By Evan Reller
IUPUI Student Journalist
INDIANAPOLIS – Sixth-ranked defending Class 3A state champion Andrean limited No. 2 Jasper to one run and five hits June 19 as senior Ken Mahala pitched a complete game with seven strikeouts and only one walk in a dominating 6-1 win.
“He (Mahala) shut us down,” said 23rd-year Jasper coach Terry Gobert. “He locked us down and really took the bats out of our hands.”
Mahala was also successful on offense. In the third inning, he stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and stroked a bases-loaded double just inside the line in left field for a double that drove in all three runners. The 59ers (29-6) would put up another three runs in the fourth inning as errors by the Wildcats hurt them dearly.
The final five-run margin could have been much larger if not for the stellar efforts by senior center fielder Scott Wendholt, who made four incredible over-the-shoulder catches that reminded more than one fan of Willie Mays.
“That center fielder, he probably deserves player of the game because he saved seven or eight runs,” said 31st-year Andrean coach Dave Pishkur, whose team defeated West Vigo for the 3A title last season.
Junior pitcher Spencer Sapp provided the lone run for the Wildcats in the sixth inning when he clobbered a solo home run that landed high on the hill past the fence in right field. On the mound, Sapp finished the day with five strikeouts while allowing all nine hits and six earned runs in the decisive third and fourth innings.
Pishkur was extremely pleased with his team’s effort on the field and enjoyed seeing all his former players from last year’s championship team at the game cheering this year’s team on.
“I got great players who come out and work hard every day,” Pishkur said. “They deserve all of the credit – I’m just there at some of the practices.”
Jasper, which was making its 13th appearance at the state finals, had never lost in five previous title tilts. Andrean, meanwhile, has now won the 3A crown three times (the 59ers’ first came in 2005 at Loeb Stadium in Lafayette over Evansville Memorial).
Jasper’s Ahrens named Mental Attitude Award winner
Following the game, Jasper High School’s Austin Ahrens was named the winner of the L.V. Phillips Mental Attitude Award for Class 3A baseball by the IHSAA executive committee. Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, the proud corporate partner of all IHSAA state tournaments, presented a $1,000 scholarship to the school in his name.
The award is annually presented to an outstanding senior participant in each state championship game who has best demonstrated excellence in mental attitude, scholarship, leadership, and athletic ability in baseball. The award is named in honor of the late L.V. Phillips, who served as the second commissioner of the IHSAA from 1945-62.
Ahrens was a varsity starter for the Wildcats for 3½ years, was an All-Big Eight Conference selection this season, and led the team in batting average, stolen bases, home runs, and runs scored. In addition to baseball, he lettered twice in basketball and four times in football, where he was named Academic All-State last fall and an All-State pick the last two seasons.
He graduated with a 4.0 GPA, was a two-year member of the National Honor Society, and was involved with the Key Club, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and the Student Council at his school.
The son of Tony and Christy Ahrens of Jasper will attend Indiana University in the fall with plans to major in finance with a minor in chemistry.
The box score:
Andrean 6 (29-6)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
Vince Tornincasa cf…… 4 1 2 1 0 0 1 0 0
Mark Pishkur 2b………. 3 1 1 0 1 0 1 3 0
Brandon Pavlina pr…… 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Ken Mahala p…………. 4 0 1 3 0 3 0 1 0
Phil Mason rf………… 3 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1
Matt Doolin 1b……….. 4 1 1 0 0 0 6 0 0
Jordan Falls c……….. 3 1 1 1 0 1 7 1 2
Zach Goldasich dh…….. 3 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 1
Tyler Ochi 3b………… 2 1 1 0 0 0 1 2 0
Mike Brosseau ss……… 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
Nick Tobye lf………… 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0
Totals………………. 29 6 9 6 2 5 21 8 6
Jasper 1 (30-6)
Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
Caleb Begle ss……….. 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 2 0
Austin Ahrens rf……… 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0
Spencer Sapp p……….. 3 1 1 1 0 0 1 2 0
Dane Giesler dh………. 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3
Blake Blessinger 3b…… 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
Tory Hall c………….. 3 0 1 0 0 1 6 2 0
Scott Wendholt cf…….. 3 0 1 0 0 0 5 0 1
Nick Gobert 2b……….. 3 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 2
Eric Schnaus lf………. 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0
Logan Sermersheim ph…. 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Jason Hopf pr……….. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Sam Rumbach 1b……….. 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 1 0
Totals………………. 26 1 5 1 1 7 21 9 6
Score by innings R H E
Andrean 003 300 0 – 6 9 1
Jasper 000 001 0 – 1 5 2
E – Falls; Begle 2. DP – Andrean 1. LOB – Andrean 6, Jasper 6.
2B – Mahala. 3B – Doolin, Hall. HR – Sapp(2).
HBP – Falls, Ochi; Schnaus. SB – Mahala; Wendholt.
Andrean IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP
Ken Mahala 7.0 5 1 1 1 7 26 28 106
Jasper IP H R ER BB SO AB BF NP
Spencer Sapp 7.0 9 6 6 2 5 29 33 110
Win – Mahala (10-0). Loss – Sapp (12-3).
