TERRE HAUTE — West Vigo’s postseason high school baseball history with Jasper — both the team and the city — has been a frustrating one the past few years.
In the 2000 season, two games after knocking off top-ranked Indianapolis Cathedral, the Vikings lost 4-3 to the Wildcats in the semifinal round of the state finals when Jasper — which went on to win the state — scored three times with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning.
In 2003, the Vikings won their opening game of the Jasper Semistate only to lose 8-4 to the host team in the championship game.
And in 2004 and 2008, West Vigo lost close semistate games at Jasper to eventual state champions New Palestine and Crawfordsville, respectively.
So last Saturday, when the Vikings won the Class 3A Southridge Regional by routing Jasper 11-0 — not in the Wildcats’ park, but at least in their county — could a monkey have been lifted off their backs?
“Probably for me there was,” coach Steve DeGroote admitted this week, “but I don’t know for [the Vikings].”
His players may be better historians than he realizes, however.
“We couldn’t have more confidence than we do right now,” said catcher Jeremy Lucas, who admitted relief to having Jasper in the past.
“Beating them by 10 runs was a big accomplishment,” third baseman Cameron Fagg agreed. “But we’re staying humble still. We’ve got two more games to win.”
West Vigo’s first of those two potential games is this afternoon at the Avon Semistate, where the 27-1 Vikings face 23-7 Brebeuf in the second of two games. Shakamak plays Vincennes Rivet in a 1 p.m. Class A tournament game, so the West Vigo contest should begin sometime around 3:30.
“Brebeuf is a good team and so are we,” said Jordan Pearson, who could be West Vigo’s lone pitcher the rest of the season. “Give us a hard week of practice and we’ll be ready to play.”
“We’ve got to keep our bats going like we did in the semistate,” said Lucas. “We know Jordan will do his job as usual, and we know our defense will do its job.”
The Vikings know at least one member of Brebeuf’s Braves. A summer team called the Pony Express has included Fagg, Lucas and Pearson and also Brebeuf center fielder Kevin Sims; Sims and Fagg will be teammates in the fall at Wright State.
“We’ve played with [Sims] the past few summers,” Fagg said. “There’s been talk that we’d see each other at the semistate.”
West Vigo finished the season ranked third in the state. Top-ranked Andrean remains in the tournament, playing Delta today in the northern Class 3A semistate, and Brebeuf defeated second-ranked Crawfordsville last week in regional play. But, as is already documented, the Vikings are no strangers to big-time foes in postseason play.
“After last year’s heartbreaker [when West Vigo lost a close game to Crawfordsville, which recorded a one-sided championship-game victory] I think we had the realization that we were pretty tough,” DeGroote said. “Now all the work these kids have done has kind of come together.”
The veteran coach said he loves the passion and enthusiasm his current team plays with.
“They pull for each other,” he said. “Seniors are pulling for freshmen … if I show confidence in [a younger player] it doesn’t mean much, but when the older players show confidence in the younger players it’s something.”
Pearson, like Lucas an Indiana State recruit, enters today’s game with a 13-1 record and a 1.81 earned run average — not to mention a .448 batting average, a school-record 50 runs and 36 stolen bases that’s two off the school record set several years ago by Sean Lowe.
Lucas leads the team with a .495 batting average, a .577 on-base percentage and a .903 slugging percentage. He’s three behind Casey DeGroote’s school record for hits in a season, one behind John Cox’s school record for doubles in a season and also close to the career record for doubles.
Fagg is batting .429. He’s tied with Lucas for runs produced this year, and is three behind Pearson in runs scored — matching the previous school record of 47 himself. And the rest of the lineup includes Tyler Wampler (.402), Aaron Welch (.391, 6 homers, 38 RBIs), Brodey McCalister (.309), Scott West (.229), Cody Thornton (.358) and Dylan Aff (.364). The team has also set a school record for most triples, and its team batting average of .384 would also be a record if it can be maintained.
