Ben Mazur continues dominance as Central Catholic baseball shuts down Harrison

Central Catholic's Ben Mazur (27) reacts after striking out the final West Lafayette batter as Central Catholic defeats West Lafayette, 2-0, Wednesday, April 21, 2021 in Lafayette.
Central Catholic's Ben Mazur (27) reacts after striking out the final West Lafayette batter as Central Catholic defeats West Lafayette, 2-0, Wednesday, April 21, 2021 in Lafayette.

WEST LAFAYETTE — Ben Mazur is a big time pitcher and Tim Bordenet keeps putting the junior in big time moments.

The right-handed ace of the Central Catholic pitching staff answered the call again on Friday night.

Mazur tossed a complete game at Raider Field, striking out 13 in Class A No. 3 Central Catholic's 5-1 victory over Harrison.

"The moment is never too big for him," Bordenet said. "He performs better under pressure than he probably does when it is a routine outing. He has that extra gear which is great to see."

This win backed up Mazur's Hoosier Conference championship complete-game two-hitter a week earlier against Class 3A No. 2 Western and its ace in Louisville recruit Mitchell Dean.

Mazur again went head-to-head with a stellar pitching ace of a top-notch program.

Ethan McCormick was equally up to the task until it was Mazur who tagged him for a double to the left-center field gap in the fifth inning to score Evan Dienhart.

"Mazur threw really well. Ethan matched him pitch for pitch," Harrison coach Pat Lowrey said. "Our situational hitting was not very good. We had a guy at third base and one out and we strike out. That was early in the game. Middle of the game, we have second and third with one out and we strike out.

"Then we have first and second and nobody out and don't scratch one across. In those games where you are facing a good pitcher, situational hitting becomes pretty crucial."

The Raiders managed just four hits off Mazur, the lone blow a Corbin Payne single in the fifth to cut CC's lead to 2-1.

"We play a lot of really good teams throughout the year and we seem to show up at the right time to go compete against some really good pitchers," Mazur said. "We came out here and saw a pretty good pitcher. We battled with him.

"I love pitching a good game a pitcher's duel. It's always fun to go out there and compete with the best teams."

After winning the North Central Conference championship on Saturday, Harrison (17-9) suffered its third loss in four days, falling to Zionsville on Tuesday and Brebeuf on Thursday.

"We haven't had a conference championship for awhile here," Lowrey said. "One thing we talked about was not to lose that fight. I think early in the week we came out very lethargic."

Central Catholic (18-6) did the opposite.

Dienhart and Munn, along with Mazur, who Bordenet referred to as the Knights' table setters, each provided two hits and Dienhart's two-run single in the seventh proved to be a backbreaker for the Raiders.

"Ben is as clutch a player as we have, whether it is on the mound or at bat," Bordenet said. "You lean on your clutch players in big ball games and Ben came through tonight.

"Ben has pitched against our tougher teams all year and has risen to the challenge every single time. Our kids enjoy playing tough teams. Harrison is a great ball club and we are fortunate enough to get out. McCormick is a whale of a pitcher. We were able to get a few more hits than they did."

Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @samueltking. 

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Ben Mazur continues dominance as Central Catholic shuts down Harrison