By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – One great celebration deserved another. Loft the gloves in the air, dogpile on the infield, hoist the trophy, pose for the photos. Except Jeffersonville dashed Bedford North Lawrence’s championship dreams, winning the bigger prize.
After watching the Stars explode in euphoria while winning the Hoosier Hills Conference title on their turf just 17 days ago, the Red Devils flipped the script. With a pitcher who threw the baseball like it would burn his left hand if he held it longer, with a momentum-shifting rally in the third inning, Jeffersonville took home the grand prize in Sectional 15.
Aidan Toler quieted BNL’s offense with a fast-paced rhythm on the mound, while Derrick Haynes and Evan Shelton drove in two runs each as the Devils extinguished BNL’s late-season flame with a 5-1 victory in the Class 4A final on Monday night. Jeffersonville (15-10) advanced to the one-game regional to meet Evansville North, winning its 28th overall title and first since 2023.
The Stars (15-10) were seeking a bookend finale to their time in 4A. After winning the first HHC crown in program history, the first sectional title since 2017 would be been a perfect farewell. But that did not happen. The Devils earned revenge, with quality pitching by Toler and clutch hitting to score two-out runs and add important insurance runs while extending the lead.
“Sure, we wanted to win the sectional. No ifs, ands or buts about it,” BNL coach Steven McNabb said. “But it didn’t happen, Jeffersonville played well, and they beat us.”
The rematch for the second title was expected to be a pitching duel between Toler and BNL ace Cutler Chastain, who struck out 16 during a fantastic performance against the Devils on May 15. But he was scratched with a sore elbow and arm fatigue. BNL turned to sophomore Maddox Garrison, who had only one rough inning, and junior Chase Rynders as the backup plan. What the Stars didn’t plan was the lack of offense.
“We didn’t have on the script for Cutler to not be available,” McNabb said. “It’s unfortunate. But I thought Maddox and Chase kept us in the game. We just didn’t give them any run support. We had chances, we had the right guys in the right spots for those moments. Sometimes you come through and sometimes you don’t. That’s baseball.”
BNL scored first in the second. Grady Dalton and Rynders delivered singles, and with two outs Jett Alvey and Reece Goodgame drew walks to force in the run. But Toler got Cam Gates to ground out to escape that frame.
Jeffersonville answered in the third. Haynes cracked a bases-loaded double to left, although the Stars cut down the third run (for the moment) when J.J. Lirot and Jackson Jones executed a perfect relay to Gates for a tag on Jeff’s Eli Harris. But Preston Hart followed with a RBI single for a 3-1 edge.
The Devils added another run in the fifth (an error, two walks and an infield single by Shelton) and the final one in the seventh (Shelton’s RBI double to the left-field corner).
“The third inning was huge, it definitely changed momentum,” Jeffersonville coach Shayne Stock said. “That was a big hit, a big inning that gave us the momentum from there.”
“They did to us what we’ve been doing to teams, taking advantage of some mistakes,” McNabb said. “If we open it up, the game could go a whole different way. Baseball is a momentum game.”
BNL had one other opportunity to break through in the third, as Chastain was hit by a pitch and Jaden Gilbert doubled to left, setting up runners on second and third with one out. But Toler fanned the next two.
Toler allowed five hits and struck out five in six innings. He was a study in quick deliveries. Get it, throw it, get ‘em out.
“I go as fast as I can. It keeps me in rhythm,” Toler said. “We wanted to win so bad. They won on our field, we had to get it back on theirs. It feels great.”
Garrison surrendered seven hits and three earned runs in 4 2/3 innings. Rynders gave up one run in 2 1/3 innings of relief work.
“I thought it was a trap, if our guys think ‘Oh, it’s not Cutler. It will be easy,’” Stock said, after he was doused with the obligatory bath from the water cooler. “No, it won’t be easy. Sectionals are never easy. The guys had a chip on their shoulder. Toler did a very good job, limited baserunners, he had good stuff.”
Dalton had two hits for the Stars.
BNL bid farewell to two seniors (Goodgame and Lirot), and McNabb had already told the team of his intention to resign following the campaign. He called it “a dimmer switch” to focus on family and career.
“I’m proud of the season we had,” McNabb said. “It was a grind, and the kids answered the bell. They did something no one else has ever done.
“There’s a lot coming back to look forward to for BNL baseball. We will see where things go in 3A, see what happens.”