HBP – by Mahala (Schnaus); by Sapp (Ochi), by Sapp (Falls).
Pitches/strikes: Mahala 106/72, Sapp 110/71.
Umpires – HP Mark Mettler, 1B Anthony Turk, 2B Jeffrey Hull, 3B Jay Slater
Start: 4:15 p.m. Time: 1:40.
Weather: 86 degrees, clear.
Play-by-play
Andrean starters: 4/cf Tornincasa; 3/2b Pishkur; 5/p Mahala; 17/rf Mason; 21/1b
Doolin; 13/c Falls; 19/dh Goldasich; 1/3b Ochi; 22/ss Brosseau; 16/lf Tobye;
Jasper starters: 3/ss Begle; 7/rf Ahrens; 18/p Sapp; 8/dh Giesler; 20/3b
Blessinger; 4/c Hall; 12/cf Wendholt; 16/2b Gobert; 11/lf Schnaus; 24/1b
Rumbach;
Andrean 1st – Tornincasa out at first 1b to p (0-2). Pishkur grounded
out to 2b (0-0). Mahala struck out looking (2-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors,
0 LOB.
Jasper 1st – Begle singled to center field (2-1). Ahrens grounded out to
3b (1-1); Begle advanced to second. Sapp grounded out to 2b (2-2); Begle
advanced to third. Giesler fouled out to c (0-1). 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
Andrean 2nd – Mason walked (3-2). Mason out at first p to 1b, picked
off. Doolin grounded out to 3b (2-0). Falls struck out swinging (1-2). 0
runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Jasper 2nd – Blessinger struck out swinging, out at first c to 1b (1-2).
Hall struck out swinging (1-2). Wendholt singled to right field (0-1). Wendholt
stole second. Gobert struck out looking (2-2). 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
Andrean 3rd – Goldasich singled to right field (1-2). Ochi singled down
the lf line (2-1); Goldasich advanced to second. Goldasich out at second c to
ss, picked off. Brosseau flied out to rf (2-1). Tornincasa singled to right
field (1-0); Ochi advanced to second. Pishkur singled to shortstop (0-0);
Tornincasa advanced to second; Ochi advanced to third. Mahala doubled down the
lf line, 3 RBI (0-0); Pishkur scored; Tornincasa scored; Ochi scored. Mahala
stole third. Mason grounded out to p (1-2). 3 runs, 5 hits, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
Jasper 3rd – Schnaus hit by pitch (1-0). Begle struck out swinging
(3-2). Ahrens walked (3-1); Schnaus advanced to second. Sapp fouled out to 3b
(0-2). Giesler grounded out to 2b (3-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 2
LOB.
Andrean 4th – Doolin tripled to right field (1-1). Falls singled up the
middle, RBI (1-2); Doolin scored. Goldasich singled through the left side
(0-0); Falls advanced to second. Ochi hit by pitch (2-0); Goldasich advanced to
second; Falls advanced to third. Brosseau reached on a fielder’s choice, RBI
(1-1); Ochi advanced to second on a muffed throw by ss; Goldasich advanced to
third; Falls scored. Tornincasa singled through the left side, RBI (1-0);
Brosseau advanced to second; Ochi advanced to third; Goldasich scored. Pishkur
flied out to cf (0-1). Mahala struck out swinging (1-2). Ochi out at home c to
ss to c. 3 runs, 4 hits, 1 error, 2 LOB.
Jasper 4th – Blessinger flied out to rf (1-1). Hall tripled to right
field (0-1). Wendholt reached on a fielder’s choice (0-1); Hall out at home 3b
to c. Gobert struck out looking (0-2). 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Andrean 5th – Mason struck out looking (1-2). Doolin grounded out to ss
(0-0). Falls hit by pitch (2-0). Goldasich flied out to cf (1-2). 0 runs, 0
hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Jasper 5th – Schnaus struck out looking (0-2). Begle flied out to cf
(2-0). Ahrens flied out to lf (1-0). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Andrean 6th – Ochi flied out to cf (0-1). Brosseau popped up to 2b
(1-2). Tornincasa flied out to cf (2-2). 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.
Jasper 6th – Sapp homered to right field, RBI (3-2). Giesler struck out
swinging, reached first on a throwing error by c (1-2). Blessinger lined out to
lf (0-2). Hall flied out to lf (0-0). Wendholt grounded out to p (0-1). 1
run, 1 hit, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Andrean 7th – Pishkur walked (3-2). Mahala struck out swinging (2-2).
Mason flied out to lf (0-0). Doolin reached on a fielding error by ss (0-2);
Pishkur advanced to second. Pavlina pinch ran for Pishkur. Falls flied out to
cf (1-1). 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 2 LOB.
Jasper 7th – Pishkur to 2b for Pavlina. Gobert flied out to lf (1-2).
Sermersheim pinch hit for Schnaus. Sermersheim singled through the right side
(3-2). Hopf pinch ran for Sermersheim. Begle hit into double play ss to 2b to
1b (2-1); Hopf out on the play. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
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