivet were Thomas, the sophomore third baseman, and Templin, the junior first sacker and cleanup hitter.