Heading into the bottom of the fifth inning Thursday night leading 1-0, Columbus North needed to give starting pitcher Jake Petrusky more breathing room to close out the game.
As it turned out, Petrusky would not see the mound again. The Class 4A No. 4 Bull Dogs strung together a nine-run inning to stop the game, defeating Jennings County 10-0 in five innings.
Petrusky pitched a complete game, retiring 12 of the last 13 batters he faced, while striking out five after a subpar previous outing against Shelbyville.
“Its just kind of mental. Just forgetting about the last outing and trusting my teammates,” Petrusky said.
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“Petrusky is a special pitcher. His composure was the same against Shelbyville as it was tonight,” North coach Ben McDaniel said. “And to me, that is what makes a strong pitcher — their mental approach. The guys look at him and see how he is handling things, and they respond to that.”
The Bull Dogs (8-3) started the first inning off strong, with leadoff hitter Grant Trinkle getting on base with a single. Austin Bode drove in Trinkle two batters latter with a single of his own.
North was unable to get the bats going over the course of the next three innings, when Panthers starting pitcher Kyle Wilson retired eight of the next nine Bull Dog batters.
After a fly out began the fifth for the Bull Dogs, Homare Takauchi reached first on Wilson’s second walk of the game. Tyler Finke stepped to the plate as a pinch-hitter, laying a bunt down the third-base line to bring home Takauchi. A wild throw to first allowed Finke to advance to third.
Trinkle reached first with a single on the next at bat, then stole second and third. Parker Maddox was walked and stole second, as well. Maddox then was driven in by a single from Austin Bode. Bode stole second to advance, the fourth steal in the inning by North.
Adam Chapman singled next, driving in Bode. A walk to Takauchi and hit by pitch to Blake Huffman brought Kyler McIntosh to the plate, and singled to bring Chapman home.
“We have six games in five days this week, and we need to have pitching so (Wilson) was on a pitch limit,” said Jennings County head coach Trent Hardisty of his decision to pull Miller in the fifth. “We hung with them for awhile. We are trying to get better each game, and that’s what I stress.”
Consecutive wild pitches by new pitcher Owen Miller allowed both Huffman and McIntosh to score next for the Bull Dogs. Finke stepped to the plate after a Takauchi walk, sending a shot into the outfield bringing in the final run.
Finke finished 2 for 2 with two RBIs. Trinkle, Bode and McIntosh all went 2 for 3 with an RBI.
Josh Pettit went 2 for 2 for the Panthers (2-5).
“What really sparked that inning was, we hadn’t had Finke in the game. These guys respond to Tyler,” McDaniel said.
