South Central playing with confidence

South Central junior Garrett Walter held in his anger and disgust walking off the mound in Monday’s Class 1A Caston Regional championship game against Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian.

The three-year letterman thought he let his team down by loading the bases with nobody out in the fourth inning and the Satellites trailing 4-2.

But his teammates had his back — including senior ace pitcher Dan Snyder — shutting down the opposition and not allowing a run in the fourth inning then scoring four runs on five hits in the fifth inning to come from behind and win the school’s first regional championship in five years.

And that’s been the difference between last year’s sectional championship squad and this year’s regional championship team: confidence.

“We were disappointed the way things ended last year,” South Central coach Ron King said of his team losing to Blackhawk in the 2010 regional. “We went out there and played sluggishly; we made a lot of errors and didn’t play very well. But we had a majority of those guys back and that fueled those guys.

“One of the things I’ve tried to instill in these guys since I got here three years ago was not to settle. It was encouraging the way they went out and played. They want more.”

Though Walter didn’t get the win on the mound or drive in the winning run, his contribution has been huge to the team’s success. Walter, who started playing varsity his freshman year, has led the team in home runs in each of his three seasons and in RBI the last two seasons. He’s played on three straight sectional championship squads and has been a solid third baseman and pitcher.

He’s another reason the team’s confidence seems higher than ever heading into Saturday’s semistate championship in Kokomo against two-time Class 1A state champ, Lafayette Central Catholic. The Knights earned the right to play South Central by dominating their regional, outscoring the opposition, 33-1.

Still, Walter knows his team can win on Saturday and make history.

“We’re coming together as a team. We’re making a legacy this year,” he said. “This is the farthest our team has gone. Why stop now?”

King said Walter has been the ideal ballplayer from the minute he stepped onto the field for his first varsity practice.

“He has a confidence about him that a lot of ballplayers at this level don’t,” he said. “As a freshman, we threw him right into the wolves. He has a good glove at third and he pitches very well for us. He wants the ball hit to him. In the offseason, he’s playing ball. Offensively, he’s got a solid bat and when we need a hit — when he’s up there — we almost certainly expect him to get that hit.”

It was his pitching in the postseason, however, that King thinks has paid dividends.

“His pitching has been key for us,” King said. “He came in and gave us some quality innings against Westville in sectionals. Then Danny pitched the last three and got the save.

“They make a great 1-2 combination. Garrett keeps the batters guessing, while Danny has a real good fastball. Garrett relies on his off-speed stuff and you never know what to expect from him. Danny comes right at you while working in a good curveball and good change-up.”

Walter has relished pitching in the postseason. He said he didn’t pitch a lot of meaningful games his first two seasons but has really enjoyed the spotlight this year.

“I’m a lot more comfortable this year,” he said. “Our offense has really helped out this year too so there’s not as much pressure to pitch the perfect game.”

Snyder likely will start the semistate contest, but Walter will be ready if called upon. He just wants to win and reach the state championship game.

“We have the mindset that we can beat anybody,” Walter said. “It’s our tournament to lose; we’re not the top-ranked team in the state but we have the mindset that we can beat anybody that we can play against.”

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