By Rich Torres, Special to IHSAA.org
INDIANAPOLIS – With two outs in the bottom of the sixth, Indianapolis Lutheran junior Gage Meaney reached second base for a third time Friday night, and the Saints’ fans packed inside Victory Field immediately rose to their feet.
Showered by applause as he jogged to the dugout after getting subbed out for a pinch-runner, an error allowed Meaney to get another runner in scoring position, but his 2-for-3 day proved a record-setting catalyst.
Finishing the game with a pair of two-out, RBI doubles, which tied an IHSAA Class 1A baseball state finals record, Meaney set a new state standard with five RBI overall, as the ninth-ranked Saints toppled top-ranked Kouts, 14-1, to win their first-ever state title.
“It doesn’t matter how many outs are on the scoreboard, I got to do my thing. I feel like I did that today. It was big momentum for us to score this many runs and just come out on top,” Meaney said.
“That’s really all we’ve been told all year, just put pressure on them and most guys will struggle. We did that today, and they struggled a little bit, and we showed it on the scoreboard.”
Lutheran (21-10) defeated their ninth opponent this season by a run-rule margin. Friday’s win marked its sixth 10-run victory in eight games and was the largest margin of defeat for Kouts (27-7), which like the Saints was chasing the program’s first state championship.
“That was the goal. Not to be rude, that is a great team, but I wanted to prove how good we were,” Lutheran coach Josh Meaney said. “We needed that today.”
Coach Meaney’s son, Gage, set the tone during Lutheran’s two-out rally to plate three runs in the bottom of the first.
After a brief hiccup to start, the Saints had four consecutive batters reach base, plating three on an RBI single by senior Owen Lecher (1-for-3, 2 RBI, 2 runs) and Meaney’s two-run double.
Meaney’s second double in the bottom of the fifth drove in three runs and highlighted a Class 1A state championship, record-tying six-run inning.
Meaney matched a Class 1A state record with two doubles and surpassed the previous Class 1A RBI record of three set by several previous players.
He reached base in each of his at-bats with a walk in the fourth.
Meaney’s feat at the plate was even more impressive considering a hamstring injury slowed his progress at the outset of the season.
“That kid, man. He struggled and struggled. I couldn’t be more proud of him. Earlier in the season, he had a hamstring injury, and then it took him about a month to find it,” Josh Meaney remarked on his son’s journey.
“To see him, yes, he’s my son, but to see any player go through what he was going through and mentally be down, to continue to fight and fight and really showcase what he is capable of on his stage, incredible.”
The Saints’ eighth straight win was dominating from top to bottom.
Lutheran’s 14 runs scored tied a Class 1A record set by Lafayette Central Catholic in 2009. The two teams combined 15 runs tied the 2009 Class 1A mark set by Lafayette Central Catholic and Vincennes Rivet.
Junior Hudson Mills (1-for-3) tied the Class 1A record with three runs scored, and senior Austin Brandenburg tied the Class 1A state finals record with three stolen bases while serving as a pinch runner.
“They didn’t change anything from game one to game 31. They stuck with the program. They trusted their training. They trusted their coaches, and they hit,” Josh Meaney said.
“And they ran exactly like I told them to.”
They led 3-0 until Kouts broke up senior Ryan Redding’s attempt at a shutout in the top of the fourth.
The Saints pulled off the hidden ball trick, executed by senior shortstop Masen Phelps, to get junior Reid Estill out at second base with two runners on. The deception negated Estill’s lead-off walk and an error that awarded him second base.
“We do not practice that at all. We actually started that last year. Between the last two years, we probably pulled that off 10, 12 times. I think six or seven this year alone,” Josh Meaney said. “The pitchers know. They know what to do. They don’t have to be on the mound. The guys just kind of hang out and wait. It just starts with the fielders not giving the ball back.”
However, another Saints’ error plated Kouts’ lone run as junior Noah Gudeman scored after reaching on a fielder’s choice and advanced to second on a wild pitch.
Redding didn’t let the setback derail him. The right-hander cruised for the complete-game victory. Redding allowed two hits, no earned runs, six walks and struck out seven.
Junior Jesse Overholt (2-for-3) recorded Kouts’ only two hits. The Mustangs left seven runners on base.
“I told coach I wanted to go five, limit the runs and be the best teammate that I could be in the dugout with my reliever in, but all glory to God, I was able to go out and show out the way I did,” Redding said.
“We’ve just kind of been trying to ride the highs and keep the lows to a minimum, but we run-rule people. We put up runs. That’s what we do. Our offense has been what’s carried us through this whole season.”
Lutheran’s six-run bottom of the fifth increased its lead to 9-1. The Saints’ five-run sixth made it a run-rule margin.
Senior Nate Huges (2-for-4, 2 runs) and junior Caleb Courtot (2-for-4, RBI) joined Gage Meaney with two hits apiece. The Saints logged 11 hits, while 10 different players scored at least one run.
“We’re on top. We’re champions. That’s pretty cool,” Gage Meaney said. “It’s insane, you know. I always thought that I’d be on this stage, biggest moment, and it happened. It’s a dream come true.”
For Josh Meaney, it was a memory he won’t forget, especially hearing the downtown Indianapolis’ crowd as his son left the field for the last time this season.
“Man, it’s been 12 years I’ve been coaching this kid, and all he wants to do is play baseball. He wanted to prove he belonged, not because he was the coach’s kid, but because he was a baseball player and a good baseball player,” Josh Meaney said. “He did that today, and he did it for himself. He did it for his team. And he came through when they needed it.”
Class 1A State Championship Records
RBI: 5 by Gage Meaney of Indianapolis Lutheran
Runs Scored (Tied): 14 by Indianapolis Lutheran
Combined Runs (Tied): 15 by Indianapolis Lutheran (14) and Kouts (1)
Doubles (Tied): 2 by Gage Meaney of Indianapolis Lutheran
Stolen Bases (Tied): 3 by Austin Brandenburg of Indianapolis Lutheran
Runs in an Inning (Tied): 6 by Indianapolis Lutheran
Runs by a Player (Tied): 3 by Mills, Indianapolis Lutheran
Lutheran’s Ryan Redding earns Gardner Mental Attitude Award
At the conclusion of the game, Ryan Redding of Indianapolis Lutheran High School was announced as the recipient of the Phil Gardner Mental Attitude Award for Class 1A Baseball.
The award is annually presented to a senior participant in the state finals who best demonstrates mental attitude, scholarship, leadership, and athletic ability and is nominated by their principal and coach.
Academically, Redding graduated with a 4.25 GPA, Lutheran High School High Honors with Academic Distinction, and was a Senior Scholar Athlete. He was a member of the National Honor Society and is an active participant in the Youth Group at Calvary Lutheran Church. Ryan was awarded with the Presidential Award of Excellence and Asbury Award winner at DePauw versity.
Ryan was Academic All-Conference the last two seasons, is a three-time Sectional Champion, and two-time Regional Champion and helped the Saints to their first appearance in the state finals. He was a four-year starter and the conference home run leader last season.
Ryan is the son of Alex and Arden Redding of Indianapolis, IN and will attend DePauw University to study Finance beginning in the fall.
The award is named in honor of retired IHSAA Assistant Commissioner Phil Gardner who served 27 years with the IHSAA. He spent 18 years as a member of its Board of Directors and nine more years as assistant commissioner administering the baseball state tournament during that time.
Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, IHSAA corporate partner, presented a $1,000 scholarship to Indianapolis Lutheran High School in the name of Ryan Redding.