Columbus East starting pitcher Jon Crawford was bound to suffer a tough loss on the mound after pitching five solid innings.
His only hiccup was surrendering four runs in the fourth.
Crawford’s teammates, however, did not want his performance go to waste.
The Olympians started a big rally in the bottom of the sixth that led to five runs. Cole Gilley closed out the game for East in the seventh to give the Olympians a come-from-behind 6-4 baseball victory against Southport.
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Trailing 4-1 heading to the bottom of the sixth, Josh Major got the East rally going with a single. He stole second, then Jonathan Foster walked. Julian Greenwell scored Major with a single. Luke Hostetler got a single to load the bases.
Crawford then tied the game by knocking in two runs with a single. Charlie Burton capped off the inning by plating two more runs with a double.
“I knew we still had a chance in this game, and this team never quits fighting,” Crawford said.
Crawford struck out eight in his six innings pitched.
“I felt pretty good, but in that (fourth) inning, I had some command issues,” Crawford said. “I adjusted and bounced back the next inning to put ourselves in a position to win.”
The Olympians (10-5) had trouble finding base the first five innings. Southport starting pitcher A.J. Short locked down the Olympian bats early in the game.
Crawford stayed with Short in the early going of the pitchers duel. Short finished the game surrendering only two hits and striking out six in five innings.
“It was nice seeing (Crawford) get going and get back to his old self because at this time of year, that is where we’ll need him,” East coach Jon Gratz said. “He was throwing strikes and getting ahead of hitters.”
Drew Hasson added a double in the second inning for the Olympians. East scored its other run in the fourth when Greenwell led off with a triple and later came home on a passed ball.
The Olympians now have their sights set for the showdown with crosstown rival Columbus North. The game is scheduled for 5 p.m. Wednesday.
“We’ll come out and have a good practice (today), and we’re going to keep on working on things like we always do and just keep getting better every day,” Gratz said.
