MUNSTER — Jorey Dimopoulos admitted there were some butterflies. It didn’t show.
The Lake Central senior stood in the batter’s box with the bases loaded and one out Friday, the Indians trailing Munster by one run in the top of the seventh inning.
Dimopoulos came through with a two-run bloop single to center field. The Indians went on to score four times in the inning on the way to a 5-3 victory in a Class 4A Munster Sectional quarterfinal.
“When that curveball came, I knew it had that sharp break, I got low with it and got under it enough to poke it out there for a base hit,” Dimopoulos said.
Matt Litwicki pitched the complete game to earn the victory in a stellar duel with Munster’s Connor Manous.
“I wouldn’t trade that kid (Dimopoulos) for anybody else,” Lake Central coach Jeff Sandor said. “He’s just a gamer. … He’s the one guy you want in that situation.”
The Indians (24-4) will face Highland in a semifinal on Saturday. The Trojans defeated West Side 12-0 in five innings.
It was an emotional victory for Highland (15-9).
The Trojans dedicated their postseason to the memory of Patty Syvertsen, who lost her battle with cancer on Sept. 9, 2013.
Her son, Zack, hit two home runs, including a grand slam. He finished with six RBIs.
“Last season, it was hard to play without her,” Zack Syvertsen said. “She helped me out (Friday).”
Syvertsen hit a two-run homer to left in the third inning. His grand slam went out to center field.
“The first one was a hit-and-run, so I knew I was hitting no matter what,” he said. “The wind helped me a lot. The second one, I got underneath it and the wind took it again. The wind helped me out a lot.”
Those were the first two homers of his high school career.
“What a storybook for Zack,” Highland coach John Bogner said. “… The rest of his life he’ll be telling that story.”
Highland pitcher Andrew Kinley limited West Side to one hit. He struck out 11 and did not surrender a walk.
“This was a game we needed him to be on, and he was on,” Bogner said. “He gave us everything he could.”
TuQuary Scott had the only hit for West Side (1-18-1).
The strong pitching continued in the second game. Litwicki scattered 10 hits and struck out five.
Manous allowed one earned run on four hits in his seven innings for Munster (20-9).
Trevor Brooks and Mike Szumlas had RBI hits to give Munster a 2-0 lead.
Lake Central got a run in the third on an RBI single by Steven Meyer.
It remained that way until Dimopoulos’ single in the seventh. Lake Central took advantage of three Munster errors in the inning to rally. Brooks had an RBI single in the bottom of the inning to make it 5-3. But Litwicki ended the game with a strikeout.
“You have to give (Lake Central) credit, they didn’t quit,” Munster coach Bob Shinkan said.
Saturday’s semifinals begin at 10 a.m. with East Chicago Central playing Morton. Lake Central-Highland follows.
Twitter: @lamondpope
