<p>Dustin Sprong remembers playing at the Center Grove Little League fields as an 8-year-old, the first age at which kids are allowed to pitch. Even 10 years later, he still remembers Grant Herron throwing harder than anyone else.</p><p>"He was really good back then," Sprong said, "and he’s still really good now."</p><p>Turns out they both are. Sprong, who just graduated from Indian Creek, and Herron, who has one year left at Center Grove, are the Daily Journal’s co-Players of the Year for baseball.</p><p>Sprong’s success this season was entirely expected. Fresh off of a semistate run as a junior and a verbal commitment to Xavier, he posted a 0.60 ERA on the mound and struck out 116 batters, fourth in the state. He was equally proficient with bat in hand, hitting at a .415 clip with 20 extra-base hits and and 38 RBIs.</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]<p>His efforts led the Braves to a second consecutive county championship and a fourth straight sectional title. </p><p>Herron’s year, meanwhile, was more of a surprise — especially on offense. After getting just one varsity at-bat during his sophomore season, he batted .400 with five home runs this spring while leading all Class 4A hitters statewide with 40 RBIs.</p><p>"I definitely suprised myself," Herron said. "I expected to do pretty well at the plate, but I didn’t expect to have the season I had."</p><p>His performance on the mound, where he was 7-1 with a 1.02 ERA and 68 strikeouts against just 15 walks, was less shocking.</p><p>While Sprong has long been known as a hard thrower — he has topped out at 94 miles an hour, with his fastball consistently in the 88 to 91 mph range during games — Herron usually takes a different approach.</p><p>"Most of the time I try to pound the zone and get ground-ball outs," he said, "and let the defense do the work."</p><p>That approach helped Center Grove reel off 21 consecutive victories to end the regular season, a stretch that Herron said helped the team’s confidence snowball. With he and classmate Bryce Eblin, a shortstop committed to play at Alabama, among the returning stars, the Trojans can take that confidence into next spring.</p><p>Sprong, meanwhile, has already left Indiana’s diamonds behind. He’s spending the summer in New York, playing with the Albany Dutchmen of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League. Playing primarily against established college players, he says, has been a big adjustment.</p><p>"It’s such a huge step up from high school," Sprong said. "It’s a completely different thing."</p><p>Both he and Herron have come a long way from their head-to-head matchups in Little League, and there should still be plenty of baseball left in the future for both — perhaps even against one another again someday.</p>[sc:pullout-title pullout-title="All-County team" ][sc:pullout-text-begin]<p>The 2019 All-Johnson County team for baseball:</p><p>Bryce Eblin, Center Grove junior: Slick-fielding shortstop batted a county-best .451 with 36 runs scored and 26 batted in, hitting 11 doubles, two triples and a home run … Also sported a 1.34 ERA in 15 2/3 innings pitched.</p><p>Xavier Ferris, Indian Creek junior: Became a reliable pitcher for the Braves, going 5-1 with a 0.99 ERA in 35 1/3 innings of work while striking out 38 against nine walks … Also batted .268 with 23 runs scored.</p><p>Luke Helton, Whiteland senior: One of just three pitchers statewide to hit the 10-win mark, posting a 1.68 ERA with 105 strikeouts against 24 walks in 68 2/3 innings … Pitched a two-hitter with 17 Ks in a sectional win over Center Grove.</p><p>Grant Herron, Center Grove junior: Led all Class 4A batters with 40 RBIs, hitting .400 with five homers and nine doubles … Also emerged as the Trojans’ ace on the mound, going 7-1 with a 1.02 ERA and a 68/15 strikeout-to-walk ratio.</p><p>Luke Miles, Franklin senior: Solid two-way player who led Grizzly Cubs with a .434 average and 23 runs batted in … Walked just four hitters over 45 1/3 innings pitched, finishing with a 3.40 ERA.</p><p>Iyan Pelfree, Whiteland senior: The top source of offensive firepower for the Warriors, slugging five homers, knocking in 28 runs and scoring 23 more while batting at a .309 clip.</p><p>Wyatt Phillips, Indian Creek senior: Batted .388 with two triples and a home run for the Braves while scoring 31 runs and driving in 25 … Also logged 33 1/3 innings of work on the mound.</p><p>Alex Reed, Whiteland senior: Batted .297 and tied for the team lead with 28 runs driven in … Collected five doubles, a triple and a pair of homers for a 17-win Warriors team.</p><p>Dustin Sprong, Indian Creek senior: Xavier-bound hurler posted a 0.60 ERA and struck out 116 in 58 2/3 innings, good for fourth among all Indiana pitchers … Hit .415 with four home runs, five triples, 11 doubles, 29 runs and 38 RBIs.</p><p>Luke Torrance, Franklin junior: Tied for second on the Grizzly Cubs with a .346 average while scoring 19 runs and driving in 20 … Added a team-best three home runs and seven doubles.</p><p>Jackson Young, Center Grove senior: Batted .368 for a Trojans team that won 21 straight games to end the regular season … Drove in 22 runs and scored 20 while hitting six doubles and a home run.</p><p><span>Honorable mention</span></p><p>Trevor Ankney, Indian Creek; Mason Britt, Indian Creek; Bryce Burton, Edinburgh; Tyler Cerny, Center Grove; Dane Crick, GCA; Drew Dillon, Center Grove; Nick Duffy, Greenwood; Jace Fowler, Franklin; Zach Giles, Edinburgh; Ryan Glithero, Whiteland; Coltan Henderson, Edinburgh; Griffin Huizinga, GCA; Colby Marker, Indian Creek; Tyce Miller, Franklin; Luke Piper, Center Grove; Jared Ross, Franklin</p>[sc:pullout-text-end]
