My View/Your View: These Eagles come out swinging ... as a team

If a major Indiana High School Athletic Association sweep is in the cards, then the Heritage Christian baseball team must overcome the odds, or history if you will.

Indianapolis schools have found winning state in baseball a tough swing at bat. Only seven schools have won state dating to Indianapolis Arsenal Tech in 1917, with Cathedral’s two state titles in Class 4A tops among those schools.

On Saturday against Lewis Cass (20-8), ninth-ranked Heritage Christian (24-6) will attempt to become the first Indianapolis school to win in Class 2A, and only the third in the Indianapolis area. Alexandria won in 1998 and Triton Central in 2003.

The Northeast side school, which also won state in football and girls basketball in the current school year, seeks to become only the third Indiana school to win three “major” class spots titles since the IHSAA went to multi-class sports in the 1997-98 season.

Ironically, Heritage Christian beat Cass in the football state finals back in November. And Heritage Christian coach Dan Ambrose, the Eagles’ varsity coach since 1998, also had a stop coaching at another Heritage Christian school in Milwaukee, Wis.

“That’s sort of ironic,’’ Ambrose said with a chuckle. “What are the odds of that, huh? We just hope that this Heritage Christian school is a state champion.

“The head coach is supposed to set the tone . . . and I hope the kids get that from me when I preach that, if we do the little things, then they can turn into big things. And we feel we can win it all . . . when we do those things.’’

That’s not overconfidence. Hardly. That’s just a matter of fact, the way Ambrose sees it.

“We also have a fear or hatred, if you will, of possibly losing because we know we could lose if we don’t play our game, so pressure is not a factor with us. These kids love the game and play hard,’’ said Ambrose, who knows a lot about pressure.

His wife had a baby girl the night before the regional, then due to his daughter being a preemie, she and mom and weren’t able to come home until Saturday, the day of the semistate.

“We obviously had a lot of emotions to deal with off the baseball field, too, the past couple of weeks,’’ said Ambrose, a father of four.

Thus, he’s quick to point out that, though winning and being the best team in the end can be quite satisfying, there’s more to life than just winning.

“This is not a stepping stone for me. I want to build a program. If we go out and play hard, then we honor God. Win or lose, if we do our best, then we honor God.’’

Ambrose’s team has come of age and done the right things en route to a 24-6 record and finally traveling the road that leads to Victory Field.

And make no mistake, the Eagles have had to overcome some difficult moments along the way.

But overcoming odds is nothing new for these Eagles. They overcame a 2-0 deficit to win the regional, needing to play 17 innings in wins over Elwood (5-4, 10 innings) and Lawrenceburg 4-2, and they allowed a first-inning grand slam to fall behind Evansville Mater Dei in the semistate before prevailing 10-6.

Ambrose said the kids showed their true grit as individuals and mettle as a team the way they hung together.

“Falling behind 4-0 got them more ticked than down on themselves,’’ he said. “I told them that baseball has no time clock, to keep going. We cut the lead to 4-2 in the second inning, and then went up 9-4 in the third. That was a big comeback and our Nos. 7-through-9 batters went 6-for-10. That really gave us a lift.’’

Ambrose, whose team is hitting .413, breaking the previous school record of .384, said several kids contribute on a regular basis and at a high level, though he cites three players who he calls “true baseball guys.’’

Seniors, he says, who lead by example.

One of the orneriest is third baseman/catcher Christian Rector, a three-year starter who bats around .390 and also was a lineman on the football team.

“He’s such a tough, tough kid, who blossomed into a leader,’’ said Ambrose. “He always thinks we can win. He’s the type of kid who’s not afraid to get into a pitcher’s face if he doesn’t think the pitcher is giving his all . . . and Christian has done that. Believe me when I say that. As a coach, I liked seeing that.’’

Ambrose calls center fielder Chris Ward, a .600 hitter with 13 home runs and 47 RBIs, who leaves it all on the field “the best all-around kid I’ve coached in my 16 seasons.’’

Heritage Christian has a deep pitching pool of six, with four pretty equal and all capable of starting, and Ward is one of the mainstays. He has a 5-1 won-loss record with a 1.70 ERA.

Ambrose calls Joe Perrott his inspirational leader, a pitcher whose ball movement causes many hitters problems. He’s the team’s stopper, “the kid you want to have the ball in his hands when the game is on the line,’’ said Ambrose.

Perrott pitched 4 2/3 innings to get the win, striking out the final batter in the semistate with runners on second and third. He also held off Elwood, ranked No. 1 in the state this year, with two superb innings.

What makes Perrott’s effort even more special or inspiring, if you will, is that he chipped a bone in his thumb on his throwing hand. He had to wear a cast and missed the sectional but was back pitching 31 hours after the cast was removed.

“We were practicing for the regional and one of my players said ‘look coach, Joey’s back,’ and I recall doing a double-take when I saw him running across the field. I couldn’t believe it. I mean, there he was: the cast was off, a glove in one hand and a paper in the other, and a big smile on his face,’’ said Ambrose.

And the paper? It was a release form, signed by Perrott’s doctor that gave him the OK to compete again.

“But,’’ said Ambrose, “that’s only part of the story. Joey had to show me he could throw the ball during practice that day and he needed permission from his mom to play.’’

Ambrose said that she basically told her son that if his reason for returning to the team was only because of his quest for personal glory, then she would not allow him to return. But, if he wanted to compete because he truly wanted to help his teammates, then he had her blessing.

And now on Saturday, these Eagles will attempt to fulfill a dream and etch their school’s name in history ... as a team. All of them.

Mark Morrow is an online columnist for VYPE High School Sports Magazine, Central Indiana. He can be reached at mediamarko@sbcglobal.net or by leaving a comment.