SHELBYVILLE — Columbus North had a chance to come away with a slight upset over Shelbyville on Wednesday, but there was one factor that prevented the Bull Dogs from getting that victory.
It was the numerous errors.
The Bull Dogs committed five errors early on that cost them several runs. North stood tough but it was only a matter of time before Shelbyville bats came alive. Once they did, the Golden Bears scored runs in a frenzy to post an 11-1 six-inning win.
“Errors killed us tonight,” North coach Ron McDonald said. “We were in that game, except for the last two innings. Our hits weren’t there tonight. We have to make sure we can get run support for our pitching. I thought Lilly (Hurt) get a great job pitching, but there were instances where we dropped the ball when we shouldn’t have.”
The Bull Dogs (1-17) picked up a quick lead to start the game. Brooke Bruin reached base via error and later scored when Sierra Norman singled.
The Golden Bears (9-7) then responded in the bottom of the first when starting pitcher and Indiana University commit TeAnn Bringle popped up a ball and got a friendly bounce off a fielder’s glove. The ball rolled into the right-field corner, allowing Bringle to sprint around the bases to tie the game at 1-1.
In the second, after Shelbyville’s Morgan Steineker singles, another error by North led to another run. A couple of errors by the Bull Dogs in the third inning and a couple hits by Shelbyville put the Golden Bears ahead 5-1 after three.
The bats turned cold for North until the fourth inning, when Hurt lined a two-out single. A hit-by- pitch and a single by Jenna Fath loaded the bases, but a grounder left all three runners stranded.
The Bull Dogs managed only one hit over the fifth and sixth innings.
The Golden Bears bats became hot as the game progressed. James Madison commit Hannah File doubled and later scored in the fourth extend lead to 6-1.
Bringle knocked in two runs with a double and later scored off a File triple to for a 9-1 lead after five innings. In the sixth, Shelbyville tallied three hits and scored two runs to finish the game.
North was coming off its first win of the season Tuesday against Southport. McDonald is optimistic the Bull Dogs can get a few more wins under their belt in the next couple of weeks before sectional play begins.
