CLASS 4A BNL SECTIONAL: Red Devils repeat as sectional champions
Jeff’s Astle masters Floyd Central again in 5-0 victory in BNL Sectional final

By KEVIN HARRIS
kevin.harris@newsandtribune.com

BEDFORD — The Floyd Central Highlanders have gotten the most of each pitcher they have faced during the 2013 season.

Except one: Jeffersonville’s Trent Astle.

On Monday night, the senior left-hander became Floyd Central’s archnemesis once again.

Astle threw a six-hit shutout to lead the Red Devils to a 5-0 victory over the Class 4A No. 1 Highlanders 5-0 in the Bedford North Lawrence Sectional championship game. It was Jeff’s second sectional championship in a row and its 23rd overall.

The Red Devils (21-5) will take on Franklin in the first semifinal of the Evansville Reitz Regional at noon Saturday at historic Bosse Field. The Grizzly Cubs defeated Franklin Central 3-1 in the Whiteland Sectional final on Monday.

Astle struck out three and walked two on Monday. It was the second time Astle has blanked the Highlanders this season. He tossed a two-hit shutout against Floyd Central in Jeff’s 1-0 victory in the Hoosier Hills Conference Tournament championship game on May 11.

“I’m going to be glad when he graduates,” Highlanders’ coach Casey LaDuke joked. “He’s got our number. In the last five times we’ve played them, we’ve beat them twice, but the other three times they’ve beat us and he’s been on the mound.”

Astle said he struggled at the start of the sectional final, but once he got into a rhythm, the Xavier University recruit was nearly unstoppable.

“At the beginning of the game, nothing was working for me. It took me awhile to find my groove,” Astle said. “Once I established my cutter, I threw that a lot and got a lot of jams. That was a great hitting team and to do that phenomenal.”

Astle did even more damage at the plate. He went 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and two RBIs.

“Trent was a beast at the plate and on the mound,” Jeff coach Derek Ellis said. “Tonight, Trent was throwing strikes and keeping them off-balance. We played great defense and we actually hit the ball. We got some timely hitting.”

The Red Devils got on the board first with a run in the opening inning. Nick Gallagher hit a comebacker to Floyd Central starter Kyle Sipes, who misplayed the ball and then made a wild throw to first base to allow Gallagher to go to second.

After a single by Drew Ellis to advance Gallagher to third, Gallagher came home on a Floyd Central double play.

In the third, Drew Ellis led off the frame with a single down the third-base line.

Then Astle drilled a Sipes pitch over the 345-foot sign in left-center field for a two-run homer, putting Jeff up 3-0.

“It’s always nice to score first,” Derek Ellis said. “It takes a little bit of pressure off Trent. When we have a lead and Trent goes out to the mound, he’s going to keep it close and that’s exactly what he did.”

The Red Devils extended their lead to 4-0 in the top of the fourth. Astle smashed a two-out double off Floyd Central reliever Kyle Beach, followed by Chandler Dale hitting an RBI single to right to plate pinch-runner Damin Smith.

In the top of the sixth, Jeff’s Jared Burke started the frame with a double to left. After Burke advanced to third on a passed ball, he scored on a base hit by Gallagher.

Sipes, who entered the game with a 9-2 record and a 1.78 earned-run average, gave up three runs (two earned) on four hits. He struck out two, walked two and hit two batters.

Despite being the losing pitcher in the HHC Tournament final, Sipes had a solid effort in that game against Jeff by giving up one run (unearned) on four hits with five strikeouts.

Coach Ellis thought Jeff was more prepared to face the Highlander southpaw the second time on Monday.

“We knew what we were going to get,” the Jeff manager said. “He throws a lot of first-pitch curveballs. Trent was sitting on a first-pitch curveball and he hit it out of the ballpark. We were going to be aggressive at the plate.”

Drew Ellis ended up going 2-for-4 with a run scored. Astle said repeating as sectional champions was challenging this year.

“We struggled some this year more than I thought we would,” Astle said. “Even after our second-to-last game before sectional, I was still worried. But when we beat Silver Creek [last Tuesday] and 10-run-ruled them before sectional, I knew we were in for something special.”

Floyd Central’s Jacob Snodgrass and Derek DeSpain each went 2-for-3. The Highlanders lose eight seniors in Snodgrass, DeSpain, Sipes, Connor Curry, Will Mayberry, Kyle Neafus, Cody Sunderhaus and Garrett Ruttle.

Despite falling short of the sectional title, LaDuke said his players have plenty to be proud of this season. The Highlanders finished the season 29-3.

“At the beginning of the year, we told them don’t let the sectional define your year. Just go out, play hard and have fun. And we had a lot of fun,” LaDuke said. “We got ranked No. 1 and no other Floyd Central team has done that. Nobody can take that away from them, and that’s always going to be there.

“Derek [Ellis] and I were talking before the game that it was going to be too bad that somebody has got to lose between these two teams. But there’s got to be a loser.”