CRAWFORDSVILLE
Like Sisyphus eternally rolling that boulder up the mountain, Indian Creek’s baseball team has gotten tantalizing close to the top each of the last two years, only to see the boulder roll back down before reaching its goal.
But the Braves did that tragic Greek figure one better on Saturday, and they did it, fittingly, on the home field of a team called the Athenians.
Indian Creek dominated Tri-West Hendricks 8-2 in the afternoon semifinal and then held off seventh-ranked West Vigo 5-4 in the championship to win the Class 3A regional championship Saturday at Crawfordsville.
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The No. 10 Braves (24-5) will face No. 3 Silver Creek in a semistate game at Jasper this Saturday afternoon.
The regional title was the first for a Braves program that had won sectional titles each of the last two years only to see their dreams crushed the next weekend.
“It’s incredible. We just made history,” said junior pitcher Dustin Sprong. “It’s something else.”
Indian Creek finally exorcised its demons thanks to strong pitching and a potent offense strong enough to overcome a porous defense that committed four errors in each of the two games.
Junior ace Trevor Ankney struck out 15 while twirling a five-hitter in the semifinal win over Tri-West, and while Sprong wasn’t as flashy in the championship, his gutty five-inning performance was enough to get the Braves close to the finish line.
It didn’t look like Sprong would be long for the game. West Vigo (24-6) collected four hits in the first inning off the right-hander and put two more runners on base in the second but managed only one run over that span.
Indian Creek made the Vikings pay for their inefficiency. A double by Wyatt Phillips, an RBI triple from Dawson Read and RBIs by Sprong and Luke Bramlett staked the Braves to a 3-1 lead after one inning, a lead they never relinquished.
The scoring outburst settled down Sprong, who despite being in trouble in nearly every inning was able to get out of each mostly unscathed.
“I just kept doing what I was doing, throwing strikes and letting them hit it. I told myself not to overreact or question the calls,” Sprong said. “(The three runs) were huge. After that first run that I gave up, I wasn’t too happy and I didn’t think our chances were really there. But we just came in clutch and had some kids hit the crap out of the ball.”
Indian Creek added a run in the second on Phillips’ RBI fielder’s choice before West Vigo began chipping away. The Vikings scored an unearned run in the third then added another in the fourth to close the gap to 4-3.
But the Braves never blinked. Ankney’s RBI single in the fourth after Cody Grider led off with a double pushed the lead to 5-3 and gave Creek a valuable insurance run.
“Minus a few errors that cost us, we just kept fighting,” Indian Creek coach Steve Mirizzi said. “West Vigo has been a quality program for several years and we knew they were going to be in for all seven innings.”
Sprong got through the fifth inning before turning the ball over to reliever Jared DeHart. West Vigo picked up its fourth run in the sixth on an error but Indian Creek limited the damage to one run. After West Vigo put two runners on base in the seventh, DeHart struck out the final batter to nail down the regional crown.
“I’m just so proud of this program and this community. They really wanted this,” said Mirizzi, who is in his first season. “I’m just so excited for these guys.”
Sprong (4-1) allowed two earned runs on seven hits in five innings with five strikeouts, three walks and a hit batter to pick up the win. DeHart struck out two and walked two in two innings to get the save.
Ankney used both his arm and his bat to power the Braves past Tri-West in the afternoon semifinal.
The right-hander struck out 15 — including six in the first two innings — and walked just two. He also had a two-run single in the fourth that broke open the game.
“Pitching with the lead, it helps a lot. Whenever we score runs it builds my confidence,” Ankney said. “I felt good. The strike zone was low so I tried to keep my command low.”
Indian Creek scored got an RBI double from Phillips and RBIs from DeHart and Read to score three runs in the third inning and break a scoreless tie.
Ankney’s two-run single in the fourth was followed by Phillips’ second double of the game as Indian Creek went ahead 6-0.
Tri-West (20-7) used three-straight infield singles and an error to finally touch Ankney with a run in the fourth but Indian Creek added two more runs in the fifth on Mendel Shank’s double to go ahead 8-1.
Read went 3-for-4 with a double, while Shank and Phillips each had two hits for the Braves.
