By Anna Kayser, Special to IHSAA.org
INDIANAPOLIS – Seven innings of dominant baseball – led by senior standout Caden Crowell’s record-tying two-hit shutout and four knocks at the dish – led the Valparaiso Vikings to a 5-0 win over the Evansville North Huskies in Saturday’s state finals finale at Victory Field. The win marks Valparaiso’s first baseball championship in program history as the last victory in a 20-game win streak.
“Hats off to these guys here, our community, our support system, our coaches – you see everyone in the stands,” Vikings head coach Todd Evans said. “It just doesn’t happen overnight, it takes a while. My brother and I, we’ve been around for about 20 years, and we’ve been working hard for this. It’s nice to finally have it come to fruition.”
Crowell – who entered the game with a 7-0 record, 0.29 ERA (2er/48.0ip) and a team-leading 89 strikeouts – stunned in his 10th start of the campaign. He faced just one over the minimum until the seventh inning, with a double by Connor Watson in the bottom of the fourth breaking up a no-hit bid. His two hits allowed tied the 4A state finals for fewest hits allowed by a pitcher, last recorded by Brian Deter of Lawrence Central vs. Brownsburg in 2004.
The southpaw didn’t hurt his case either, leading the Vikings with a perfect 4-for-4 performance at the plate at the heart of the order. Crowell’s four-hit performance ties the record for most hits by an individual in a state finals game for the first time since 2001 for a 4A championship and 2008 regardless of class.
“I came into this game with the most confidence in myself that I could have,” Crowell said. “I knew if I went out there and performed to the best of my abilities, there’s no one that can hang with my stuff. I just went out there and did my thing and let my guys behind me do their job.”
Valparaiso took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning and never looked back, with four of the first five batters in the frame reaching base safely. The ball flew off the Vikings’ bats, with Trevor Fenters plating the first run on a long triple to left field. Crowell followed with a ground-rule double over the center-field wall for his lone RBI.
A two-run single by junior Dennis Malloy – who tallied a team-leading three RBI on two hits in the contest – doubled the lead in the third. Malloy’s fifth-inning RBI single capped the game’s scoring.
“We’ve got [Malloy], we’ve got Trent [Gill] who made an unbelievable play there I think in the sixth inning, those guys have been starting since they were freshman and they’ll be the foundation going forward for sure,” Evans said. “We’ve got a lot of young talent on this team – obviously we’ve got 13 seniors, so we’ve got some guys waiting in the wings just chomping at the bit.”
The final out of the game came, of course, at the hands of Crowell with a final strikeout looking.
“I’m definitely a power pitcher, so I get a lot of strikeouts,” Crowell said. “Just getting the strikeout and seeing the guy take it for strike three, that’s a huge moment. I get to keep that ball, so I know that’s the one.”
Valparaiso’s run to the state championship has been historic, with its first regional and semi-state championships in program history coming in succession prior to the finals’ appearance. As the No. 8-ranked team, the Vikings knocked off No. 3 Crown Point, 5-0, to earn the regional title. It is also the second-straight year that a Duneland Athletic Conference team won the 4A title, following Lake Central last season.
For a season that ended in success, the opening five games were the opposite. Valparaiso failed to score a run in its first two games and was out-scored, 23-15, while going 1-4 in its first five games.
“The year before we went 4-0; we beat Crown Point and we beat Lake Central,” Evans said. “I said at the beginning of the year, if I have to trade four losses for a state championship, I will do it every year. We did not hit the panic button, we knew who we were facing, what it was going to do for us preparation-wise. Like I said, I would trade four losses for a state championship any day.”
Class 4A State Championship Records
Hits (Tied): 4 by Caden Crowell, Valparaiso
Hits Allowed (Tied): 2 by Caden Crowell, Valparaiso
Valparaiso’s Drayden Wilcox named Gardner Mental Attitude Award recipient
At the conclusion of the game, Drayden Wilcox of Valparaiso High School was announced as the recipient of the Bob Gardner Mental Attitude Award for Class 4A 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 his principal and coach.
Drayden graduated with High Distinction and was Valparaiso’s Athletic/Academic Scholarship winner. He was a two-year SAAC member and a part of the National Honor Society.
Athletically, Drayden was a two-year varsity letter-winner, a two-year Leadership Award winner, and was named the “Dugout” Mental Attitude Award winner. Drayden also played four years of football at Valparaiso where he was All-Conference in 2023 and 2024. He made Academic All-State and was the Curt Hoffman Academic Winner in 2024.
Drayden is the son of David and Tiffany Wilcox of Valparaiso, IN and will be continuing his academic and athletic career at North Park University to play football and study Nursing.
The award is named in honor of Bob Gardner who served as commissioner of the IHSAA from 1995-2000 and spent a total of 15 and a half years on the IHSAA Executive Staff.
Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance presented a $1,000 scholarship to Valparaiso High School in the name of Drayden Wilcox.