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Six Evansville-area baseball teams win IHSAA sectional championships

EVANSVILLE — This one was tougher to a degree.

The North baseball program is upfront on the topic. Last year's postseason run, which ended in a trip to Victory Field, felt like "playing with house money." This spring brought higher expectations, internally and externally. More pressure to win because of it.

The Huskies never said it was unwelcomed, though. Simply a different challenge on the path to their goal.

More: Scores, schedule for IHSAA baseball sectionals across Evansville area

No. 3 North defeated Reitz 7-1 on Monday, June 1 at Bosse Field to win the IHSAA Class 4A sectional championship. It is the first time in program history the Huskies have earned back-to-back titles. This one came as the unquestioned favorite.

"When you have expectations," North coach Jeremy Jones said. "It's a little tougher. From the run last year, our guys were experienced in the postseason. That really played out (in the semifinal). It really helped us tonight. Proud of our guys for not getting out of it."

North defeated Reitz 7-1 to win the Class 4A sectional championship at Bosse Field.

This title was never straightforward. North grinded to an extra-inning victory against Castle on Friday. It surrendered the lead quickly in the championship. But this group never wavered because it traversed this path multiple times over the last two seasons.

The Huskies (26-4) took control with a four-run fourth inning. Jaxon Edmond and Brooks Carroll scored on wild pitches. Kelby Sollman added a sacrifice fly. A lot of small ball and taking advantage of mistakes. \

Tyler Land added another run with bunt single in the sixth followed by an Aaron Humphrey sac fly in the seventh. The only extra-base hit was a double past third base from Gideon Rice in the fourth.

North is capable of working the opposition to death on the basepaths. Carroll had three of the Huskies' seven hits in the championship. The lineup swiped eight bases too.

"We lived up to the pressure getting through the big game of Castle," Carroll said. "Getting that game off our back opens the flood gates for us throughout this postseason. We've proved we can play the big moment out."

One thing didn't change year to year. North won another sectional because of its pitching.

First was AJ Baggett and Ty Pohl out-dueling Castle in the semifinal. The final night of the sectional belonged to Carson Frome. The sophomore delivered six innings with only two hits and one walk allowed to pair with nine strikeouts on 97 pitches. Frome showed the moxie to prove himself a vital arm moving forward.

He limited the damage to only a single run after Carter Vincent led the second inning with a triple. Reitz (14-12) had two runners in scoring position in the fourth, following a pair of errors, in a tie game. Frome fired back-to-back strikeouts.

"Carson is such a special young man," Jones said. "The kids rally around him. His work ethic is off the charts. When you big him in a big situation, he was relaxed. Nothing seemed to bother him. He did a fantastic job getting ahead in the counts."

More: Takeaways from IHSAA baseball sectional semifinals around Evansville

The sophomore retired the final eight batters before getting pulled. Jackson Ficklin worked around a pair of runners in the final inning to end the championship with little drama. The Huskies allowed only two runs across 15 innings of sectional play.

Frome admitted to a dose of nerves making his first postseason start. Those went away quickly.

"The seniors got us well prepared," he said. "Jones got us well prepared. I wasn't rattled (by the early run). I knew we were going to get the bats going. I think we're just out here having fun again. Energy. Team. We're all one."

North's Brooks Carroll (4) cheers at first as the North Huskies play the Castle Knights during the 2026 IHSAA Class 4A baseball sectional at Bosse Field in Evansville, Ind., Friday, May 29, 2026.

North returns to a familiar setting in the second weekend of postseason baseball. Next is Jeffersonville (16-10 after defeating Bedford North Lawrence in Sectional 15) in a one-game regional Saturday, June 6, at a location to be announced. The Huskies are the early favorite based on their pitching depth and experience. That's for later though.

North had to grind through a pair of familiar opponents to reach the regional again. This time with the added pressure of being a true Class 4A contender. Not that you could tell with the season on the line.

"This group is focused," Jones said. "They've got a desire to go as long as we can in the postseason. I know they're going to work hard this week. Whoever we play, hopefully we're ready to go."

Which other Evansville area teams won sectional titles?

Southwestern Indiana will be well represented in the regional with six teams advancing.

Class 3A at Jasper: No. 4 Gibson Southern survived another battle to beat Southridge 3-2. Crewe Hasenour roped a two-run double to right-center field to give the Titans (25-6) the lead in the sixth inning. The Raiders later brought the winning run to the plate, but a 6-4-3 double play secured the championship.

Cam Truxal didn't allow a hit in six innings of work with eight strikeouts. Hasenour had three of Gibson Southern's eight hits. It is the first title for the Titans, who face Memorial in the regional, since 2014.

Class 3A at Braun Stadium: Memorial reclaimed its spot at the top with an 8-4 win against No. 11 Heritage Hills. Luke Brown and Grayson Marx drove in three runs apiece. The Tigers (17-8) have won seven of the last eight sectional championships. (Note: You can read more about this game at courierpress.com or in Wednesday's print edition).

Class 2A at South Spencer: No. 1 Mater Dei took the first step on returning to Victory Field with an 11-1 victory over North Posey. The Wildcats had 10 hits and scored multiple runs in the first, fourth and fifth innings to trigger the mercy rule.

Max Miller struck out six and gave up only three hits in 4 2/3 innings. Spencer Schiff had two doubles and three RBIs, while Nick Collins went 2-for-2 with a double and two RBIs. Mater Dei (27-3) faces Salem in the regional championship.

Class 1A at Loogootee: North Daviess defeated Orleans 16-1 in five innings to earn its first title since 2015. The Cougars (14-14) scored 12 runs in the second inning. Koen Stoll and Markus Graber had two hits apiece. North Daviess faces West Washington in the regional.

Class 1A at Tecumseh: No. 4 Northeast Dubois defeated Tecumseh 3-1 to earn a second straight sectional title. Eli Schroering and Brycen Mroz combined for 11 strikeouts on the mound. The Jeeps (20-5) scored all three runs in the fifth. Maddux Miller drove in the only run for Tecumseh (14-12).

Northeast Dubois awaits No. 9 Shakamak in the regional.

Kyle Sokeland is a sports reporter for the Courier & Press. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @kylesokeland or email at kyle.sokeland@courierpress.com.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Six Southwestern Indiana baseball teams win IHSAA sectionals

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