Columbus East will play in the Baseball State Finals on Monday night, but the Olympians almost didn’t make it through the first round of the sectional.
East posted one-run victories in its first two sectional games and needed a two-out rally in the seventh inning of its regional semifinal in an 8-7, nine-inning win against Jeffersonville. The past two games have been a little easier, though for the Olympians, who will play Hamilton Southeastern for the 4A title at around 8:30 p.m. Monday at Victory Field in Indianapolis.
“Most everybody that makes it this far has some tough games along the road,” East coach Jon Gratz said. “Obviously, we did, too. We have a pretty resilient group, and I don’t know that we ever didn’t expect to win throughout those games, and I think that helped carry them through.”
Junior Cole Gilley threw a one-hitter with 14 strikeouts in a 1-0 win against Shelbyville in the opening round of the East Central Sectional. Two days later, sophomore Kaden Wise threw a four-hitter, but the Olympians needed a bases-loaded single from Gilley in the bottom of the seventh to pull out a 2-1 semifinal win against Bloomington South.
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“At the beginning, we weren’t putting up a lot of runs, but did what we had to do to survive, and I think it’s going to help us Monday night if we get down at all,” Gilley said. “We know we have a ton of heart and will be able to battle back.”
East then had to face a Columbus North team that had beaten the Olympians 7-2 during the regular season in the sectional final. This time, East jumped out to an early 5-1 lead and held on for a 5-3 win.
“Coming into the sectional, we knew it was going to be a tough one,” senior shortstop Jonah Wichman said. “The Bloomington schools and Columbus North and East Central are all great schools, and we knew we were going to have to battle and it was going to be a dogfight the whole way through.”
The biggest dogfight of all came in the regional semifinals at Evansville’s Bosse Field. The Olympians jumped out to a 4-0 lead on Jeffersonville, but found themselves trailing 7-4 with two out in the top of the seventh.
East cut the lead to 7-5, then with two strikes, sophomore Parker Harrison smacked a two-run double to tie the game at 7-7. Dalton Back’s home run in the ninth gave the Olympians an 8-7 victory.
“You get your back against the wall like that, and you find a way to scratch and claw and get the job done, that could give you confidence really in any situation,” East coach Jon Gratz said.
Since then, things have gotten easier for the Olympians. Wise threw a three-hitter in a 5-1 regional final win against Castle. Then on Saturday, East broke out the bats in a 10-3 semistate victory against Avon at Mooresville.
“After we got through Jeff in the regional, I knew that there was nobody that was going to stop us,” Wichman said. “We just kind of got the ball rolling after that first regional game.”
Monday night, the Olympians will face what likely will be their toughest test yet. They face a Hamilton Southeastern team that won the state’s top baseball conference, the Hoosier Crossroads Conference.
But a battle-tested East team will be ready.
“Against Jeffersonville in the first round of regional, I didn’t pitch very well, but the team picked me up,” Gilley said. “We just kept battling and battling all the way through to try to score enough runs to win the game. I know this team has a ton of fight, and it’s going to help us if we get down at all in the state championship.”
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What: Class 4A baseball state final
Who: Columbus East (25-4) vs. Hamilton Southeastern (22-8)
When: 8:30 p.m. Monday (following 5:30 p.m. Class A final between University and Washington Township)
Where: Victory Field, Indianapolis
Admission: $10
TV: Fox Sports Indiana
Note: Unless Monday’s game ends extremely late, there will be a celebration at Columbus East High School when the team returns.
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The first baseball team at Columbus East, the 1973 Olympians, are planning to meet at 6:30 p.m. Monday in front of the Will Call window at Victory Field.
That 1973 team was the first sports team in school history to win a sectional title.
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Coming Sunday in the Republic:
— Father’s Day will be extra special for the Major family this year. John Major is an assistant coach for Columbus East, while his son Harry and nephew Ben are starting infielders.
— Jon Gratz has built a powerhouse in his nine years as the Olympians head coach.
— East vs. Hamilton Southeastern game preview and game-by-game results for both teams
— Meet the Olympians: A Q&A with photos of all 19 Olympian players and five coaches
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