the Pioneers ran into a buzzsaw in the form of Jeffersonville pitcher Logan Bingham , who held Providence to only four hits in a 7-0 shutout victory .
That , though , would be the Pioneers ’ last loss .
Providence closed out the regular season with an 11-2 triumph at Bedford North Lawrence and a 12-0 five-inning win over Lanesville .
The Pioneers then rolled to their fourth straight sectional title , and 22nd overall . They clipped Crawford County 10-0 in five frames in the semifinals before topping Paoli 10-1 on Memorial Day in the Clarksville Sectional final .
Five days later , Providence pounded out 12 hits in a 9-4 win over Southwestern and
previously-unbeaten pitcher Jamison Lewis in the one-game Mitchell Regional .
The following Saturday , the Pioneers turned into the Cardiac Kids . They won both of their games at the Plainfield Semistate in walk-off fashion – outlasting Knightstown 9-8 before beating upstart Greencastle 7-6 in eight innings .
FABULOUS FINISH Providence faced two-time reigning state champion Illiana Christian in the 2A title tilt on June 15 at Victory Field in Indianapolis . It was a mismatch .
Jackson tossed a no-hitter – the first one in state finals history – and seven different Pioneers had hits in their 9-0 victory .
“ With our one-through-nine ( hitters ), I wouldn ’ t take anybody else ,” Watson said immediately afterward . “ We had everybody coming in and doing their job . For us to be able to just compete and move runners around , get runners in scoring position and produce – and then we made routine
PROVIDENCE SHORTSTOP FOSTER NASH SCOOPS UP A BALL DURING THE PIONEERS ’ VICTORY OVER ILLIANA CHRISTIAN ON JUNE 15 .
NEWS AND TRIBUNE PROVIDENCE PIONEERS | BASEBALL | IHSAA CLASS 2A STATE CHAMPS 2024 7