Indian Creek baseball coach Steve Mirizzi had no shortage of pitchers at his disposal this spring, including three who are capable of hitting about 90 miles per hour on the radar gun.
But when the Braves had a must-win game, there was no doubt who Mirizzi was going to first. Whether it was the county tournament or the state tournament, the ball was going to Trevor Ankney.
That strategy worked for Indian Creek, which won its first county championship since 1993 and the first regional title in school history.
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Ankney, who finished his junior season with a 10-1 record and a 2.15 earned-run average and struck out 88 batters in 52 innings, relished being the go-to guy in those situations.
“Big games, big deal, having the ball in my hands — not a lot of pitchers get to do that, so coming into those games I felt confident,” he said.
That confidence showed in his performances — which also earned him the Daily Journal’s Player of the Year honors.
Ankney got the start in each of Indian Creek’s county tournament games, helping the Braves defeat Greenwood, Center Grove and Franklin for the school’s first crown in a generation.
He then went six innings in a sectional final victory at Bishop Chatard, striking out 12 and yielding just one hit, and followed that up by tossing a five-hitter and fanning 15 in a regional semifinal victory over Tri-West.
Though he finally took his first loss of the season against Silver Creek in the Jasper Semistate, the Purdue recruit is able to look back with pride at what the Braves accomplished during a 24-win season.
“It’s been over 20 years since the last time we’ve even been that far and done that much,” Ankney said, “so it means a lot to the team, the community and the school.”
With pitchers Ankney, Dustin Sprong and Wyatt Phillips all returning for one more year, the chances are good that Indian Creek will again be a contender in Class 3A next season.
“I think we’ll have a better shot, especially with the three big pitchers on our team,” Ankney said. “Going into next year, we’ll have a big shot and I think we’ll go farther.”
To get ready, Ankney plans to spend the summer adding a little more velocity to his fastball, which already tops out in the low 90s, and perfecting his pitch location.
He says that he might be open to adding some more pitches to his repertoire later on in his playing career — but in the short term, Ankney seems content to finish out his high school days riding the skills that have put him in the position he’s in.
“It’s gotten me this far,” he said. “I might as well keep going.”
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The 2018 All-Johnson County team for baseball:
Trevor Ankney, Indian Creek junior: Staff ace won 10 games and helped lead Indian Creek to a county title and semistate appearance … Posted a 2.15 ERA and struck out 88 batters in 52 innings.
T.J. Bass, Greenwood senior: Paced the Woodmen with a .375 batting average, seven doubles, two triples, five homers and 20 RBIs … Drew 18 walks, 10 of them intentional.
Jared DeHart, Indian Creek senior: Hit .383 with 36 runs scored and 11 stolen bases out of the leadoff spot … Posted an earned-run average of 0.65 working primarily out of the bullpen.
Bryce Eblin, Center Grove sophomore: Purdue commit batted .434 with 41 runs scored, nine doubles, five home runs and 28 RBIs. … Drew 31 walks and posted a .583 on-base percentage.
Eli Lawyer-Smith, Center Grove senior: Catcher finished with a .309 batting average, nine doubles, six home runs, 21 runs scored and 27 more driven in for the Trojans.
Alec MacLennan, Franklin senior: Batted .422 with 11 doubles and 19 runs scored … Consistently played well at premium positions defensively and excelled as a relief pitcher, saving four games.
Luke Miles, Franklin junior: Earned six wins on the mound, striking out 34 while walking just eight … Also batted .369 with 19 runs scored and a team-leading 16 RBIs.
Iyan Pelfree, Whiteland junior: Sported a team-best .395 average and collected 11 doubles, three triples, a pair of home runs and 18 runs batted in while scoring 25 times.
Wyatt Phillips, Indian Creek junior: Led the Braves with a .404 batting average while adding 10 doubles, two triples, seven homers, 33 RBIs and 34 runs scored … Was 4-1 on the mound with a 1.86 ERA.
Dawson Read, Indian Creek senior: Wound up batting .363, scoring 33 runs and driving in a team-high 35 … Totaled eight doubles, six triples and seven home runs for county and regional champion.
Dustin Sprong, Indian Creek junior: Hard-throwing hurler fanned 62 batters in 44 1/3 innings and posted an earned-run average of 1.90 … Hit .393 with 25 runs scored, two homers and 17 RBIs.
Michael Wyman, Center Grove senior: The leading hitter in the area clubbed eight home runs and drove in 44 runs while batting .414 … Pounded out 13 doubles and scored 32 runs.
Honorable mention
Ethan Armel, Edinburgh; Chase Bennett, Whiteland; Luke Bramlett, Indian Creek; Parker Bryant, Edinburgh; Cameron Crick, Greenwood; Colton Crick, GCA; Zach Giles, Edinburgh; Cody Grider, Indian Creek; Coltan Henderson, Edinburgh; Garrett Hill, Center Grove; Griffin Huizinga, GCA; Josh Johnson, Center Grove; Jordan Martin, Greenwood; Zach Murphy, Edinburgh; Iyan Pelfree, Whiteland; Ryan Sauter, Center Grove
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