IHSAA baseball notes: Central Catholic's Justin Brady wins Class A mental attitude award
INDIANAPOLIS — Justin Brady had a hunch his name was going to be called.
The Phil Gardner Mental Attitude Award is presented to a senior after each state championship baseball game who demonstrates excellence in mental attitude, scholarship, leadership and baseball ability.
Tecumseh, which lost to Central Catholic 4-1 in the Class A state championship game, had no seniors. That means it was going to be Brady or one of his two seniors teammates: Billy Owens or Carter Johnson.
"Justin doesn’t get a lot of accolades, but he is a calming influence on everybody," Central Catholic coach Tim Bordenet said. "He is a tough kid, a tough out at the plate. He really developed into a good first baseman. I am so happy. A great kid, a great student and very deserving of that representation for our school."
MORE: State Champions: Central Catholic takes down Tecumseh to claim 8th title
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Brady, also a starter for Central Catholic's football team who helped that program win a state title in 2019, has a 3.89 grade-point average and is senior class vice president in addition to president of CC's Champions Together program for Special Olympians.
"Ending a year with a win in any sport is the best, but this is my last game of high school ever," said Brady, who plans to study accounting at Purdue in the fall. "It’s great to end it that way.
"This is an honor. Only four people get it for baseball every year."
Brady is Central Catholic's fourth winner in baseball, joining Henry Arth (2004), Dru Anthrop (2009) and Devin Morgan (2011).
Brady also is the third member of CC's 2022 senior class honored as his sports mental attitude award, joining Caitlin Dineen (volleyball) and Clark Obermiller (boys basketball).
Jimmy DeBoy honored
One of the more recent traditions that come with winning a state championship is hanging the winning school's uniform in a ceremonial showcase on the concourse at Victory Field.
The winning school has the option of which jersey will hang and Bordenet knew exactly what number should be alongside the other three state champions for 2022: Illiana Christian, Andrean and Penn.
No. 51 will hang in the case for the next year, honoring Jimmy DeBoy.
DeBoy was a former youth baseball player who wore No. 51. He was killed in a tragic accident in July 2006 when the bicycle he was riding was struck by a car. No one has wore No. 51 for Central Catholic since Jimmy's brother, Ryan, did in the 2013 Class A state championship game.
Until Saturday, that was Central Catholic's most recent baseball state championship.
"Last weekend was the Jimmy DeBoy tournament that we host every year, a youth tournament," Bordenet said. "I am convinced Jimmy had a hand in our win at LaPorte (9-4 over South Central in eight innings). Bases loaded, nobody out (in the seventh where CC kept a run from scoring). Somebody up above took care of us and it was Jimmy DeBoy, no doubt. I am glad we are able to honor him and his memory and have this uniform in there for the entire year."
Johnson, a senior outfielder who would've started Saturday's state championship if not for a hamstring injury, placed the jersey in the trophy case before the Knights posed for photographs in front.
Another Anthrop
Before Saturday, a member of the Anthrop family had a hand in four of Central Catholic's seven baseball state titles.
Make that five of eight.
John and Jana Anthrop's four sons — Jade (2007), Dru (2007, 2009), Danny (2011) and Jackson (2013) — all helped the Knights win state championships under Bordenet.
Last season, John Anthrop joined CC's baseball program as an assistant coach and on Saturday joined the family baseball tradition with a blue ribbon hung from his neck at Victory Field.
It's the assistants
Bordenet joined Andrean coach Dave Pishkur as the only eight-time Indiana high school baseball state championship head coaches.
Pishkur won his eighth on Friday night and Bordenet followed Saturday, both surpassing legendary LaPorte coach Ken Schreiber, who won seven single-class state championships.
Bordenet will admit he's had good assistant coaches in all eight state titles wins, as well as two runner-up finishes and two more trips when four teams advanced to a state semifinal format.
Only one, Dave Sterrett, has been alongside for all eight state titles.
"We had to bring Sterrett back. He got out for a few years and we couldn’t win," Bordenet joked, referring to Sterrett taking a hiatus to follow his daughter's college softball career. "We had to bring him back and first year, we win a state championship."
Anthrop, Ryan Johnson, Fred Rogers, James Smith and Josh White also served on CC's baseball staff this season.
"We have a tremendous staff," Bordenet said. "A lot of experience, a lot of knowledge. They make me look smart sometimes."
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: Central Catholic's Justin Brady wins Class A mental attitude award