Published: June 05, 2009 02:06 am      

3A BASEBALL: Charlestown faces tough challenge at regional

It’s been quite a postseason for area baseball teams, with two sectional champions each from Floyd (New Albany, Christian Academy of Indiana) and Clark County (Providence, Charlestown).

Of those success stories, the Pirates are by far the biggest surprise, winning the Class 3A Silver Creek Sectional with a come-from-behind victory over Salem in the final that cemented their status as a true Cinderella story.

But now it’s time to play on, and Charlestown finds itself in a Southridge Regional field that is filled with Indiana baseball royalty. Names like Jasper, Evansville Memorial and West Vigo are shake teams accustomed to postseason glory.

Thing is, the Pirates aren’t real worried about all that.

“We’re not overly concerned with West Vigo,” said Charlestown coach Ricky Romans. “We’re really just concerned with ourselves. We know what West Vigo is about. We know they’re a good ballclub with a great tradition. We’re just more worried about being focused on playing our game. Playing fundamental baseball and doing the little things that can make us successful.”

Charlestown (22-8) will take on West Vigo (25-1) in the first semifinal at Southridge on Saturday at 11 a.m. That game will be followed by a matchup between Evansville Memorial and Jasper, with the winners to face off for the title at 8 p.m.

While the Pirates have had a wildly successful season, Romans knows they’ll have to reverse some trends that emerged during their magical run to the sectional crown. Chief among them is getting off to a good start.

Salem jumped out to a 5-0 lead during the first inning of Monday’s final at Silver Creek, requiring some clutch hitting and a deft escape by Charlestown ace Bryan Williams to rally for a 7-6 victory.

Offensively, the Pirates can be a powerhouse, with six hitters batting .330 or better, but as the competition gets tougher – and West Vigo is a steep upgrade – Romans knows even a charged lineup won’t be enough if his team gets into an early hole.

“Obviously, we don’t like getting down 5-0, even if we do feel good enough about our offense that we feel like we can still make a run,” Romans said. “The bottom line is that a win is a win, but we have got to be better coming out of the gates. We feel like that comes down to mental preparation.”

Of course, Williams will be on the mound Saturday, and his presence should help bolster the team’s confidence. The Charlestown ace has been credited with half of his team’s wins on the season, rolling up an 11-2 record with a 3.08 ERA, and added to his mystique by notching all three victories during the sectional title run.

Williams will be up against a top-notch lineup led by Indiana State-signee Jeremy Lucas. The senior catcher is hitting .577 with seven home runs, and he is made all the more dangerous by lead-off man Jordan Pearson, who is hitting .456 with 35 steals from the No. 1 hole. Both Cameron Fagg (.430, five home runs) and Aaron Welch (.395, five home runs) will also challenge Williams.

Romans isn’t particularly concerned with West Vigo’s offensive output, either. After all, the Pirates boast a pair of huge hitters in seniors Damon Vest (.442, 10 homers) and Cameron Metzger (.408, eight homers). The multi-sport stars at the school have been at their best in this campaign and are described by Romans as “the twin engines” of the Pirate offense. The duo is made even more dangerous by the sheer number of Charlestown hitters capable of getting on base, as Matt Wyatt, Chad Brady, Tyler Rhodes and Joel Rodriguez have all delivered big seasons and are all hitting north of .330.

The lineup will be tested by Pearson, Vigo’s top pitcher. He is 12-1 on the year with a 1.97 ERA and 70 strikeouts.

Still, the numbers are just numbers. There is a buzz about this Pirate team that Romans hopes to continue. It is the school’s second-ever appearance in the regional round and the Pirate boss sees the bracket filled with the sort of teams that he one day hopes his club will compete with on a yearly basis.

“Those three teams are baseball powerhouses,” he said. “These are the teams we are trying to become. We want to build this into a baseball school and it has to start somewhere.”

Romans says the quickest road to imitation is for his team to simply not worry about the names on the opposing jerseys. After all, of all the local success stories this baseball postseason, this one is likely the most feel-good in the bunch.

And that’s exactly how the Pirates feel.

“We know we are in for a challenge and we know we have our hands full,” Romans said. “But these kids are very excited and we are going to go out and play our game and do the best we can. We’re going to make sure we leave (the regional) with good memories.”