Five Evansville area teams win IHSAA baseball regional championships

EVANSVILLE — What kind of team resided within the North baseball dugout?

Jeremy Jones already knew the answer. The evidence was laid bare over the past two seasons. With their backs against the wall, would the Huskies have the blueprint to find a way?

The question is rhetorical. Of course North knew what to do.

It resulted another message to those remaining in the state tournament.

No. 3 North defeated Jeffersonville 6-3 on Saturday, June 6 at Bosse Field to repeat as IHSAA Class 4A regional champions. The Huskies took a major jab early in the count, only to send multiple responses back at the Red Devils over the final four innings.

“You look up and we’re down 3-1,” Jones said. “We’ve gotta find out what type of team do we have? What sort of resolve do we have? Man, credit to our guys. Just a great team win.”

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The recipe was the same as past championship performances. Timely hitting and elite pitching.

Trailing 3-1 in the third, the Huskies (27-4) responded with some of their best team baseball this spring. Jaxon Edmund (single) and Tyler Land (triple) knotted the score in the fourth. A three-spot in the fifth on the back of a sacrifice fly and two-run error. North only had seven hits but made each of them count.

The other aspect was a nearly perfect performance from the bullpen. AJ Baggett struck out four in 2 2/3 innings before being chased. Ty Pohl played the savior role for the second time in the postseason with 3 1/3 scoreless and five punchouts. The sophomore stranded runners in scoring position twice.

Carson Frome entered in the seventh. The sophomore induced a 6-4-3 double play to end the game.

“My coaches prepare me really well,” Pohl said. “I’m a big-time competitor. Coming into those situations, it’s what I’m built of. I have a heavy fastball, so I feel like I can get a lot of guys out on the top of the zone. Everything was working today.”

It follows a familiar script. North dueled Castle to an extra-inning battle in the sectional semifinal. It recovered from an early hole to beat Reitz in the championship. This had the added pressure of an opponent on a roll after surviving a difficult sectional.

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The Huskies have multiple returners from last year’s state runner-up finish. It also sees multiple sophomores filling the gaps. Pohl and Frome on the mound. Edmond and Kelby Sollman at the plate.

Not only is the present tantalizing. The future is extremely bright.

“They’re contributing every week,” Jones said. “Jaxon Edmond in left field with some big knocks. Then those two big cats on the mound. Those guys feel confident getting the ball. We can tell AJ got 60-70 pitches, and we’ve got your back.”

Brooks Carroll was 2-for-4 with a pair of runs. Grant Smith, Aidan Toler and Derrick Haynes had multiple hits for Jeffersonville (16-11). This is only the fourth regional title in program history for the Huskies.

The next challenge? A rematch with No. 1 Center Grove in the semi-state. It will be a bigger challenge to advance than the past two weekends. But the confidence level from this group is high for good reason. North continually has the right answer. The setting or opponent never matters.

“We’re just all one right now,” Pohl said. “Everybody’s riding for each other. We come up in big moments. It’s a really special group.”

This performance was much more to coach Bobby Segal’s liking.

Part of it was how the Titans escaped the sectional with three competitive victories, two decided by a single run. There was also the lingering thought of whether this lineup could produce enough in the postseason to help a dominant pitching staff.

All questions were answered at Bosse Field. No. 4 Gibson Southern defeated Memorial 12-3 to win the Class 3A regional title for the first time in 12 years. The Titans scored in five different innings, including a pair of four spots, to aid another strong effort on the mound.

“It was nice to see the full effect,” Segal said. “Offense, defense and pitching. When you can combine those three, you’ve got a shot to win any game.”

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Start with the offense. The Titans (26-6) jumped on Memorial immediately with two in the first (bases loaded walk and hit by pitch) before pushing four across in the second. Gunner Alexander and Rhys Sorgius plated three on back-to-back doubles. By that point, the feeling at Bosse Field turned to how long the game would last.

The Tigers (17-9) called six pitchers into the game with minimal success. Gibson Southern had 13 hits with six going for extra bases. Alexander finished 3-for-4 with two doubles and four RBIs. Cooper Wahl had two hits (including a triple in the fourth) with two RBIs.

“Once we caught a couple of barrels,” Alexander said. “we knew we were good. We put up 12 runs. That says something. We got PAC last year but fell short in the sectional. We got a sectional and a regional. We want more.”

It was more than enough with Jake Mazzier on the mound. The Western Kentucky signee allowed only two hits and two walks to pair with seven strikeouts across six innings. He retired the first six batters and only a single runner reached base through four. Mazzier hit a brief wall in the middle of the game but worked out of a bases loaded jam with minimal damage.

Memorial didn’t record a hit until the sixth. Mazzier has a 1.41 earned run average and 91 strikeouts on the season.

“He can spin it with the best of them in the state,” Segal said. “He’s in attack mode. It makes our job a lot easier. He works with quick pace and keeps our defense in the game.”

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Grayson Marx had two of Memorial’s three hits, both for extra bases. Gibson Southern turns its focus to next weekend’s semi-state against Cathedral. A spot the program hasn’t experienced in over a decade. But the Titans have the pitching and confidence at the plate to potentially send a message.

Their aspirations aren’t limited to winning a regional championship.

“We wanted to change the culture of Gibson Southern,” Mazzier said. “It’s been a long time since they’ve done this. Our pitchers were able to step up last week and get the job done. And today, (the hitters) bang for me. Helped me out a ton knowing one run won’t kill us.”

No. 1 Mater Dei defeated Salem 6-1 to win the Class 2A regional at Mitchell. Cole Breeden delivered a shut-down performance on the mound with three hits and no earned runs in a complete game. The sophomore struck out nine to weather a run in the opening inning.

The Wildcats (28-3) scored four runs over the final two innings to pull away. Nolan Schickel had three hits (two doubles), while Max Miller and Jackson Schaefer drove in two runs apiece. Mater Dei advances back to the semi-state with its 11th regional title.

No. 4 Northeast Dubois defeated No. 9 Shakamak 3-2 at Jasper to repeat as Class 1A champions. The Jeeps (21-5) retook the lead with a pair of runs in the sixth on an error and Carter Fuhs single. Brycen Mroz pitched around a bases loaded jam in the seventh to finish the victory.

North Daviess defeated West Washington 5-3 to win the Class 1A regional at Floyd Central. Zane Sample kept the Senators off the scoreboard until the seventh inning. Koen Stoll, Hayden Sample and Keaton Graber had two hits apiece. It is the first regional title for the Cougars (15-14) since 2005.

Kyle Sokeland is a sports reporter for the Courier & Press. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @kylesokeland or email at kyle.sokeland@courierpress.com.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Five Southwestern Indiana baseball teams win IHSAA regional titles