“Everything is working for us,” Lucas concluded. “We think we’re the team to beat if we’re at our best.”
“It’s good to be back in the semistate,” Pearson said. “We’re just looking forward to playing whoever we can.”
“Brebeuf is a good ballclub, or they wouldn’t be where they’re at,” DeGroote said, “and they beat the defending champion. But my only concern is whether we are playing our best ball.”
Indiana high school
baseball semistates
Semistates
Today
At Kokomo
Class A — Fort Wayne Canterbury (14-9) vs. Lafayette Central Catholic (26-4), 11 a.m.
Class 3A — Andrean (31-2) vs. Delta (17-10), to follow.
At South Bend (Coveleski Stadium)
Class 2A — Hammond Bishop Noll (24-8) vs. Cass (19-8), Noon.
Class 4A — Crown Point (30-2) vs. Fort Wayne Snider (23-3), to follow.
At Avon
Class A — Shakamak (16-8) vs. Vincennes Rivet (13-8), 1 p.m.
Class 3A — Brebeuf (23-7) vs. West Vigo (27-1), to follow.
At Jasper
Class 2A — Heritage Christian (23-6) vs. Evansville Mater Dei (20-12), 1 p.m.
Class 4A — Westfield (23-5) vs. Castle (26-4), to follow.
High School
Vikings looking for state berth
West Vigo baseball team plays in semistate today
- High School
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It’s a rivalry-filled Memorial Day for sectional contenders
Longtime rivalries figure to determine high school baseball sectional champions throughout the Wabash Valley today, with semifinal and final games scheduled at four sites and a stand-alone championship game at a fifth.
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South tops Oldenburg to win tennis semistate
There was no evidence of rally caps, rally towels and certainly no rally squirrels, but Terre Haute South’s No. 1 singles player Maddie Kesler needed a rally in the worst way.
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New route leads to same place for South girls tennis
For so many years, the road to the IHSAA girls tennis state finals for local teams ran through Vincennes (regional) and Jasper (semistate). In other words, south and more south.
This year, their trip was re-routed through Greencastle (regional) and Center Grove (semistate). So it cnahged to east and more east. -
PREP ROUNDUP: Robinson tops Greenville in sectional semifinal
Robinson jumped to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning, then cruised to a convincing 12-3 victory over Greenville in a IHSA Class 2A Vandalia sectional semifinal game on Thursday.
Ashlyn Sullivan was 2 for 3 with a double, home run and three RBIs to lead the winning Maroons. -
West Vigo baseball falls in sectional to Owen Valley
West Vigo overcame the odds to win 20 high school baseball games this season with a lineup that often included four freshmen and few seniors.
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South Vermillion softball's late-season surge comes to end
A late-season surge by South Vermillion wasn’t quite enough to halt a high school softball sectional winning streak by the host team Thursday night, as Edgewood got on top early and held on for a 5-2 win in the championship game of the Class 3A Edgewood Sectional.
The loss was just the second in the last 12 games for the Wildcats. The Mustangs, however, haven’t lost a sectional softball game for eight years in a row. -
South takes second, North third at boys track regional
Terre Haute South finished second and Terre Haute North third on Thursday night at the boys track and field regional at Evansville Central, with 11 individuals and three relay teams qualifying for the state finals June 2.
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PREP ROUNDUP: White River Valley baseball holds off Eminence
Three Eminence errors in the top of the sixth inning finally enabled White River Valley to score in high school baseball Thursday night, and the Wolverines went on to a 5-0 win in Class A Shakamak Sectional action.
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Feeling cursed: South bitten in sectional final again
Terre Haute South softball is not even close to being as cursed as a certain northside baseball team in Chicago, but it might just seem like it.
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PREP ROUNDUP: Mundy, Porter, Knight individual regional winners
Chanli Mundy and Keirra Porter of Terre Haute North were among the individual winners in the IHSAA Evansville Central girls track and field regional that ended late Tuesday night.
