Columbus East shortstop Jonah Wichman had a solid night from both sides of the plate Wednesday night, making it look very natural.
That is because, evidently, it is. Wichman had two extra-base hits, one from each side of the plate, to help the Olympians to a 6-2 Hoosier Hills Conference Tournament semifinal victory against visiting Madison.
“I’m comfortable at both sides of the plate in any game situation. It’s something that I’ve been able to do my entire life. It just came naturally to me,” Wichman said.
With the victory, East (13-6) moves on to Friday’s championship game, where it will host Jeffersonville, a 12-2 winner over Floyd Central in Wednesday’s other semifinal.
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Wichman finished with a double, a triple, an RBI and scored two runs. The Olympians also had some other solid offensive contributions.
East got off to a quick start, scoring two runs in the first inning. Wichman and Julian Greenwell each doubled to begin the inning, scoring the first run. That was followed by one of Drew Hasson’s two hits, which knocked in Greenwell.
After being held in check by Madison starter Hunter Ferris the next two innings, the Olympians struck again in the fourth to take a 3-0 lead. Josh Major singled and stole second. He was brought to the plate by Cole Gilley’s base hit.
After scoring an unearned run in the fifth, East added two more runs in the sixth. Major once again reached base with an infield single. After moving to third on a wild pitch, he scored on a fielder’s choice by Alec Burnett. Burnett came home to score on Wichman’s triple to give them a 6-2 lead.
It was, however, on the mound where Burnett did most of his damage. The East starter threw four innings, striking out eight, walking one and not allowing an earned run.
Burnett’s start followed a dominating pitching performance in a first round victory against Bedford North Lawrence, in which the Olympian pitchers allowed only one hit.
“I felt a little tired tonight at the beginning of the game. Once I loosened up, I was able to settle in. My off-speed stuff was great tonight, which allowed me to use my fastball and trust my defense. I was pleased with my velocity and how I threw tonight,” Burnett said.
Drew Hasson came in and pitched the final three innings, allowing one run with four strikeouts and one walk. Although not as dominant, he was effective.
“Drew had a bit of trouble with his command tonight,” East coach Jon Gratz said. “But our pitching has been there all year for us. I thought Alec threw well tonight once he was able to settle in.”
And although East was able to put six runs on the board, Gratz would like to see a more consistent effort from his offense.
“I would like for us to hit more consistently,” he said. “We were out in front tonight, and sometimes we try to do too much at the plate.”
