Heritage Christian senior baseball players are hoping to have a double celebration of sorts within two hours this weekend that will take them from downtown to its campus on the northside of Indianapolis.

The Eagles (18-5), who are ranked number one in the latest poll by the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association in Class 2A, will play second-ranked Cathedral (19-1) in Class 4A at Victory Field on Friday at 5 p.m. for the city championship. The Golden Eagles will be defending the title the team won in 2009

Cathedral agreed to the earlier-than-usual  starting time so that senior Heritage Christian players will get a chance to participate in commencement ceremonies that are scheduled to start at 7 p.m.  

"We had parents who chipped in to get a Hummer Limo that will be ready for the boys and take them to school once the game is over," said Heritage Christian head coach Dan Ambrose. "They are going to put their caps and gowns over their uniforms and just hustle to school so they can be part of graduation. What a memory."

Eagles lose rare two in a row

Ambrose said he hopes his team can find a way to break out of whatever has derailed his team's performance the past two games so it will be on track by the time its plays Cathedral.

Heritage Christian has hit a lull from the plate where it has only produced two runs in the past two games. The Eagles lost 7-1 to Lawrence North and fell to sectional rival Scecina Memorial  5-1 on Tuesday night.

Ambrose said he knows the reason for his team's two-game losing streak.

"We have just stopped hitting the ball the past two games," Ambrose said. "You tend to run into those kinds of things when you play 30 games, and you just have to keep playing to get out of it."

Six seniors, who have led the team all season, will try their best to help the team regain winning  momentum heading into sectional competition at the end of the month. They are: David Ledbetter and twin brother Ryan, Cameron McWiliams, Sterling Harpst, Scott Kreeger and Nick Sato.

Ryan Ledbetter leads the Eagles at the plate, hitting at a clip of .571 with 38 RBI while David Ledbetter is batting .618 and adding 30 RBI.  David Ledbetter leads the pitching staff with an ERA at 2.15. McWiliiams leads the team with 17 stolen bases and Harpst is second with runs scored at 27.

Ambrose says Scecina is likely sectional champ

Ambrose did not hesitate to name the team to beat in the upcoming sectional at Scecina Memorial that includes Indian Creek, Cardinal Ritter, Washington, Park Tudor and Triton Central.

"Scecina is the team to beat in our sectional this year," Ambrose said. "They have a great group of seniors  and are loaded.  It is their year."

Still, Ambrose is pleased so far with the season and said his team is capable of challenging for the sectional championship.

"I thought we would have 15 or 16 wins at this point of the season, and so we are happy," Ambrose said. "We had a lot of question marks coming into the season, but I am proud of how they have stepped in and got the job done."

And about that date with destiny and graduation on Friday? Ambrose said staff will save seats for family members at the city championship game so they can sit together and will be able to get out of the park in a timely fashion," Ambrose said. "It is a great opportunity to play at Victory Field and get that big game feeling because you can never have enough of that."