Class 3A, No. 9 Shelbyville stages epic comeback in sectional semifinal win over New Palestine.

INDIANAPOLIS – One strike from season over, Austin Martzall dug deeper into the batter’s box. What followed summed up Shelbyville’s improbable sectional battle with New Palestine.

Foul ball.

Foul ball.

Foul ball.

Foul ball.

Foul ball.

Foul ball.

Martzall wasted six straight Gavin Neal pitches before finally delivering a single to right field to extend the game. Aiden Smith then ripped a pitch into the left-field corner which allowed Martzall to race home, slide under the tag and tie a game at 9-all when it was once 9-1.

“I was trying to survive, truthfully,” said Martzall. “I was just trying to give our team a shot to win.”

Neal buckled down and got a strikeout to send the sectional semifinal game at Roncalli High School into extra innings. Martzall was already the centerpiece of the game by then.

The left-hander pitched six scoreless innings of relief after the Dragons scored nine runs off Reece Prickett and Gavin Reed.

“He did a fabulous job. We called on him. I wouldn’t say he pitched a lot during the season but he came on late,” said Shelbyville head coach Jacob Shively. “We trusted him. He has put the work in. … He’s prepared through family, baseball and coaches. He was prepared to be in that situation.”

That allowed the Golden Bears to battle back even – and then steal the win.

In the bottom of the ninth, Prickett walked for the fourth time in the game and moved to second when Brady Bryant was hit by a pitch.

Brayden Smith hit a slow roller at New Palestine second baseman Kingston Hedges, who tried to tag Bryant and throw to first for a double play to end the inning. Hedges lost control of the ball on the tag attempt and it rolled away behind him.

That allowed Prickett to race across the plate for a 10-9 victory and a berth in Monday’s championship game.

Class 3A, No. 9 Shelbyville (19-4) will face Indian Creek (12-10) at 6:30 p.m. Monday at LaPinta Field. The Braves defeated No. 6 Roncalli, 7-1, Saturday in the second semifinal.

Shelbyville is seeking its first sectional title since 2005.

The Golden Bears defeated Indian Creek, 7-3, on April 17, without Indiana All-Star Aiden Smith throwing a pitch. The senior (7-0, 1.16 ERA) will take the mound Monday for the Golden Bears.

How it happened

Prickett was the trusted semifinal starter and the senior struggled with his control. The Dragons (15-10) sent nine to the plate in the top of the first and scored four runs off three singles, two hit batters, one walk and a sacrifice fly.

He returned in the second, hit another batter and gave up another run on a RBI single by Liam Atkinson.

Reed took the mound in the top of the third and allowed five hits, two walks and a sacrifice fly that pushed New Palestine to a 9-1 advantage.

The comeback

Prickett delivered a RBI single in the first inning but New Palestine starter Jacob Morris racked up three strikeouts in the second before his team tacked on four more runs.

Shelbyville needed a spark and the New Palestine defense provided it.

Consecutive errors on infield ground balls in the third netted Shelbyville three unearned runs and cut the deficit to 9-5.

Magnificent Martzall

The sophomore (photo) pitched two scoreless innings Thursday in Shelbyville’s 4-0 sectional opening win over Beech Grove. There was not much expectation he would return to the mound Saturday.

The Golden Bears’ season would likely be over if he didn’t.

“We were struggling a bit. I mean 9-1 in the third inning is kind of bad,” admitted Martzall.

Martzall extended his postseason scoreless streak to eight innings after allowing just two hits and one walk while striking out three to keep prolonging the game.

“I wanted to throw strikes and let my defense work behind me,” he said. “And get our bats back. We were struggling.”

Martzall, Shelbyville’s leadoff hitter in the lineup, was busy in the box as well, He reached base four times (two hits, hit by pitch, error) and scored three runs.

Reed and Bryant, who was perfect on seven total chances as Shelbyville’s second baseman, drove in runs in the fourth inning to cut the New Palestine lead to 9-7.

Holden Hughes replaced Morris on the mound to finish the fourth and added two scoreless innings to set up the seventh. He walked designated hitter Luke Coomes to start the seventh and Neal moved to the mound to try and earn the save.

Pinch-hitter Dylan Coy, who entered the game with one varsity at bat all season, singled to pump energy through the Shelbyville dugout.

“We talk about JV (junior varsity) being an investment and that’s where he has been,” said Shively of Coy, who repeated the feat one inning later to improve his average to .667 this season. “He did a heck of a job on the JV level. We practice together probably a lot more than probably any JV or varsity team does.

“We see what we need to see from them and they do what our varsity guys are doing. We like his approach and we trusted him. A big 2-for-2. Who does that? That will be a memory for him for sure.”

Kellen Linville grounded into a double play to bring Martzall to the plate. Down two strikes, he battled Neal, an IU Kokomo commit like Morris, to keep the game going and bring his team’s most dangerous hitter to the plate – and Smith delivered to tie the game with his fourth hit.

New Palestine built a 9-1 lead while stranding seven base runners. Shelbyville raced back to tie the game while leaving the bases loaded in three straight innings before the fateful ninth.

Morris, Hughes and Neal struck out 15 Golden Bears, walked nine and hit two. Of the 10 runs plated, only five were earned thanks to four errors.

Shelbyville did not commit an error in the win.

Steve Bush photos

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