Braves retain county baseball title

<p>David has officially morphed into Goliath.</p><p>Two unbeaten Class 4A teams came into the final four of the Johnson County baseball tournament on Saturday, but it was a school roughly one-third their size that carried the day.</p><p>Wyatt Phillips went 2 for 2 with three runs batted in, and Indian Creek rode an early lead and the power pitching of aces Trevor Ankney and Dustin Sprong to a 7-2 victory over Whiteland in the championship game.</p><p>It marked the second consecutive championship for the Braves (6-1), who outscored their three tournament opponents by a combined 41-4 margin.</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery<p>&quot;It’s even a little bit sweeter when you’re the small school in the tournament,&quot; Indian Creek coach Steve Mirizzi said. We wanted to defend our title, and it was good coming in here with a little chip on our shoulder and just proving to people that we still belong here.&quot;</p><p>Whiteland (5-1) jumped on Indian Creek starter Ankney right away, taking a 1-0 lead on doubles by Ryan Glithero and Iyan Pelfree. The Warriors left the bases loaded, though, and the Braves wasted little time making them rue the missed opportunity.</p><p>Xavier Ferris led off the bottom of the first with an infield single, and Mason Britt and Sprong then drew back-to-back walks, loading the bases with nobody out. Phillips knocked in a pair of runs with a single to put Indian Creek in front, and after a catcher’s interference call filled the bases again, Jacob Fending delivered an RBI base hit to left field. A two-out balk scored Cody Grider from third to make it 4-1.</p><p>Braden Reed singled in a run in the third for the Warriors, but Indian Creek answered back again, this time with three runs in the fourth. A bases-loaded double by Sprong pushed two across, and Phillips followed with a sacrifice fly to make it 7-2.</p><p>&quot;We didn’t throw enough strikes today,&quot; Whiteland coach Scott Sherry said. &quot;We walked (two) guys in the first inning and gave up four runs, we walked three guys in the (fourth) inning, and they took advantage.&quot;</p><p>The Warriors’ best shot at mounting a comeback came in the fifth, when they chased Ankney and had the bases loaded with one out. But Sprong came on in relief and got Reed to ground into a double play to end the inning.</p><p>A walk put Whiteland’s leadoff man on base in the seventh, but Indian Creek finished the game off with a strikeout and another twin killing.</p><p>Ankney and Sprong combined on a five-hitter, striking out six.</p><p>&quot;It’s definitely a luxury to have Dustin and Trevor,&quot; Mirizzi said.</p><p>Both teams had little difficulty advancing into the championship game. The Warriors cruised to a 14-4 victory over Franklin in one semifinal game, while the Braves bludgeoned Edinburgh in the other, 23-0.</p><p>Despite the championship game defeat, Sherry was pretty pleased with his team’s overall play on Saturday.</p><p>&quot;We adjusted to Indian Creek’s two good arms,&quot; he said. &quot;We saw their best two arms, and we just needed a hit or two at a certain time.&quot;</p><p>Indian Creek, which reached the Class 3A semistate a year ago, hopes to again use victory in this tournament as a springboard to bigger things later on this season.</p><p>&quot;It gives us a lot of momentum, a lot of steam, and it boosts our self-confidence winning it back to back,&quot; Phillips said. &quot;By winning regionals and sectionals and being county champs last year, we have that momentum, and then we just build on it this year and try to get to state.&quot;</p>