Lafayette Central Catholic edges Barr-Reeve for ninth title

By Lewis Bagley, Special to IHSAA.org
INDIANAPOLIS – On an historic day for the Lafayette Central Catholic baseball program, long-time head coach Tim Bordenet invoked the memory of one of his mentors.
In a game best described as a pitcher’s duel for the ages, the Knights scored a run on a balk in the third inning and made it stand up to repeat as Class 1A champions with a 1-0 win over Barr-Reeve at Victory Field.
The victory was historic for Bordenet as it gives him a state-record ninth state title. He came into the weekend tied with Andrean coach Dave Pishkur with eight state championships. However, Andrean and Pishkur were beaten in the Class 3A title game by Silver Creek.
Central Catholic (25-11) scored the game’s only run in the top of the third inning when senior shortstop Evan Dienhart reached on a walk, advanced to third on a two-out single, then scored when LCC’s double-steal attempt resulted in a Barr Reeve balk.
The rest of the game played out as pitchers Ben Mazur, LCC’s a Murray State recruit, and Vikings sophomore Seth Wagler matched each other pretty much out for out.
As the innings rolled by, Bordenet recalled the words of the late Lafayette Jefferson coaching legend Paul “Spider” Fields.
“He was my idol,” Bordenet said of Fields, who died in the fall of 2022 at age 96. “He always told me when you face a good pitcher, you score one run and then shut them out. That’s how you beat a good pitcher. As the innings went by, I thought Spider was looking down on us today.”
Whatever it took, LCC’s victory ended No. 1-ranked Barr Reeve’s 28-game winning streak. The Vikings started the season 1-3 and rolled from there into the title game.
“We’ve had a lot of great players and great assistant coaches over the years,” Bordenet said of the milestone victory. “It’s my job to prepare the players and they are the ones who perform. They did that today and have consistently for years.”
The player who performed the best this time proved to be the right-hander Mazur. He tossed the complete-game shutout, scattering four hits, walking one and striking out eight. Only twice did Barr Reeve advance a runner to third base, only to leave him stranded.
“Ben has pitched in big games for us his whole career,” Bordenet said. “I thought he was always in control (Saturday) even though they had runners on a few times. That’s his experience shining through. He was ready for this moment.”
“In big games like this, you just have to lock-in,” said Mazur, the 6-3 right-hander. “One run isn’t very comfortable, but I just put the ball in the strike zone and trusted the defense to make plays.”
Mazur worked around a one-out double in the first inning and also shut down the Vikings in the second after they put the first two runners on. Barr Reeve’s best chance after that came in the fifth inning when Ethan Graber led off with a bunt single and eventually reached third.
“I don’t know if I’ve pitched a better game … maybe,” Mazur said. “I will say I felt really good out there today and the more intense the game got, the more I locked in.”
Wagler, a sophomore, had a performance to be proud of as he nearly matched Mazur pitch-for-pitch. Wagler also allowed just four hits, while walking two and striking out 10.
“Mazur threw a whale of a game, but Seth was tremendous, too,” Barr Reeve coach Trevor McConnell said. “I just feel terrible we couldn’t scratch out a run or two. Seth deserved better.”
Junior Donnie Miller had two hits for the Vikings — who have only two seniors on the roster (only one of which is a starter).
Lafayette Central Catholic’s Ryan Schummer earns Gardner Mental Attitude Award
At the conclusion of the game, Ryan Schummer of Lafayette Central Catholic 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 her principal and coach.
Ryan graduated third in his class of 73 students and was 2023 Academic All State in soccer, swimming, baseball and football. He is a member of the National Honor Society and Champions Together the IHSAA’s partnership with Special Olympics Indiana. In addition to baseball, Ryan earned varsity letters in soccer, football and swimming with the Knights.
Ryan is the son of Rob and Barb Schummer of West Lafayette, IN and will attend Calvin University to study Mechanical Engineering with a Minor in Pre-Law or Chemical Engineering 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 presented a $1,000 scholarship to Lafayette Central Catholic High School in the name of Ryan Schummer.