Published: June 20, 2009 11:55 pm         

Jeremy Lucas takes home Mental Attitude Award

Viking seniors end long prep careers together

INDIANAPOLIS — West Vigo catcher Jeremy Lucas won the Class 3A Mental Attitude Award for high school baseball on Saturday after the Vikings’ 6-3 loss to Andrean, a final kudo for his team’s senior athletes.

“I’m honored to get the award,” he said in the dugout moments later, “but the state championship trophy would have been a lot better.”

“He deserves that [award] every which way,” said coach Steve DeGroote, “but I’ve got a bunch of kids like that. It’s a great honor for him, and it exemplifies the whole team.”

Lucas and his fellow seniors Cameron Fagg and Jordan Pearson have played together for many, many years including four years as varsity players at West Vigo. Aaron Welch, another senior, joined them as a regular the past three years and Landon Keith, a baseball teammate of Fagg, Lucas and Pearson at the Little League level, returned to the sport for one last go-around.

Lucas and Pearson will stay together at Indiana State in the fall, but Fagg will be playing at Wright State. That was the reality that was sinking in to the West Vigo third baseman late Saturday.

“This is the last time playing with these guys,” Fagg said sadly.

“It hasn’t really hit me yet that it’s over,” Pearson agreed.

“We’re disappointed about not bringing the trophy home to such a great community,” said Lucas, “but it doesn’t take away from what we’ve done this season. Great season, great team.”

“I’m just glad we made it as far as we did,” Welch said. “We did our best.”

Most of that West Vigo community seemed to be in Indianapolis on Saturday. “We had awesome fan support,” DeGroote said. “We wish we could have gotten [the championship] for them.”

Those fans remained proud afterward, both of their team and of Lucas’s award.

“It’s a pretty prestigious award,” the catcher said. “From what my parents taught me over the years and what this coaching staff has pushed me to do … I owe it all to them.”