Wapahani baseball tops Frankton 15-10 to win its third sectional title in a row

FRANKTON, Ind. — After the game, Brian Dudley took off his jersey, revealing a 2010 sectional championship shirt underneath.

The Wapahani head coach has been a part of plenty of sectional championship teams. But the 2010 shirt his son's name, Matt, on the back. Dudley said it was his "good luck charm."

Dudley, who this year became one of only seventh coach in Indiana high school baseball history to record 800 careers wins, will soon have another sectional championship shirt to add to his collection.

Wapahani won its 18th sectional title and third-straight Monday in a 15-10 victory over Frankton. The Raiders, who led by 10 runs, could've run-ruled the Eagles in six innings but some uncharacteristic errors helped Frankton climb within three heading into the final inning.

With the game in hand, Wapahani seemed to be looking onto next week's regional. There will be lessons to learn from the game, but right after the win wasn't the time for Dudley to discuss them. That'll be during the week as Class 2A No. 3 Wapahani prepares to take on Eastern in the Carroll (Flora) regional, which also includes No. 1 Carroll and No. 9 Delphi.

Dudley has won his share of sectional championships before. Each one is earned with a new group of players. Each title deserves to be celebrated.

“Every time is with a different group so when you start the season you don’t know what’s going to play out," Dudley said. "I just see how happy everybody is, I think that’s what makes it special.”

There was reason to celebrate as Wapahani, now 22-4 on the season, won another championship. The Raiders had to beat Lapel, who earned top-10 votes in the final IHSBCA Poll, and No. 6 Monroe Central to make it to Saturday's final.

After giving up a pair of runs in the first inning, Wapahani shut down Frankton's offense for the next four. Junior Daxton Dudley earned the victory, throwing four innings while allowing two earned runs, six hits and four walks while striking out six.

The Raiders scored at least one run in six of the seven innings. Junior Paul Fisher led the way, batting 3-for-5 with four RBIs while senior Luke Willmann (3-for-3, four RBIs), junior Gavin Lash (2-for-3, two RBIs), Dudley (2-for-3, two RBIs), sophomore Landon Weller (2-for-3, one RBI) and senior Issac Jackson (1-for-3, one RBI) drove in runs. Senior Landen Thompson (1-for-5), sophomore Isaac Andrews (2-for-5) and junior Joseph Foster (1-for-3) added to Wapahani's offense.

Wapahani batted .455 as a team (15-for-33) and recorded 14 RBIs. Every player in their starting lineup got a hit. When Willmann blasted a four-run grand slam just inside of the left field foul pole to put the Raiders up 11-2 in the top of the fifth, he didn't realize just how important those runs would end up being.

“I didn’t realize those would be crucial runs at the end of the game," Willmann said, "but I’m glad I actually did it.”

What seemed to be a drama-free sectional championship, unlike last year's walk-off home run, didn't come without some tense moments down the stretch.

Frankton, needing at least one run to keep its season's hopes alive, scored seven runs in the sixth inning. The Eagles started off the inning with four hits. A pair of Wapahani errors extended Frankton's rally.

Midway through the inning, Brian Dudley came out to the mound to talk with his infield. Lash said his message was "we have a five-run lead, act like it." Eventually, the Raiders' nerves settled and they got out of the inning. The seventh started with another mental lapse — a routine pop fly landing in shallow center field — but junior pitcher Ian McClellan shut the door, striking out the final batter to solidify Wapahni's victory.

Entering the sectional, Wapahani was once again the favorite. At the beginning of the season, however, Lash said there were people who thought the Raiders were going to be unable to overcome losing some players from last year to make another postseason run.

"We lost a lot of seniors last year that were really good," Lash said. "... No one thought we could do it again, they thought we lost too many people and we had people really step up and do their part this year."

Dudley said he changed around the lineup "more this year than I ever have." Still, Wapahani proved early in the season it had a formidable team as it beat three Class 4A opponents handily to start the year.

Frankton was one of four teams to beat Wapahani during the regular season. As the Eagles started to come back, Willmann said the Raiders just had to go back to what got them here.

"We're just trying to stay in the moment," Willmann said. "A lot of guys were looking forward and trying to get the game done ... we just need to make sure we calm ourselves down and (we're) not stepping out too far ahead of ourselves."

With another sectional title secured, Wapahani will seek its eighth regional title next week, the last coming in 2017. The Raiders, once again, have a team capable of making a deep postseason run.

"Throughout the season they've gotten better and better and they just play with confidence," Dudley said. "They just play with confidence and expect to win."

Robby General covers Ball State and East Central Indiana high school sports for The Star Press. Contact him via email at rgeneral@gannett.com or on Twitter @rgeneraljr.

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: IHSAA baseball: Wapahani beats Frankton in Sectional 40 championship