Despite jumping out to an early lead Tuesday night, Columbus East was unable to hold off Class 4A No. 4 Jeffersonville, falling 6-2.
In the bottom of the first, Olympians leadoff batter Jonah Wichman reached on a single. Wichman was driven in two batters later on a hit to left field by Drew Hasson to take their only lead of the day.
East dug itself a deep hole in the top of the second, when all nine batters would see the plate for the Red Devils. With two on and one out Jackson Kruer tripled, driving in two runs. Austin Trich drove in Kruer with a single on the next at bat, with Drew Taylor driving in Trich one batter later.
Alec Burnett, who pitched five strong innings for the Olympians, gave up six of his eight hits in the second . Burnett struck out eight, while only walking three.
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“We just have to play better overall defensively,” East coach Jon Gratz said. “We gave them quite a few free bases, and they took advantage of it. They hit and ran a few times. They came up with some big hits. I tip my cap to their hitters, but we cant give up as many free bases as we did, though.”
After allowing another score to Jeffersonville (6-2) on a wild pitch in the fourth, the Olympians (5-3) were able to tack on another run of their own in the sixth. Leadoff hitter Dalton Back got on base with a double to begin the inning. The next two East batters flew out, but Back was driven in by Burnett with a single.
Julian Greenwell replaced Burnett on the mound in the fifth and pitched two scoreless innings with one strikeout. Greenwell was replaced in the seventh by Cole Gilley, who gave up one run, while striking out one.
Back finished 3 for 3 with a double, while Wichman went 2 for 4 with a double. Freshman also had a double.
“I was pleased with the way we swung the bat,” Gratz said. “We didn’t strike out much. We made good solid contact. They just made the plays.”
