By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – According to Proverbs, a just man falls seven times and rises again. Apply that Biblical wisdom to the baseball diamond. You can’t keep a good team down for seven innings, and Center Grove, ranked No.1 in the Class 4A state poll, is definitely good. And the Trojans kept rising when Bedford North Lawrence had them down.
Trailing 4-1 after three innings, Center Grove battled back to rise above the Stars on Tuesday evening, taking the lead in the fifth and fending off a late potential BNL threat for a 6-4 triumph. Center Grove improved to 11-0 as two relievers kept BNL (6-2) in check over the final four frames.
Considering that Center Grove had outscored its last six opponents by a staggering 64-3 run differential, BNL’s ability to push the defending state runner-up to the brink of a first defeat was impressive. But so was Center Grove’s unflinching resolve to respond to the challenge.
The Trojans answered with a momentum-swinging, two-run double by Andrew Krupa with two outs in the fourth, with a two-run rally for the lead in the fifth (with the go-ahead run crossing on a two-out, bases-loaded walk) and a huge insurance run in the sixth on small-ball execution. While the offense came to life, CG relievers Kyle Boots and Brendan Ealy worked four shutout innings to keep BNL at bay.
“They were able to get back in the game,” BNL coach Jeff Callahan said. “You add on, or answer back. When they score, we need to answer. We weren’t able to do that.”
BNL’s early eruption came from Cade Mungle, who crushed a two-run home run to right in the second, and from outstanding execution in the third. Cal Gates started that frame with a single, Maddox Ray bunted him to second, and Kline Woodward cracked a RBI single. After Ryker Hughes walked, Carter Bennett clubbed a RBI single.
The Trojans didn’t blink, although the situation got their attention. Facing BNL ace Ryker Hughes was a far greater test than the six-pack of runaway wins preceding this clash.
“We were excited to see Ryker,” Center Grove coach Keith Hatfield said. “I don’t know if he had his best stuff, but we battled. It’s been a while since we’ve seen anyone like that. That’s why I wasn’t freaking out. We had to go back to what we did in January and February, because we push our guys in the cage pretty hard. So it was getting them to regroup, because we had not seen a pitcher like that in two weeks.”
Center Grove scored the equalizing and go-ahead runs in the fifth thanks to four walks. The add-on run in the sixth came courtesy of a Drake McClurg walk and Noah Coy bunt. As BNL’s Kline Woodward fielded the bunt and rifled to first for the out, McClurg never stopped and streaked toward third. The throw to that base was misplayed, allowing McClurg to score.
BNL got two runners on in the bottom of the seventh before Ealy doused that rally. Gates, Woodward and Bennett all had two hits for BNL.
“That’s the type of team we need to play, the type of pitching we need to face,” Callahan said. “We battled the No.1 team in the state for seven innings, gave ourselves some chances. There are little things we could have done as players and coaches that could have helped, but those are the types of games we want to be in. Good teams make you play better.”
Carson Bush and Patrick Smith had two hits each for Center Grove.
“Being No.1 definitely puts a target on our backs,” Hatfield said. “But the only thing it really means is we’re playing well right now. The No.1 ranking only matters the last game of the year, and we were No.2 last year.”
The Stars will host Bloomington South on Wednesday.
