VIKING VICTORY
Corcoran’s 2-hitter part of Illiana Christian’s dominant win in 2A state championship game
INDIANAPOLIS — Illiana Christian broke its huddle with a chant of “One, two, three, IC!”
Junior pitcher Kevin Corcoran turned and pumped the championship plaque into the air.
Corcoran and the Vikings were well on their way to celebrating their Class 2A state title after a dominant 10-1 win against Centerville at Victory Field on Friday night.
“Oh, my word,” Corcoran said. “It’s unbelievable. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: This team is special. Win or lose, this team is special.
“This group of guys, I couldn’t ask for a better group of guys. One through 22, every guy mattered. Every guy was a family member. It was less of a team and more of a family.”
Illiana Christian (22-7) set the goal of winning a state championship during the preseason. The Vikings believed it was realistic, and they delivered.
“We did it,” senior Gabe Van Roekel said. “It’s the best feeling in the world. We’ve been talking about it since the
fall, and it finally came true. I wouldn’t want to do it with anyone else. It’s awesome.”
By downing Centerville (21-6), Illiana Christian won the school’s first state title in any sport while competing in the Indiana High School Athletic Association’s postseason for just the second time after moving from Illinois.
“We had trials and tribulations.
We lost some games,” Illiana Christian coach Jeff VanderWoude said. “But these kids made the adjustment. They chose to focus. They chose not to settle.”
Van Roekel and freshman Gavin Meyer each drove in two runs, producing efficient performances at the plate. Van Roekel went 1-for-1 with a hit-bypitch to force in a run, a walk and a run-scoring single. Meyer went 1-for-1 with a run-scoring single, a sacrifice fly and a walk.
“My goal was just to stay loose and help the team out,” Meyer said. “Runners in scoring position, just keep it going.
“This is awesome. This is amazing. It’s crazy. I’m just so happy.”
Illiana Christian actually fell behind 1-0 in the top of the first inning. But Centerville’s two hits in that inning proved to be the only ones Corcoran surrendered. The left-hander struck out 10 and walked three in another sterling outing.
Corcoran said he wasn’t nervous but it was a matter of getting “situated” and
“settled” on the big stage.
“I tried to do too much at first,” he said. “I wanted to attack these guys. They got a good barrel on it and scored a run. But we’re battlers. That’s who we are.
“I just did my thing and trusted my guys. Especially in a game like this, you have to keep your composure.”
Indeed, Illiana Christian responded with four runs on one hit in the bottom of the inning against Centerville pitcher Logan Drook, who entered the game with a 5-0 record and a 1.30 ERA. The Vikings batted around, capitalizing on three walks and an error.
Van Roekel drove in the first run when he was hit by a pitch, and a wild pitch scored the go-ahead run. Senior Adam Walters had a run-scoring fielder’s
choice, and Meyer had the inning’s only hit, a single to cap the rally.
“We knew they were going to fight and hit us in the mouth,” Van Roekel said. “We fought back right away. Everybody did their job, did it for the guy behind them.”
Meyer added a sacrifice fly in the third, and an error scored another run to make it 6-1.
Illiana tacked on four more runs on four hits in the fourth, sending 10 batters to the plate. Corcoran and Van Roekel each had a run-scoring single, and senior Tyler Barker walked to force in a run.
“It was sac flies, ground balls, putting pressure on them to make mistakes,” VanderWoude said. “Corcoran did what Corcoran does. Our defense does what our defense does. It was just fighting, fighting, fighting.”