Staff photo / Brian Yauger LaBrae’s Landon Brunstetter swings at a pitch during Wednesday’s Division VI regional semifinal against Lake Center Christian.

LOUISVILLE — Despite trailing by eight runs headed into the bottom of the fifth inning, if LaBrae was going to go down, it was going to go down swinging.

The Vikings’ comeback effort wasn’t enough, however, as LaBrae fell 9-6 to Lake Center Christian in a Division VI regional semifinal on Wednesday at Louisville.

LaBrae started the game on the back foot, with starting pitcher Landon Brunstetter battling illness. Brunstetter only threw 24 pitches before getting swapped for Austin Rowe.

“I am very proud of these kids,” Vikings coach Ed Anthony said. “They took on this, this team here that has been beating everybody 10-0 in five innings. And you know what, they fought back at the end. We had the bases loaded, we had the winning run up at the plate. We battled.

“Unfortunately our ace was sick, I mean he’s really sick, so we could only use him for 24 pitches. Not making an excuse, hats off to them, they are a very well-coached team, they hit the ball really well. They strung some together. That’s a very, very, very good team there, and it would not surprise me if they win this region.”

Entering the bottom of the fifth, the Vikings trailed 9-1.

But instead of hanging their heads, they dug in. LaBrae scored five runs in the fifth, which got started by a single from Brunstetter.

Colton Hall, Noah Majersky, Eric Reibold, Brunstetter and Zack Freeman all scored to cut the lead down to three runs.

“We made some mental mistakes out there, but the kids fought, they scraped. I mean, they did whatever they could to turn it around,” Anthony said.

“I never like to be happy at a loss, and I’m not happy, because I think we had a few opportunities we could have capitalized on, but as far as this group is concerned, I’m very, very, very proud. Austin (Rowe), the way he came in there. That poor kid turned around and pitched us all the way through and put his heart out there, and he’s not feeling very well either. I kept telling him from the fourth inning on, ‘It’s gut check time. Dig deep,’ and they did.”

The loss closes the career of LaBrae’s group of 10 seniors. Over the last four seasons, the Vikings won 76 games, four league titles and a district title out of three appearances.

While no one is happy the season is over, the LaBrae seniors left a lasting legacy for the program.

“We started this in weightlifting in November. That’s what I told them before we even got on the bus. For about seven months, they’ve worked their tails off,” Anthony said. “The experienced seniors, they knew what to expect, the younger ones didn’t. The younger ones followed the older guys, and they all came together. We always break saying ‘family,’ and that’s pretty much what we’ve been this year.

“I think one of the things I take away from this year is that we were a close-knit group.

If I said practice at 2 p.m., they were there at 1:30. From a coaching standpoint, you can’t ask any more than that, whether they’re seniors, juniors, whatever. I think (the seniors’) legacy will be how hard they worked, how many wins they have accomplished, what they accomplished in the league, and I think they should just realize that they set a good example for the future.”