Memorial Day sectional baseball preview

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - Sectional action resumes on Memorial Day for several area schools. Here is the breakdown of the top match-ups on Monday morning.

Fresh off a perfect sectional win over Marion, the Lafayette Jeff Bronchos now turn their attention to the Harrison Raiders. Jeff knocked off Harrison twice during the regular season. However, the Bronchos understand it's hard to beat the same team three times in the same season, especially when that team is your biggest rival.

?Harrison, they just always come out and play, they always bring their best and they always talk on the field. They are always in the game and it is always a tough game for us. I'm really looking forward to it,? said Jeff junior Peter Ripke.

?Not only is it hard to beat the same team three times but they weren?t easy wins when we did it either. I think we are very well matched up both teams, they probably feeling just as good as we are in this situation because both games we played so far they had an opportunity to win those games too. We came back from behind in both of those games so for us to do well we are going to have to do the things that we have been doing the past two weeks. We have to hit the ball, pick the ball up and pitch well,? said Head Coach Scott McTagertt.

Speaking of the Raiders, Harrison is hoping the 3rd time is the charm versus their cross-town rival. The Raiders told sports team 18's Caleb Martin that getting their first sectional win in 4 years was great. However, a win over the Bronchos would be even better.

?Any conference school we consider to be a rivalry but because they are cross town as well, that just increases it. They have gotten the best of us the last two games and we hope to get the third one here,? said Assistant Coach Eric Keen.

?They got two from us this year and we thought we should have had one and we let it slip away from us. We are going to come more refocused this game and come out with more intensity and put runs up early. This would be huge. The game the other day was our first sectional victory in over four years. So, getting a second one and getting to the title game would be great for the younger guys to get some experience to come back to next year," said senior Nick Bartolone.

The McCutcheon Baseball team will be taking part in game 2 at Loeb Stadium. The Mavericks will be playing their first game in a week. The Mavericks know how important the first couple of innings will be to their success against the Logansport.

?Their incredibly important, we get the momentum going and we can ride through. We can carry that momentum through the entire game. If we take a long time to build that momentum we might struggle. We had a break and we should be rested enough, were getting our cuts in and practice in. We should come out with the attitude that we are going to win,? said senior Christian Vukas.

?Everybody is going to have the jitters and little nervousness there, and certainly we hope we can get through that first inning and get settled down quickly. We will have our guy on the mound that will hopefully deliver for us and put us in that position because we are the home team and like to sit them down in order. That would be our goal but the most important goal though is to come in without any runs scored against you,? said head coach Jake Burton.

The West Lafayette baseball team is eager to get back into action on Monday as well. The Red Devils will take on Benton Central at Bob Friend Field and will be trying to shake off 9 days worth of rust since their last game. An experienced group isn't concerned with the long lay off before they begin their chase towards a State Championship.

?I think this week we have been working hard at practice and trying to make it as much like a game type atmosphere as possible. We scrimmage on Tuesday and I think guys are excited to play. The lay off has helped our arms, we have a lot of guys with sore arms and I think it's going to benefit us more then hurt us,? said senior Thomas Fisher.

?We sort of had a break like this last year, we got the bye and had to wait until Monday to play and last year we struggled that first game. They remember how we struggled and they I think are doing a little better job of keeping the focus and hopefully we will have good results,? said head coach Joel Strode.

Last but certainly not least. The Central Catholic Knights knocked off Tri-Central 7-1 in the first game of the Class 1A sectional at Gordon Lemming Field on Thursday night. The Knights allowed the Trojans to score first but then scored 7 unanswered runs to get the win. CC hopes to use that momentum as they turn their attention to Clinton Prairie. First pitch is set for approximately 1 PM. The back to back to back State Champions understand game 1 was the first step in the process of getting back to Victory Field.

?Game one is big coming out, we didn't come out the strongest but we worked our way towards the end of the game and we are going to use that momentum coming

into Monday. We are going to be more prepared, more focused and be ready for Clinton Prairie,? said senior Austin Munn.

?I kind of like playing that first game of the tournament because it does keep you in that same groove that you have been in all year playing game after game. I thought it was good for our hitters to have some live at bats and it was good for Austin to jump back up on the hill and pitch well and gain some confidence and momentum heading into Monday,? said head coach Tim Bordenet.

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