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Clovers look to topple Warrior pitching staff at Loogootee Regional
For the first time in four decades, the baseball field at Cloverdale was getting worked on for an additional week of play as the Clovers prepare to face Covenant Christian this Saturday at the IHSAA Baseball Loogootee Regional at 3 p.m.
Days after the sectional win over North Putnam the team was back in the practice groove, taking infield and batting practice ahead of the regional.
“These are some of the better practices we’ve had,” Cloverdale head coach Charlie Lee said. “This is good for the young guys to get an extra week of work and good for the seniors to extend their season for another week.
“They have confidence now and it’s carrying over into the practices.”
The confidence was not lost on the players as they saw their labor this season bear fruit.
“Every single one of these guys have put in the time and hard work,” senior Jayden Sturges said. “That work has shown throughout the season.
“This is the most wins we’ve had in the last six or seven years. That’s a really good sign for the future of the program.”
Covenant Christian (13-15) comes into the regional after winning the Cascade Sectional over the host Cadets 5-1, sporting a pair of pitchers in Brad Nardi and Ethan Kimmerle that will provide Cloverdale a stiff test as both have ERAs under 2.00 across a minimum of 45 innings.
“Covenant has a decent amount of pitching,” Hilton noted. “They are Covenant, so we’re going to have to keep working hard.
“We’re there to compete and hopefully we come out on top. We’re not going 1:45 to say we got there. We want to continue and to do that we have to continue to be focused on what we’re doing.”
A tough schedule has seen the Warriors drop contests to teams such as Cascade, Danville and Tri-West among local teams while playing a tough slate of games around the Indianapolis area, scoring 171 runs on the season while allowing 141 in reply.
With only one common opponent in Monrovia (Covenant won 9-2; Cloverdale lost 6-1), the players said there wasn’t much to go on outside of stat lines for individual players.
“We don’t know much about Covenant, so we’re going in blind, which can be a good and bad thing,” senior Mcguire Lee said. “Not many teams get to say they’re sectional champs, so we’re going to have fun Saturday and, if we win, we’ve got another thing we can add to the trophy case.
“If not, that’s what everybody expects in the first play. Most people don’t think Cloverdale has a shot anymore but we can prove them wrong.”
While winning was the goal Saturday, coach Lee said taking in the experience was just as important as the game itself.
“We’ve talked about taking it all in and pointing out that not many kids get to experience what they’re experiencing,” Lee said. “First and foremost, take it all in and build memories so they can tell their kids about the experience.
“When we go out there, at the end of the day, it’s a baseball game. It’s something we enjoy doing. If we come out on top, great, and if we don’t, we got to enjoy a day of baseball.”