Columbus North had a bit of a slow start in the first three innings of Monday’s baseball game against sectional opponent East Central.
It was not until the fourth inning when the Bull Dogs’ bats started getting hot. They rallied for three runs in the fourth and three more runs in the sixth to secure a 7-3 victory.
The game was called because of darkness after the sixth inning.
North starting pitcher Kevin Thompson had an up-and-down start to the game in the first two innings but was locked in the zone from that point forward.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]
“I had some mechanical issues, and I let it get to my head,” Thompson said. “In between innings, I thought about my mechanics, and after that, it just all fell into place.”
In the top of the first, the Trojans were threatening with runners in scoring position. An interference was called against the East Central runner heading to third base, thus making the play dead. The Trojans player running from third to home had to return back to third. On the next at-bat, Thompson induced a foul pop-up to end the threat.
After the Bull Dogs (3-0) picked up a run in the bottom of the first, East Central responded with two runs to take a 3-1 lead. North attempted to tie the game off of a wild pitch, but the Trojans were alert to get the third out of the inning.
In the fourth-inning rally, Grant Trinkle led off with a single, then stole second. After the second out was recorded, Wade Rankin slapped one towards the shortstop, who was unable to scoop the ball. That allowed Trinkle to score on an error, and Rankin advanced all the way to third.
Cooper Trinkle then scored Rankin with a liner down the left-field line for a double. Thompson singled to send Cooper Trinkle to third. Cooper Trinkle then scored when the Bull Dogs used a rundown as a trick play to score the go-ahead run to make it 4-3.
“I was just trying to hit a line drive because I knew Wade was there, and we needed to score the run,” Cooper Trinkle said. “I got a good pitch to hit.”
In the sixth, Tyler Finke slapped a single and then Rankin smacked a double. Cooper Trinkle then was given an intentional walk, and Thompson helped out his own cause by clearing the bases with a double.
“These guys are gritty,” North coach Ben McDaniel said. “We’re not going to impress a lot of people when we step off the bus, but hopefully by the time the game is over, we show people who we are and earn a little bit of respect.”
