IHSAA Baseball

IHSAA Baseball

1995-96 State Finals in Review

Jasper (31-5) won its first baseball state championship June 22, 1996 at Bush Stadium in Indianapolis, defeating Merrillville 13-6 in the 30th annual IHSAA Baseball State Finals. It was the second IHSAA title in any sport for 11th-ranked Jasper, coming 47 years after the Wildcats captured the 1949 IHSAA Boys Basketball state championship. Unranked Merrillville was making its first state finals appearance and finished 26-9.

Jasper had advanced to the state championship game by downing No. 1-ranked Center Grove 12-7 in the semifinals, while Merrillville rallied with three runs in the sixth inning and topped Logansport 5-3. Jasper's title came in its seventh appearance in the state finals. The Wildcats lost 5-4 to Fort Wayne Concordia in the 1995 state semifinals.

The offensive explosion set three championship records and tied another. Jasper's 13 runs are the most in a title game, as are the 19 combined runs. Merrillville tied a record for most runs by a losing team with six. Jasper's Matt Mauck also set a championship game record with four RBI.

After Merrillville had pulled to 7-6 after six innings, Jasper broke the game open with a six-run seventh as Merrillville tried to quell the rally with three different pitchers. Mauck punctuated the uprising with a two-run triple.

Phil Kendall of Jasper High School was named the 1996 recipient of the L.V. Phillips Mental Attitude Award. A four-year varsity baseball performer, Kendall came into the state finals with a team-leading .435 batting average along with 43 RBI and 13 home runs. As a pitcher, he moved his season record to 13-0 by going 6 1/3 innings against Center Grove in the semifinals. Kendall signed a college baseball letter of intent with Indiana State, and was drafted earlier this month by the Milwaukee Brewers as a fifth-round selection. Academically, Kendall graduated 16th in a senior class of 296 students.

The award is named in honor of the late L.V. Phillips, second commissioner of the IHSAA. Farm Bureau Insurance, corporate sponsor of all IHSAA tournaments, will award a $1,000 scholarship to Jasper High School in Kendall's name.

1996 STATE CHAMPIONSHIP BOX SCORE

E -- Kamano, Xidis, Brown, Mauck 2, C. Henry, Bayer, Little, C. Erny, Martin, Deel. DP -- Jasper 2. LOB -- Jasper 8, Merrillville 6. PB -- O'Connor, Schiefer. 2B -- Schulte, Lech. 3B -- Mauck. SAC -- Mauck, Kendall, Siecker. SB -- Werner. Umpires -- Bob Marcinek (home plate), Keith Chavis (first base), Dick Russell (second base), Jeffrey Hull (third base), Tom Kovacich (left field), Mark Hyman (right field). Time of Game -- 2:33. Attendance -- 3,472.

Pitching Summary