The old coaching adage states that it’s very difficult to beat a good team three times in the same season; it’s often repeated because it’s often been proven to be true.
Center Grove’s baseball team pulled it off against Franklin this spring — in fact, the Trojans actually beat the Grizzly Cubs four times, the last one in a nine-inning sectional semifinal last weekend. This morning, it’ll be Columbus North trying to do the same to Center Grove.
The Bull Dogs, ranked second in Class 4A, and the No. 3 Trojans square off in the semifinal round of the Jasper Semistate.
Columbus North rolled to a 10-0 victory over Center Grove in an early-season tournament at Noblesville; the Trojans were much closer when the two teams played in Columbus two weeks ago but still came up on the short end of a 3-2 score.
Center Grove coach Keith Hatfield is hopeful that his team can close the deal in the third, and certainly most important, meeting.
“They definitely have more experience than we do,” Hatfield said, “but I think we’re playing pretty well right now, so we’ll go down there and give it our best shot.”
The Trojans have plenty of cause for optimism. For starters, Drue Young, who has been lights out on the mound all season long (7-0, 0.95 ERA, 72 K, 10 BB), will take the ball Saturday morning, and the Bull Dogs have yet to face him this spring.
Hatfield doesn’t dismiss that unfamiliarity as an advantage — especially if Columbus North counters with Kyler McIntosh, who Center Grove saw in the teams’ most recent showdown — but he did downplay it a bit.
“He’s pitched a lot of big games for us.” (Young)
“Offensively, you always want to see somebody that you’ve seen before,” Hatfield said. “But as far as them not seeing Drue, they play one of the hardest schedules in the state. They’ve seen top-notch pitching all year long, so even though they haven’t seen Drue, they’ve seen a lot of guys like him.
“But I feel confident that if Drue throws how I know he’s capable of throwing, I think he’ll have a pretty good day.”
Additionally, Center Grove welcomed junior Tyler Cerny — who had missed almost the entire season with an illness — back into the fold recently. The Indiana University recruit appeared as a pinch hitter in the Trojans’ sectional opener and was the designated hitter during Monday wins over Franklin and Greenwood.
Having Cerny back at practice regularly the last three weeks has given the team an emotional lift, even if he’s not yet back near full strength.
“It’s always good to have a kid like that around,” Hatfield said of Cerny. “But he still has a pretty long way before he gets back to what he is.”
The winner of the 11 a.m. game will be considered the favorite in tonight’s regional final — not only because of where the teams are ranked (Floyd Central and Jasper received votes in the coaches’ poll but aren’t in the top 10), but also because of the extra rest that the winner of the first game will get.
Hatfield notes that his players are used to playing multiple games in a day during the travel season, and the two sectional victories on Monday proved that they can do the same when the stakes are higher.
“I like our chances,” the coach said. “There’s going to be a big break in between if we’re lucky enough to get past Columbus North, and we’ll be able to handle it okay.”
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”If you go” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Class 4A Jasper Regional
Center Grove (28-4) vs. Columbus North (25-4-1), 11 a.m.
Floyd Central (15-6) vs. Jasper (27-2), 1 p.m.
Championship, 8 p.m.
Admission: $8 per session or $10 for full day
[sc:pullout-text-end]
