Jun. 12—For this edition of the 2024 Barr-Reeve baseball team, the Vikings have more than just a chance to win a state title. They also have a chance to do it against the team that downed them 1-0 in the 2023 final game — where the only run came on a controversial call.
However, this year B-R hopes that the finals won't come down to a judgement call.
On Friday at 5:30 p.m., at Victory Field, No. 2 Barr-Reeve will take on No. 1 Lafayette Central Catholic in a rematch of last year's Class A title game.
Both teams are coming in at 27-6, with B-R posting 1-0 and 9-2 wins at the Jasper semi-state. The Knights return after beating Union City 6-1 and Morgan Township, 4-3 in the LaPorte semi-state. This will be LCC's third straight trip to the finals. They have been 12 times and it is second most in the state (behind Jasper).
Central Catholic has long been a powerhouse in Indiana baseball for coach Tim Bordenet and are currently on an 11-game winning streak. He is in his 27th year at LCC and has a 661-184-1 record there.
Although there are six losses on the record, LCC has a reputation of playing bigger schools like Lafayette Jeff, McCutcheon, Bishop Chatard, Guerin Catholic and are ranked 25th overall in the state and first in Class A.
Third baseman Gavin Boutelle leads the team with 34 hits and a .358 average. Kayden Minnich is hitting just .294, but driven in 32 runs, while Jackson Cain has three of the teams' five home runs.
"LCC is solid again and you just have to look at their record to see that. I think we will see Lucas Gerkey. He is a tall righthander and he has good stuff. I think once you get to semi-state, you are going to see good pitching," said B-R coach Trevor McConnell.
Gerkey comes in at 8-0 with a 0.37 ERA. He has given up just three earned runs and only nine total runs. The Vikes could also see Brinn Robbins at 7-1 during the game.
LCC's 4-3 win with Morgan Twp. came down to Gerkey coming in to get the final outs with two runners on and having just 16 pitches left, after throwing 104 earlier in the game.
The Vikings are a team that has gotten better as the season progressed. The team is made up by a big percentage of basketball players who had a late run that went all the way to semi-state in hoops.
"Winning is contagious. Our winning helped basketball and basketball winning helped us. That's the thing, our kids expect to win. And they've watched it from the time they were little. You see little guys around here watching this today and they see themselves winning. That's invaluable to just have kids that expect to win and then it becomes contagious," said McConnell, now 96-24 in his fifth year at Barr-Reeve.
The Vikes have relied on pitching with a deep staff that has only given up two runs in their last five games. Seth Wagler and Matt Lashley are a combined 12-2 starting, while Jake Pauw also has plenty of big game experience, and Levi Lester would be a No. 1 on a lot of staffs. Wagler has a 1.15 ERA and has given up nine earned runs. Lashley is at 1.69 ERA and and leads with 65 strikeouts.
The team is hitting .335 with No. 2 hitter Ethan Graber batting .410. As a team, they have combined for 15 home runs. At semi-state, they were able to pivot between manufacturing one run for a win and a nine-run outbreak in the second game.
Much of the Viking offense is generated from Stoll, Graber, Wagler, Pauw, Lester and Kendall Graber. B-R has shown good power with 17 home runs. Lester and Ethan Graber have five each and Pauw has hit four. Ethan Graber also leads the team with 42 hits and 34 runs scored.
The Vikings bring back a lot of talent from the state finals team in 2023, however, missing this season was right fielder Donnie Miller who had surgery after basketball season. He did however get two at-bats during the two semi-state games and is a lot closer to being ready if needed.
Coach McConnell believe that it is his team's approach that has garnered so much success.
"I like that we are excited to be going back this year, but I think we are a little more business-like. Last year was uncharted territory but this year, things were a little more expected. It was unspoken but we knew we had unfinished business. I think this team has matured into this. The are excited and having fun with each other, but once they come through the gates, it is their expectation to win. I really don't have to police any silly stuff with this group," said McConnell.
The school hopes to win its sixth IHSAA team title and it is its third trip to the finals in baseball (1998, 2023). They have now won 15 baseball sectionals and four regional titles, all with members of the current staff.
