Columbus East’s Ethan Ianni, left, dives to catch a throw as Columbus North’s Trent Bodart slides into third base in a baseball game at Southside Elementary School in Columbus, Ind., Saturday, May, 7, 2022.
The Republic file photo
The high school baseball postseason is scheduled to open Wednesday evening, but the weather may have something to say about that.
Columbus North’s sectional opener against East Central at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Bloomington South may or may not take place at that time because of expected thunderstorms. Columbus East received a first-round bye and will play Bloomington North in Friday’s second semifinal at around 8:15 p.m.
In most cases, teams who play on Wednesday in this sectional throw their No. 1 pitchers with the intention of bringing them back on Monday for the final. Bull Dogs coach Pat Antone likely would send senior ace Will Baker (4-2, 3.59 ERA) to the mound Wednesday, but if it gets delayed to Thursday, junior Luke Harmon (3-2) likely would get the start, with senior Zach Wager (6-1, 1.82) scheduled to go in Friday’s semifinals.
“That’s something we’ve been thinking about, but we’re not 100 percent sure yet what we’re going to do,” Antone said. “The weather is definitely going to play a role in what goes on. If we can’t play Wednesday, that is going to affect things. We have a plan in place, but we’ll have to see what happens before we make any final decisions.”
Columbus North (18-6-1) beat East Central 13-3 two weeks ago.
“That means absolutely nothing at this point,” Antone said. “What happens in the regular season doesn’t matter. We have to treat every game like it’s the biggest game of the year, not because of the opponent, but because it’s the game we’re in. We’ve treated every game we’ve had that way. There’s no added pressure because we’ve been there. We’re not taking anything for granted, and we’re going to come out ready to play on Wednesday.”
Sophomore pitcher/first baseman Zach McLean leads the Bull Dogs at the plate with a .329 average, two home runs and 21 RBIs. Other top hitters are junior catcher Connor Hensley (.321), Baker (.306, 14 RBIs) and senior third baseman Dyllan Redmon (one HR, 20 RBIs).
Columbus North is coming off a pair of one-run losses to Carmel and Cathedral in Saturday’s Carmel Invitational.
“We played two good teams on Saturday, and that’s what we want to do going into the sectional,” Antone said. “We were getting hits. We just couldn’t get that big hit or that timely hit that we needed. Our pitching was really good in both games. Our defense, we had some guys play different spots than they had played all season. We’re in a great place and ready to start the sectional for sure.”
East (11-16-1) also was on a little bit of a roll until last week. The Olympians lost at Bloomington North 13-3 on Wednesday, then dropped a pair of games in Saturday’s Indy Classic.
“It’s baseball,” East coach Jon Gratz said. “Sometimes things can get out of hand quickly. It’s a fresh start. Once the tournament starts, how you did in the regular season doesn’t really matter. It’s how you play in the tournament.”
The Olympians did not use either of their top two pitchers, senior Ethan Ianni (4-3, 2.75 ERA) or junior Will Boyer (3-4, 3.00) on Wednesday at Bloomington North. One of those two likely will start against the Cougars on Friday.
Senior center fielder Logan Christophel leads East with a .448 batting average, but he has been injured the past month and his status for the sectional is uncertain. Other top hitters are sophomore designated hitter Blake Borkhardt (.355, six HR, 22 RBIs) senior second baseman Will Rieckers (.322, 10 RBIs) senior shortstop Harry Major (.316, 13 RBIs), senior first baseman Josh Luedeke (19 RBIs) and senior catcher Alex McComb (14 RBIs).
“We’ve been up and down a little bit all season,” Gratz said. “I think we’ve definitely gotten better defensively. Our pitching has improved. We have to come out and have a good week of practice and play clean baseball.”
Hauser’s Koby Johnson fires a pitch to the plate against Indianapolis Lutheran Monday at Hauser High School.
Tommy Walker | For The Republic
Meanwhile, Hauser (15-11) will have to wait until Monday to begin play in the Class A Jac-Cen-Del Sectional. The Jets, who close the regular season today at home against Eastern Hancock, will play the winner of Wednesday’s Rising Sun-Oldenburg Academy winner in the sectional semifinals at around 12:15 Monday.
“Both of those teams are good,” Hauser coach Nathan Long said. “Either one, we’re going to have to play good fundamental baseball, error-free baseball, pitch good and have timely hitting. But I feel everyone in that sectional has a chance to bring home the trophy, so that’s always good going in, to have that confidence. The sectional is wide open.”
If the Jets win Monday afternoon, they will face the winner of Monday’s first semifinal between Trinity Lutheran and Jac-Cen-Del for the title at 7 p.m. Monday.
Senior Koby Johnson leads the Jets on the mound with a 6-2 record, 1.41 ERA and two no-hitters this season. Senior Eli Miller (4-2, 2.43) is the No. 2 hurler.
Top hitters are senior catcher Sam Miller (.329, 23 RBIs), junior second baseman/shortstop Levi Gollmer (.329, 10 RBIs), freshman center fielder Simeon Wasil (.323, 12 RBIs) and Koby Johnson (five HR, 22 RBIs), who plays first base when not pitching.
“If we would eliminate the errors, we’d have about four or five more wins,” Long said. “We have to find ways to play better fundamental baseball at times.”
