Brebeuf Jesuit baseball snaps 5-game skid to Guerin Catholic to win sectional title

INDIANAPOLIS — After five straight losses to their Class 3A Sectional 27 final opponent, Brebeuf Jesuit baseball figured it was its time.

Thanks to an ability to scratch out runs when needed and a couple of strong pitching performances, coach Wes Neese’s squad is headed back to the regional after a 3-0 win over third-ranked Guerin Catholic at Father O’Brien Field at Brebeuf on Monday.

Behind a four-hit, shutout performance by senior left-hander Christian Forniss, the Braves claimed the school’s 17 ^th sectional title.

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“We were 0-5 the last five against them,” Neese pointed out, “and all of them have been close. Our juniors and seniors were here when we made the state finals in 2022, but they were in the background to those guys.

“Now, they’ve stepped to the forefront.”

The title game win came after scratching out a 2-1 victory over Bishop Chatard in the morning semifinal. Designated hitter Aiden Holtzapple drove in both runs to back a four-hitter by right-hander Maverick Geske.

The Braves, now 22-9, head to a regional matchup at Speedway on Saturday. Speedway beat Beech Grove, 3-2, to take Sectional 28.

Forniss played the biggest role in the title game, as he worked in and out of trouble all game thanks to his outstanding off-speed pitches and an even better effort by his fielders.

The Golden Eagles (22-6) advanced to the title game with a 24-0 blasting of an outmanned Shortridge squad in its semifinal, but couldn’t get the offense cranked up against Forniss.

In the first inning, Guerin had runners at first and third base, but Forniss coaxed a double-play ball to get out of the inning.

In the second, Guerin had a golden opportunity with runners at second and third with only one out, but Forniss came up with a strikeout and another groundout to escape.

Forniss allowed two-out doubles in the third and fifth innings, but Guerin couldn’t get the big hit. Finally, with two on and only one out in the sixth, Forniss recorded his sixth and final strikeout of the game, then got a fly to center to end that threat.

“It’s my first time starting in a sectional game,” Forniss said, “so maybe the nerves were there, a little bit. But, once my arm warmed up, I felt really good.”

Forniss felt better with the support he received from Holtzapple and shortstop Ethan Norris.

Holtzapple drove in the winning run in the seventh inning of the opener with a two-out, opposite-field single down the third-base line. In the championship, his sacrifice fly in the second inning drove in Will Loftus (who led off with a triple) to provide the eventual winning run.

Norris added insurance RBIs in the fourth and sixth innings — the first on a squeeze bunt and the latter when he beat out a potential double-play grounder to score Dylan Wells.

It proved a frustrating loss for the Golden Eagles, who were seeking the program’s first sectional title.

“We swung the ball well, but we just hit balls right at them,” GC coach Keith Nunley lamented. “We barreled up a lot of balls and hit more hard balls then they did, but we still came up on the short end.”

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Brebeuf Jesuit baseball snaps 5-game skid to Guerin Catholic to win sectional title