Given second chance, Harrison baseball rallies to defeat McCutcheon for sectional title

LOGANSPORT — The baseball hung aimlessly in the air for just a few seconds that seemed eternal for different reasons depending which dugout you were in.

McCutcheon began inching out of the home dugout ready to rush Turner Field in celebration.

Harrison, down to its final out and trailing by two runs, stared into the sky pleading with ball to somehow offer the Raiders one more opportunity.

"There's so many good teams out there and there's so much luck involved in this type of tournament, one game and done," Harrison coach Pat Lowrey said. "Luck was on our side today late."

Drew McTagertt's pop fly went just a few feet in front of the batter's box, but dropped between the pitcher and catcher for the base hit and Harrison cashed in on new life with back-to-back doubles to complete a 5-4 comeback win over the rival Mavericks and repeat as Class 4A, Sectional 7 champions.

The Raiders (20-9) face Zionsville (20-11) in the regional semifinal Saturday at Loeb Stadium.

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After giving up two runs in the top of the first, McCutcheon answered with four in the bottom of the inning and that score held up for the next five innings as Maverick sophomore Owen Smith and Harrison senior Jake Gothrup settled into a groove on the mound.

"It hurts when we invest the time we put into it," McCutcheon coach Tristan McIntyre said. "At the end of the day, we have to find a way to get better from it. The sun will come up tomorrow but I hurt for our guys right now.

"Outstanding job by Owen. He is a competitor. We had all the confidence in the world that he was going to handle some ups and downs throughout the course of the game."

Smith, though, reached the pitch count allotment of 120 after a two-out walk in the seventh, which brought up McTagertt to face McCutcheon reliever Riley Sands.

Meanwhile, Jack Dowell, who cranked a two-run homer in the first for the Raiders, waited on deck.

"Somebody said in the dugout that somehow or another we have to have Jack come up this inning to give us a chance," Lowrey said.

When McTagertt's sky-high fly ball dropped, that's exactly what happened.

Harrison's sophomore catcher strutted to the plate with newfound confidence.

"When that fly ball dropped and Drew got on first, I just knew that was a big situation to be a part of and I needed to come through for my team," Dowell said. "I went up just trying to find a barrel on the ball and got the job done.

"It still doesn't feel real."

Dowell smoked a ball into the gap, driving in Davis and McTagertt and tying the game.

Gothrup followed with a ground-rule double to center field and within a minute, the Raiders went from trailing by two to leading by one.

Suddenly, McCutcheon with just two hits all game, including Eli Swank's two-run double in the first, needed to find its offensive firepower that had shown itself late in the season and was part of the reason for an eight-game winning streak entering Monday.

Lowrey was now in the same predicament as his McCutcheon counterpart the half inning before.

Gothrup was nearing his pitch count limit.

Gavin Owsley and Corbin Payne were both eager to take the ball in relief, only Gothrup wasn't willing to give it up even as his right arm started to lose steam.

"It still felt good going into that last inning, but we were starting to get towards the bottom of the tank," Gothrup said. "I wanted to finish that game. I thought I had enough left in me and I thought I could do it."

Brayden Raeke drilled a line drive for a leadoff single.

Cleanup hitter Brody Fine followed, lacing a long fly ball to center, as did No. 5 hitter Logan Marsell. Gothrup was at 119 pitches, meaning he could face one more batter and he dug deep to record a sectional-sealing strikeout.

"Jake settled in and pitched," Lowrey said. "All year he has been able to overpower guys. His walk total is a little high but he looked like a pitcher today.

"He really grew in his development as a pitcher today. This is something he can build off of. That was fun watching him pitch, not just throw."

A year ago, Harrison's baseball team left the regional championship game distraught, feeling like Fishers was handed the game thanks to Raider miscues more than won it by outplaying them.

With a large contingent returning, the goal all season has been to get back and finish the job.

Now the Raiders get that chance.

"We all said last year we were going to be there again and we wanted a second chance," Dowell said.

Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @samueltking. 

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Harrison baseball rallies to defeat McCutcheon for sectional title