Cole Gilley just finished his second year in high school, but the Columbus East sophomore wasted no time making an impact on the Olympians baseball team.
Gilley didn’t bat much as a freshman, but said he didn’t think he hit that well when he did and was still trying to get a feel for his change up when pitching. Gilley worked hard in the offseason by hitting with his dad Steven four days a week to improve his batting.
“I’d go in there hit a bucket off the tee and just work on trying to keep my hands inside the ball and hit hard line-drive gap shots and that kind of stuff, Gilley said. “Then. we went to underhand soft toss and overhand. We were just really focused on keeping my hands inside the ball and not trying to pull everything because last year, I was trying to pull everything and hit it out of the park.”
Gilley’s offseason work helped him lead the Olympians with three home runs. He also had 16 RBIs with a .300 batting average, and his reliable pitching allowed him to earn The Republic Baseball Player of the Year honor after helping lead East to it’s first sectional championship since 1999.
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“I thought it went really well,” Gilley said of his sophomore season. “The team I thought did really well this year. We won our first sectional in 19 years, so that was a big plus for the season. The coaches helped a lot, and the players helped push me.”
Gilley’s pitching ability as a freshman was never in question for East coach Jon Gratz, who praised Gilley for his first-year performance. He committed to Indiana University in the fall and continued to get even better by going 4-1 with a 1.18 ERA in his sophomore season.
Gilley was the starting pitcher in two of the three sectional wins, including the 7-6, eight-inning victory against Columbus North in the sectional championship. He also homered in that game.
“He had a great sectional game against Shelbyville last year,” Gratz said. “I wasn’t surprised with his pitching for us this year. That was pretty much what we expected from him.”
Gilley knew he was going to have to step up this year, but said he didn’t expect to come along this fast. Aside from the batting practice with his father, Gilley also worked on some of his mechanics when playing travel ball during the summer. Gilley credits seniors Josh Major, Drew Hasson and the seniors from last year’s class for their leadership in helping him grow into the player he has become.
Gratz will be looking for some of that leadership out of Gilley in his junior year next season.
“He’s always led by example,” Gratz said. ” I look for him next year to kind of lead a little more vocally — not that he hasn’t done a good job with that — but as you start to get older, just being a little more vocal stepping into that leadership role.”
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This year’s The Republic All-Area baseball team:
Cole Gilley, Columbus East: The sophomore went 4-1 with a 1.18 ERA and batted .300 with 16 RBIs and led the Olympians with three home runs.
Dalton Back, Columbus East: The sophomore led the Olympians with a .442 average, three home runs and 28 RBIs.
Julian Greenwell, Columbus East: The junior went 3-1 with an 0.93 ERA and batted .293 with two home runs and 16 RBIs.
Drew Hasson, Columbus East: The senior went 5-1 with a 2.58 ERA and batted .341 with 16 RBIs and led the Olympians with 26 runs.
Tyler Finke, Columbus North: The senior batted .38 with 13 RBIs and led the Bull Dogs with two triples, 43 stolen bases and 32 runs scored.
Austin Bode, Columbus North: The freshman led the Bull Dogs with a .411 average, 10 doubles, two home runs and 23 RBIs.
Casper Clark, Columbus North: The sophomore batted .338 with 17 RBIs and led the Bull Dogs with two home runs, a 6-1 record and 1.49 ERA.
Jakob Meyer, Columbus North: The junior went 3-4 with a 1.85 ERA and led the Bull Dogs with 61 strikeouts.
Sam Meek, Hauser: The senior led the Jets with a 6-1 record, 1.40 ERA and 93 strikeouts and batted .417.
Trey Johnson, Hauser: The sophomore led the Jets with a .467 average, five triples and 53 RBIs and went 5-2 with a 3.53 ERA.
Sean Miller, Hauser: The junior batted .416 with 32 RBIs and led the Jets with 18 doubles.
Grant Suding, Brown County: The senior led the Eagles with a .351 average and a 3-1 pitching record and had 12 RBIs and a 3.05 ERA.
Zach Murphy, Edinburgh: The senior led the Lancers with a .447 average and 4-2 pitching record and had four home runs and a 2.90 ERA.
Honorable mention
Brown County: Eli Snider. Columbus East: Alec Burnett, Josh Major, Jonah Wichman. Columbus North: Adam Chapman, Parker Maddox, Jake Petrusky. Edinburgh: Zach Giles, Gabe Wilson. Hauser: Jacob Luken, Aaron Mee. Jennings County: Josh Pettit. South Decatur: Devon Martin. Trinity Lutheran: Chandler Reynolds, Jake VonDielingen.
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