By Anna Kayser, Special to IHSAA.org
INDIANAPOLIS – It only took four pitches for Andrean’s star player Mason Barth, hanging onto a one-run lead with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh inning, to close a comeback for the ages and secure the 59ers’ ninth state championship in program history and third over the Jasper Wildcats, 4-3, on Friday night at Victory Field.
In the week leading up to Andrean’s 11th trip to the state finals contest – and its quest for a state record-tying ninth win – head coach Dave Pishkur led his team in reflection of some of sports’ greatest comebacks. A message, that turned out, would come in handy as it faced a 2-0 deficit entering the game’s final two frames.
“We brought in former players… and even some of our [current] players gave great talks,” Pishkur, in his 44th season leading Andrean, said. “They talked about comebacks, all kinds of different ones… In the sixth inning, I said, ‘The whole week, we talked about making a comeback [and] great comebacks in the history of sports… Now is a chance to make history at Andrean. Give me one good at-bat.’”
The first five innings were fairly tame, with an RBI triple and sacrifice fly lifting Jasper to a 2-0 lead in the second inning. The 59ers’ took their leader’s message to heart, stringing together base hits in the top half to knot the game with one full frame to play. Consecutive singles by Kaden Maxwell and Charles Sollars put runners on the corners for Steven Mack, who drove in the first run with a one-out sacrifice fly. A two-out single by Luke Goben then finished the comeback inning.
The momentum change was swift and clear come the top of the seventh inning. A leadoff single was Andrean’s lone hit in the frame, with two consecutive hit-by-pitches loading the bases before Sollars was beaned to drive in the go-ahead run. A four-pitch walk to Mack followed, scoring what would be the difference-making run.
“[We] extended [the sixth] inning and allowed those guys to come back around,” Pishkur said. “The key thing is we were able to turn that lineup over one more time because I was worried that if we had a quick sixth inning, we were going to have to go into the last inning [at the bottom of the order].”
Jasper’s comeback attempt in the bottom of the seventh paved the way for Andrean’s star player, Berth, to contribute to the history-making victory. Berth, who is widely-regarded as one of the best players in Andrean history (according to Pishkur), was part of the 59ers runner-up finish in 2023.
As the two-hitter in Andrean’s lineup, Berth went 1-for-2 with a walk. His greatest achievement came when he took to the mound for the first time in approximately a month to close out the game.
“I kind of just put all my faith in God,” Berth said. “[It was a] big game, I was nervous a little bit, but I got my trust in my guys, got my trust in the Lord, and I wasn’t scared out there.”
A hit batter to lead off the bottom of the seventh led to Jasper’s rally. With two outs, a walk and costly throwing error by the second baseman scored the leadoff man and put the game-winning run on second base.
Barth then entered and got senior A.J. Hulesman to strike out swinging on four pitches for the save.
“When Jett [Dutton] threw the ball into the dugout and we had to make the change, obviously I didn’t feel good,” Pishkur said. “And when Mason struck out the last guy, I’m glad it happened that way… Our best player on the team, one of the best players in the history of Andrean, got a chance to get the final out. It’s got to feel great for him.”
The victory is Pishkur’s ninth at Andrean, where he graduated in 1971. He is now tied with Lafayette Central Catholic’s Tim Bordenet for the state finals record for wins by a head coach. Three of those wins have come against Jasper (also: 2010 and ’15).
Class 3A State Championship Records
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Jasper’s Braxton Brosmer named Mental Attitude recipient
At the conclusion of the game, Braxton Brosmer of Jasper High School was announced as the recipient of the L.V. Phillips Mental Attitude Award for Class 3A Baseball.
The L.V. Phillips Award is annually presented to an outstanding senior participant in each state championship game who has best demonstrated excellence in mental attitude, scholarship, leadership, and athletic ability in baseball.
Braxton graduated as part of the Business Professionals of America, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Student Council, and Obscurse Sports Club. He has won many awards during his time as a Wildcat, which include, the Keith Gettelfinger Mental Attitude Award, the Rex Critchlow Mental Attitude Award, and was awarded the IHSAA Foundation Denny Lewis Legacy of Advocacy Post Secondary Scholarship.
He was a three-year starter at shortstop for the Wildcats and won their Biggest Surprise Baseball Team Award in 2023. Braxton is a three-time Sectional Champion, a Regional Champion, and Semi-state Champion. He also was a first-team All-Southern Indiana Athletic Conference selection this year.
Braxton is the son of Jared and Alissa Brosmer of Jasper, IN and will attend Indiana Wesleyan University to play Baseball and major in Accounting and Finance. The award is named in honor of the late L.V. Phillips, who served as the second commissioner of the IHSAA from 1945-62.
Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, the IHSAA’s corporate partner, presented $1,000 to the general scholarship fund at Jasper High School in the name of Braxton Brosmer.