Luke Harmon
After dropping a one-run game at Shelbyville on Monday, the Columbus North baseball team was intent on making a little better showing when it hosted its future first-round sectional opponent on Tuesday.
Although they fell behind 2-0 early, the Class 4A No. 13 Bull Dogs got things going and went on to post a 13-3 victory in six innings.
“I told them that’s exactly the way we needed to come out and play after the game we had (Monday),” North coach Pat Antone said. “Not that we played bad (Monday), but the energy was off, and we weren’t locked in and focused. For us to come out and put up a big score like that against a good team and a team that we’re going to see in the sectional, I was happy to see us respond that way and get us back on track.”
Zach Wager was solid on the mound, and Luke Harmon did most of the damage at the plate for the Bull Dogs (11-3-2). Wager threw a five-hitter, and Harmon went 3 for 3 with four RBIs.
“Luke’s been doing a really good job in the 7-hole for us,” Antone said. “He’s getting better on the basepaths, too. He just needs reps. Since he plays basketball, he doesn’t get as much work in the offseason, so now that he’s had like 50 (at bats) under his belt, he’s starting to see the ball better and get more comfortable. He’s starting to put it in play and find his timing. He’s done a good job.”
Harmon broke out of a mini-slump with his performance on Tuesday.
“Baseball is a very mentally challenging game,” Harmon said. “You have to be really mentally tough because it will humble you real quick. You just have to stick to your approach, and things will happen for you. I don’t know the last few games how my approach was, but I really stuck to it this game.”
After giving up a two-run home run in the second, North got on the board in the bottom of the inning when Zach McLean singled, went to second and third on groundouts and scored on a two-out single by Harmon.
The Bull Dogs took the lead in the third. Wager led off with a single, stole second and scored on a one-out double by Dyllan Redmon. After McLean was hit by a pitch, Will Baker smacked a two-run double to make it 4-2.
In the fourth, Harmon singled, went to third on a double by Dillon James and scored on a wild pitch. North then scored four runs in the fifth, highlighted by two-run singles from Harmon and Connor Hensley.
The Bull Dogs put it away with four runs on no hits, three hit batters and three walks in the sixth. Harmon and pinch-hitter Kyler Hashman drew bases-loaded walks, and Dillon James and Hensley delivered RBI-sacrifice flies.
Hensley finished with three RBIs for North, which pounded out nine hits.
“It’s good to get some confidence in there that we can handle these guys,” Harmon said. “They’re a solid team, and sectional, anything can happen. We just have to keep playing our best.”
