Published: June 14, 2008 10:30 pm            

For Shakamak's seniors, championship is worth long wait

INDIANAPOLIS — So is Cory Deschamp next year’s L.V. Phillips Mental Attitude Award winner for Class A high school baseball?

Deschamp is not listed as a catcher on the Shakamak roster, but he was spotted warming up potential Laker relievers in the bullpen Saturday morning during his team’s 6-2 win over Cowan at Victory Field. He is also one of the few juniors on the Lakers, and the winner must be a senior.

And it seems to be a rule by now that the Class A winner will be Shakamak’s catcher — Steven McNabb last season, Josh Horton on Saturday.

“It’s a great honor, a combination of what I’ve done academically and one the field,” Horton said quietly after Saturday’s game. “But right now it’s just icing on the cake.”

The state championship was what was important to Horton — whose contributions included the walk that started his team’s six-run rally and a throwout of a runner stealing that basically ended Cowan’s last real threat — and his teammates.

And while Laker fans have been waiting since 2002 — Shakamak’s first of five trips in seven years to the state finals — for a state championship, this year’s senior regulars said Saturday they’ve been waiting longer than that.

“We’ve wanted this for 15 years, ever since we started playing together,” explained right fielder Timothy Betts, “and we finally got it.”

“I’m not really sure what to think and what to feel,” said Horton. “But to go out there and win the state championship in my last game, after we’ve played together for so long … I’m just so proud of these guys.”

“I’m walking on air,” said Jaret May. “It’s the most amazing feeling ever.”

“It’s just amazing,” added Derrick Bennett. “Coming here for three years [in a row] and finally getting one.”

“I can’t explain it,” Betts said. “It feels like we’re in a major league stadium, with all our fans here … and to go out and score six [in the bottom of the fifth inning] after [the Blackhawks] scored two [in the top of the inning … unbelievable.”

“It really hasn’t hit me yet,” said Justin Cox, who along with May had played on Shakamak teams that were runners-up in 2006 and 2007 and also on a Final Four basketball team, “but I can’t wait until it does.”

“It’s amazing. I don’t know how to describe it,” Ben Grissom said. “To go out on the highest note my senior year … I just thank God.”

That’s something Grissom does with regularity. When he’s on one knee before every at-bat and at the start of every inning, he isn’t tying his shoe.

“I am a hard-core prayer,” he acknowledged after Saturday’s game. “Every pitch, every inning.”

So when his two-out popup was dropped in the fifth inning, leading to six unearned runs … divine intervention?

“I don’t know about that,” he said with a smile, “but I will take it.”

n Wait until … no, we don’t have to — For once the Lakers were able to leave their Victory Field lockerroom on Saturday without having to console themselves with their chances of coming back in a year.

As some of them walked toward their bus, they fell in step with an administrator from Cowan who was delivering the runner-up trophy to his own team’s transportation.

“You’ll be back next year, right?” he asked. “Because we will.” Considering that the brother combinations of Jacob and Justin O’Conner and Kirby and Cody Campbell are all sophomores (Justin and Cody) and juniors (Jacob and Kirby), and considering those four players all batted between .404 and .516 for the season, combining for 176 runs and 149 RBIs, that would seem a distinct possibility.

Although Shakamak had six senior starters on Saturday, the Lakers should retain the services of junior center fielder Drew Gambill and the sophomore double-play combination of John Smith and Billy Newton. And with T.J. Hill and fellow sophomore Tyler Richardson returning to the mound, the Shakamak nucleus isn’t bad either.

n Rox in the house — Although Cowan’s semistate victory over Rockville earlier in the week prevented an all-Wabash Valley Class A final game, the Parke County community was still well represented on Saturday.

Amanda Riffe, a Rockville junior, sang the National Anthem.

        

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