In the game of baseball, a team is given three outs per inning.
Columbus North found out the hard way Monday night that a lot of damage can be done before that third out is made in a loss to Class 4A No. 6 Fishers. The Tigers scored all seven of their runs with two out in their 7-3 victory against the Bull Dogs.
Fishers struck quickly, scoring two runs in the top of the first. After a walk to the leadoff hitter, North starter Jakob Meyer struck out the next two hitters. A stolen base, a hit batter and two singles later, however, and the Tigers had a 2-0 lead before taking the field for the bottom of the inning.
The Bull Dogs answered quickly though. A leadoff single and stolen base by Tyler Finke got the inning started. After Finke moved to third on a ground out, Austin Bode was hit by a pitch, one of three times that happened to him on the night. A wild pitch then brought Finke home with North’s first run. Pinch runner Blake Huffman then stole third, and an overthrow by the catcher allowed him to score North’s second run of the inning to tie the game at 2-2.
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After holding Fishers scoreless in the second, the Bull Dogs struck again to take a 3-2 lead. Finke singled and promptly stole second. A bunt base hit by Kyler McIntosh caused the Tiger catcher to commit his second error of the game, throwing the ball over the head of the first baseman, which allowed Finke to score North’s third unearned run of the game.
The Bull Dogs’ lead held up until the fourth. Meyer got the first two outs of the inning with relative ease. He then lost command of the strike zone, walking the next two Tiger batters. An error allowed Fishers to tie the score at 3-3. The Tigers’ next hitter, Craig Yoho then came to the plate with two on and hit the first pitch he saw over the scoreboard in left field for a three-run shot, giving Fishers a 6-3 lead.
Another North error, followed by a Kiel Brenczewski double, scored the Tigers’ seventh run. In all, Fishers scored five runs in the inning, all with two out.
“We had about six walks tonight and some very untimely errors. When you have two outs and have a chance to get out of the inning and don’t do it, and then one of the best hitters in the state (Yoho) comes up and hits one over the scoreboard, that’s a killer,” North coach Ben McDaniel said.
The Bull Dogs (15-9) were unable to add to the scoring column after the second. They threatened late in
the game when Homare Takauchi and Bode were hit by back-to-back pitches with one out. A single by Casper Clark to right field gave Takauchi a chance to score from second, but he was gunned down at the plate, keeping North off the board.
“I thought Fishers was the best team we saw last year when we were able to reach semistate,” McDaniel said. “I thought we should have one tonight. Of our nine losses, I feel that in seven of those, we have beaten ourselves, tonight included. They are a loaded, veteran team, and I think we could have beaten them. We always try to view losses as learning opportunities, but I don’t think we are there yet.”
