Dave Pishkur's Andrean teams usually rule Victory Field. Not this year against Guerin

INDIANAPOLIS – Andrean coach Dave Pishkur has not experienced many days like Friday in his 45-year coaching career.

Pishkur, the coach for all nine of Andrean’s record-tying nine state championships, watched his top-ranked team fall in an early hole and never recover in a 9-3 loss to No. 2 Guerin Catholic in the Class 3A state championship on Friday afternoon at Victory Field.

“That’s a very good team,” Pishkur said of Guerin Catholic. “I’m happy for them that they won their first state championship. I’m happy for our guys that we got here. We just weren’t good enough.”

It is a rarity that Andrean is not good enough when it arrives at Victory Field. The 59ers have won all nine of their state championships since 2005 – all in Class 3A – with runner-up finishes in 2004 and 2023. The loss in 2004 was a 3-2 nailbiter against New Palestine. The 2023 game was decided by a 4-2 count against Silver Creek.

There was nothing – from previous seasons or this season – that would have suggested Friday’s lopsided score.

“You get in the state championship game, and these are 16-, 17- and 18-year-old guys,” Pishkur said. “You think you got them prepared. We’ve been here 12 or 13 times and never played a bad game here ever. You just don’t know. Credit to them for getting us here. We just didn’t have the best game when we needed it but still love them all.”

The trouble started early for Andrean (31-3), which allowed just one run combined in semistate wins last week over DeKalb and NorthWood. Starting pitcher Kaden Maxwell, who sported a 6-0 record with a 2.00 earned run average coming into the state finals, did not make it through the first inning. He allowed two hits, walked two and threw a wild pitch.

But it was not just Maxwell. Andrean’s five pitchers surrendered nine walks and hit three batters. By the middle of the fourth inning, Guerin Catholic was cruising with a 9-1 lead.

“We’re here because of our pitching staff,” Pishkur said. “We’re not a great hitting team. We walked nine guys and hit three guys, which is the worst we’ve done all year.”

Pishkur, the state’s all-time wins leader with 1,182 victories, did not put any blame for Friday’s performance on the tornado that wreaked havoc on the Andrean campus. The team was forced to practice off campus for the past week.

“I’m not going to say not at all,” he said of the impact. “No. It wasn’t fun … but we had a good week of practice, had a good week of mental practice. Sometimes at this venue, everybody doesn’t react well. Usually, it’s the first inning you have to watch out for. And that first inning bit us.”

Andrean will move up to Class 4A for the next two years due to the tournament success factor after the 59ers won the title last year. Guerin Catholic will also move up to 4A. Pishkur said he hoped to see the Golden Eagles next year. Same time, same place, different class.

“All the credit to that team,” Pishkur said. “They were far the superior team today. No question about it.”

Read more: IHSAA 3A baseball state championship; Guerin Catholic defeats Andrean

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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IHSAA baseball: Andrean struggles in Class 3A state title game vs. Guerin