Baseball Sectional Preview: Shelbyville, two state-ranked county programs in contention for titles

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It has been 12 years since Triton Central baseball won a sectional title. Shelbyville’s last sectional championship game in 2005. Waldron’s only sectional title was in 2001.

All three Shelby County baseball programs will be legitimate contenders when the IHSAA state baseball tournament begins today across the state.

Class 4A, Sectional 14

Barnett Field at Shelbyville High School is the host site for a six-team sectional tournament that includes one top-15 ranked team.

Columbus North (17-7), ranked No. 11 in the state coaches poll and the defending sectional champion, opens the sectional tonight at 6 p.m. against Franklin (14-10).

The second quarterfinal game tonight pits East Central (18-8) against Whiteland (14-10). The two winners advance to Friday’s semifinal contest.

The host Golden Bears (15-8) make their postseason debut in the second semifinal game Friday against Columbus East (9-17). The two teams did not play in the regular season.

Shelbyville enters the sectional with a wave of momentum, winning 10 of its last 11 games and finishing third in the Hoosier Heritage Conference standings (9-5) behind 4A No. 15 Mt. Vernon (18-7, 12-2 HHC) and 4A No. 12 New Palestine (21-5, 11-3 HHC).

First-year Shelbyville head coach Jacob Shively has two strong pitchers at his disposal in junior Gavyn Fisher (6-0, 1.83 ERA) and sophomore Aiden Smith (4-2, 1.92 ERA) and offensive threats in freshman Grantland Fitzgerald (.404 average) and junior Dalton Jones (.414 average, five home runs).

The sectional championship game is at noon Monday.

Class 2A, Sectional 42

At 23-3, Triton Central has ascended to No. 2 in the state coaches poll behind No. 1 North Posey (21-5). The lofty status is no guarantee of postseason success in a sectional that features three top-20 ranked programs and four teams with at least 17 victories.

Like Shelbyville, Triton Central head coach Justin Bergman has a pair of dominant starting pitchers in juniors Hayden May (9-1, 2.04 ERA) and Bryce Haney (7-0, 1.67 ERA). Offensively, the Tigers have four players hitting over .400 with at least 100 plate appearances and none are seniors.

Class 2A, No. 7 Park Tudor (17-4) hosts Sectional 42. The Panthers open the tournament tonight with a quarterfinal-round game against Indianapolis Scecina (10-16). The winner advances to Saturday’s second semifinal game against the defending sectional champion in Heritage Christian (17-12).

Triton Central has all week to prepare for its postseason debut Saturday against 2A No. 16 Irvington Prep (17-5). The Tigers and Ravens did not play in the regular season.

The Sectional 42 championship game is at 1 p.m. Monday at Park Tudor High School.

Class A, Sectional 60

Waldron won its final five games to end the regular season at 15-8 and ranked No. 11 in the state coaches poll. That success resulted in a third-place finish in the Mid-Hoosier Conference standings but did not help with a favorable draw in a balanced sectional hosted by Jac-Cen-Del.

The quarterfinal round starts tonight. The opening game pits Class A, No. 7 South Decatur (13-5) against Oldenburg Academy (8-10).

Waldron follows against the host Eagles (13-9), who defeated the Mohawks 13-3 on April 16. Head coach Tommy Coy used five different pitchers in that loss but none were named Jacob Bennett (6-1, 1.11 ERA).

Tonight’s winners advance to Monday’s first semifinal game at 10 a.m. The second semifinal features North Decatur (10-13), the defending sectional champion, against Southwestern (4-17), who won two of its final three games and lost a pair  of MHC games to North Decatur on May 9 and May 10, 3-0 and 13-1.

Senior Ian Bunch -- .326 average with team-highs in runs (15) and RBI (12) -- and junior James Oliver (.300 average) are Southwestern’s top two offensive threats.

The sectional championship game is Monday at 7 p.m.

Class A, Sectional 59

Morristown is the host site for five teams in Sectional 59. The Yellow Jackets (5-16) open the tournament tonight at 6 p.m. against Indianapolis Lutheran (13-15) in the only quarterfinal game.

The winner advances to face Edinburgh (10-12-1) in Saturday’s second semifinal contest. The first semifinal has No. 14 Greenwood Christian (10-11), the defending sectional champion, taking on Indianapolis Metropolitan.

The sectional championship game is scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday.

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