It was not the magical ending to a season that the Columbus East High School Olympians baseball team envisioned.
At the end of a hard-fought and intense Class 4A state baseball championship, which started late Monday and finished early Tuesday, defensive miscues meant the difference between being state runner-up and extra innings and a possible state title.
Hamilton Southeastern took advantage of two Olympian errors in the bottom of the seventh inning to claim a 3-2 victory in the Class 4A state final at Victory Field in Indianapolis.
Stunned East players lined up to congratulate the winning Hamilton Southeastern team and then to receive their runner-up medals.
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Although it wasn’t a state championship win, the team was honored by having one of their own selected as the recipient of the game’s L.V. Phillips Mental Attitude Award.
After a heartfelt hug from his parents, East’s Julian Greenwell smiled for photos, although he was visibly still processing the team’s abrupt change of fortune, from a tie game to a loss.
“I am proud of this team,” Greenwell said quietly when a Fox Sports Indiana reporter asked for a reaction to winning the award, which he repeated again for the fans, saying he was proud of his teammates.
The award comes with a $1,000 scholarship fund awarded to East in Greenwell’s name.
In a pitcher’s duel and a game that highlighted great defensive plays, East (25-5) twice battled back from one-run deficits, tying the game at 1-1 on an RBI-single by Greenwell in the third, and at 2-2 on an RBI-infield single by Parker Harrison in the fifth. But the Olympians left seven runners on base in the first five innings.
HSE (23-8) outhit East 7-5. East starting pitcher Cole Gilley allowed two runs and six hits over the first six innings before giving way to Greenwell in the seventh.
“This team has fought all year long,” Gilley said. “It’s hard to take in because we worked so hard in the off-season. But we had a really good year. We were 25-5 at the end of the season. That’s a really good year. The chips just didn’t fall where we wanted them tonight.”
The game began at 9:50 p.m. Monday and ended at 12:09 a.m. Tuesday. The Class A final that preceded the 4A game was delayed a half-hour at the start because of rain and another half-hour in the second inning because of lightning.
Columbus East changed its plans early Tuesday morning and decided not to have a post-game rally for the team after returning to Columbus, opting instead to celebrate at the team’s banquet, according to East athletics director Pete Huse.
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For more coverage of the Columbus East baseball team in the Class 4A state championship game, see today’s sports section. Visit therepublic.com for more photos and coverage.
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