Class 4A No. 1 Columbus North caught a couple bad breaks early on in Tuesday’s baseball contest against Batesville that put it in an early hole.
The remaining six innings, however, belonged to North.
Even though North managed only two hits, it overcame the miscues to remain undefeated on the season with a 6-2 win.
“We had a fly ball that got lost in the sun that led to a run and a bad hop that went right over our shortstop, but that’s baseball. You’re going to get those. Sometimes they’ll go your way, and sometimes they won’t,” North coach Ben McDaniel said. “We were able to hold them to those two runs.”
One thing that McDaniel was excited to see is his team’s discipline at the plate. North didn’t strike out the entire game.
“I’m extremely happy with our plate approach,” McDaniel said. “The last time we were here, (Hamilton Southeastern) threw a similar pitcher to that, and we didn’t adjust. I think that’s why we didn’t put any runs up… We had zero strikeouts tonight. The guys changed their plate approach, and they were able to put the ball in play and we were able to get some runs across the plate.”
Luke Harmon got the win on the mound, pitching the complete game. He went seven innings, giving up six hits and striking out six batters.
“Part of it is how you bounce back. You’ve got to keep fighting and throwing strikes,” Luke Harmon said.
Batesville struck first in the top of the first inning when Travis Lecher singled, and then was called out on a fielder’s choice. Two batters later with a runner on second, Riley Zink hit an RBI-double to right field to make it 1-0. After Zink advanced to third on a fielding error, he scored off an RBI-single from Sam Voegele for a 2-0 lead.
It took a couple innings for North (9-0-1) to get going, but it took its first lead of the game when Will Baker was hit by a pitch, stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error. Dyllan Redmon then walked and stole second to put runners on second and third. That was all Austin Bode needed to deliver a two-RBI single to center field to tie the game at 2-2. Two batters later, Kyler McIntosh delivered an RBI-single to score Brier Elliott, who ran for Bode, to take the 3-2 lead.
North added three insurance runs in the bottom of the fifth when Redmon was hit by a pitch, and Bode drew a walk to put runners on first and second. Blake Stevens delivered a single to load the bases. Reese Harmon then stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded. His first swing was almost a grand slam, but hit the fence in foul territory. The bases would eventually be cleared when a couple of passed balls led to the 6-2 final. Harmon eventually walked in the at-bat.
Bode went 1 for 2 with two RBIs, and McIntosh went 1 for 3 with an RBI.
