Published: May 09, 2008 11:47 pm            

HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL: Kulwicki’s single puts Floyd in HHC final

FLOYDS KNOBS — Thanks to some extra-inning heroics on Friday night at Highlander Field, the Floyd Central baseball team put itself in position to do something it has never done before — repeat as Hoosier Hills Conference champions.

Keith Kulwicki’s RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning gave the Highlanders a 5-4 victory over Jeffersonville in the HHC Tournament semifinals. Floyd (14-8) will vie for its second straight conference title at 11 a.m. today when it hosts Jennings County, a 6-2 semifinal winner over Bedford North Lawrence on Friday.

“We knew Jeff was going to be the team to beat,” Highlanders head coach Casey LaDuke said. “But we played them in summer ball and we felt we could play with them.”

The Red Devils (15-6) had a chance to take the lead in the top of the eighth. Aaron Hargett drew a walk to lead off the frame and advanced to second base on a John Jacobs sacrifice.

But Floyd starting pitcher Jordan Schuppert recorded back-to-back strikeouts of Mitchell Mattingly and Ryan Pierce to end the inning.

Senior Kyle Naville led off the bottom of the eighth with a deep double to left-center field off Jeff relief pitcher Mack Schulz. After Ben Stillman reached on an intentional walk, Nick Peters sacrificed Naville to third base and Stillman to second.

Following an intentional walk to Floyd’s L.J. Martin, Kulwicki smacked a deep single to center that drove in Naville for the game-winner. Schulz’s record dropped to 0-2.

“It’s easy (to score) when you get a leadoff double, but you’ve got to come through with the bunt. Kyle is our No. 3 hitter and he did what he was supposed to do,” LaDuke said. “Things went our way.”

Jeff head coach Al Rabe ordered both intentional walks to set up a potential, inning-ending double play. Unfortunately for the Red Devils, it did not work out.

“That was our chance to get out of it,” Rabe said. “There was one out and you’ve got to set up the double play. We were one groundball away from getting out of the inning.”

The Highlanders took the early lead at 2-0 after the first inning. Naville, who went 3-for-3, collected an RBI single, and then teammate Daniel Huhnerkoch scored on a Peters groundout.

Two Jeff solo home runs deadlocked the game at two. Hargett led off the top of the second with a solo shot, followed by teammate Cody Poole tying the game with a homer in the third.

Floyd scored two runs in the bottom of the third to go up 4-2. Stillman smacked a double to left-center to knock in Huhnerkoch from second. Later in the frame, Stillman came home on a wild pitch from Red Devil starter Tony Moore.

Jeff’s Sam Burke tied the game up at four in the top of the fifth. The clean-up hitter hit an opposite-field triple that went into the right-field corner, plating Brian Mendenhall and Moore.

Schuppert improved his record to 6-1 in the complete-game effort. All four of the runs he yielded were earned, as he allowed six hits. He struck out 10 and walked seven.

“Their pitcher did a good job, and we couldn’t drive them in,” Rabe said. “He made quality pitches at the right time.”

Moore threw seven innings, yielding four runs (one earned) on five hits. He fanned seven and walked two. Moore also went 2-for-3.

“I thought Tony got better in the sixth and seventh. I thought he did real well,” LaDuke said.

Today’s final will be the first time Floyd and Jennings have met this season. The Panthers defeated the Highlanders in the Class 4A Bedford Sectional semifinals last year, 4-0.

“They’re going to be ready to play,” LaDuke said about Jennings. “They play hard and they play scrappy.”

The Red Devils host Bedford in the third-place game at 11 a.m. today.



JEFFERSONVILLE 011 020 00—4 6 2

FLOYD CENTRAL 202 000 01—5 7 0

W — Schuppert (6-1). L — Schulz (0-2). 2B — Huhnerkoch (F), Naville (F), Stillman (F). 3B — Burke (J). HR — Poole (J), Hargett (J).

Records — Floyd Central 14-8, Jeff 15-6.

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.