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Thornton puts away South Vermillion
Cody Thornton’s three-run blast over the left-field fence was the finishing touch to West Vigo’s 10-3 victory over South Vermillion in the opening game of the Class 3A Greencastle Sectional on Wednesday.
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Lakers triumph, go home for regional
Shakamak took Class A Clay City Sectional honors in high school softball for the first time since 2009 Wednesday, defeating White River Valley 9-5 in the title tilt.
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North Vermillion avenges losses
North Vermillion avenged two high school softball losses during the regular season to win the Class A Riverton Parke Sectional championship Wednesday with a 3-2 triumph over the host Panthers.
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Pats, Knights will meet in sectional
Adler Ingalsbe pooh-poohed his lack of velocity Wednesday night, yet the Terre Haute North pitcher was throwing BBs in the first game compared to Mooresville’s Brandon Topie in the nightcap.
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South outbattles Northview to reach sectional final
Even the best of high school softball pitchers can’t keep all the batters in the middle of Terre Haute South’s lineup down.
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Panthers get 20th win in sectional
Riverton Parke will face North Vermillion in the Class A softball sectional championship at Riverton Parke today, with action commencing at 6 p.m.
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Plainfield Sectional all about parity
Considering Terre Haute South has won five consecutive Class 4A sectional titles in high school baseball, naming the Braves as favorites to capture the 2012 Class 4A Plainfield Sectional would not seem far-fetched.
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PREP ROUNDUP: North Vermillion in title game
Casey West had a triple and three runs scored to help North Vermillion softball advance to the championship game of the Class A Riverton Parke Sectional on Tuesday.
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North takes second in track regional
Terre Haute North finished second with 74 points, six behind team champion Evansville Reitz, during the Evansville Central girls track and field regional that ended late Tuesday night.
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Wildcats advance to sectional softball final; West Vigo falls
Patience, patience.
South Vermillion exhibited great patience, being very selective at the plate and it paid off royally in the fourth inning. -
South, Crawfordsville win in regional tennis semis
Terre Haute South outlasted Fountain Central 4-1 in the first round of the girls high school tennis regional Tuesday, advancing the Braves into today’s championship match against Crawfordsville.
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Braves, Knights open with wins
It was an excellent night for starting softball pitchers to help their own cause Monday night in the Class 4A Northview Sectional.
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Lough dreamt about McMillan
A two-time state finalist in wrestling and a two-time all-Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference football player and wrestler, Tsali Lough of Terre Haute South was named the male recipient of the 2012 McMillan Award on Monday night at South’s Senior Awards Night.
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PREP ROUNDUP: Panthers cruise in sectional opener
Sarah Burnham pitched a two-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts in high school softball Monday evening as host Riverton Parke defeated defending champion Rockville 10-0 in opening-round action at the Class A Riverton Parke Sectional.
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Notable tradition bodes well for Riverton Parke
Located practically in the shadow of a high school that sets one state standard in track and field, Riverton Parke has a tendency to be overlooked in that sport.
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Vikings get 18th win over Shakamak
West Vigo began a busy week of high school baseball Monday on a winning note, defeating Shakamak 6-3.
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Greencastle new site for girls tennis regional
The starting times might prove to be a bone of contention, but otherwise coaches Bill Blankenbaker and Emily Goff are thrilled their respective girls high school tennis teams will begin play today at the Greencastle Regional.
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Northview sectional groups 3 20-win teams
Three teams with 20-plus victories will attempt to claim the Class 4A Northview Sectional crown for high school softball this week, and most of the other Wabash Valley sectional fields also appear to be wide open.
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Terre Haute South softball takes Riverton Parke tournament
Terre Haute South is going into the Class 4A Sectional at Northview on Monday with momentum, confidence, a deep bench and a healthier pitching staff than it has had in quite a while.
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North baseball splits doubleheader with Indy North Central
Some of their incentive could have been sapped a couple of nights earlier, when Center Grove achieved an eight-inning victory over Warren Central to clinch the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference high school baseball championship.
- More High School Headlines
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