Logan Christophel rounds third on his way to score Columbus East’s first run against Jeffersonville Friday April 15, 2022 at Columbus East High School.
The Republic file photo
Logan Christophel was off to a sizzling start to his senior baseball season when it came to a grinding halt.
The Columbus East center fielder was batting .448 through the first 10 games of the season, but in that 10th game at Silver Creek, Christophel dove for a ball. He ended up breaking his left wrist and being sidelined for most of the rest of the regular season.
“I was diving for a ball hit in the right-center field gap, I left my feet, and I came down and I broke it,” Christophel said. “I finished the rest of the game, pitched and got a hit in the next inning. I didn’t know I broke it until the next morning.”
Aside from a couple pinch-running appearances, Christophel did not appear in another game until Saturday’s Jasper Regional. He was back in center field for a semifinal upset win against Class 4A No. 2 Mooresville, then pinch ran and scored the winning run in the bottom of the seventh in a regional final win against New Albany.
“It was great,” Christophel said. “Even in the limited capacity, even being able to field and pinch run and cheer on my teammates, it was absolutely a great experience. It was pretty cool that I got to pinch run and ended up scoring the game-winning run. That was awesome.”
That was a stark contrast to his prior feeling.
“It was brutal, especially being my senior season,” Christophel said. “I started out the season pretty strong, and having to sit out the rest of the (regular) season was really tough.”
Christophel now wears splint on his left forearm and has a modified brace that fits under his glove. He has been cleared to run and play in the field, but had not been cleared to hit prior to the regional.
“The bone is still snapped in half,” Christophel said. “I had to have surgery, and there’s a screw in there. But I’m still working on trying to get back to the plate and help my team as much as I can. Me and my physical therapist Skyler (Ferguson at ATI Physical Therapy) are working on trying to get me to the plate with a whole new brace, a whole new protector for my hand.”
“Just the energy he brings and his athleticism, his arm strength and obviously his speed on the bases, he can do a lot for us,” East coach Jon Gratz added. “He’s kind of a five-tool guy, and really he was a late bloomer. He was probably like 5-foot-5, maybe 105 pounds, and he’s grown a lot and gotten a lot stronger.”
Last fall, Christophel played for football for the first time in high school and was the Olympians’ leading receiver. He had played in middle school, but went through a growth spurt to measure 6-2, 150 pounds at the start of football season.
“I played when I was younger, but I didn’t play in high school,” Christophel said. “I felt like I was too small, and then senior year, I was just like, ‘Screw it. I’m going to play.’”
Now, he’s a key player on the East baseball team. The Olympians (15-16-1) face Cathedral (17-10-2) at around 3:30 p.m. Saturday in the semistate at Mooresville. The winner goes to the 4A state final.
“I couldn’t be happier to be back out there with all my teammates,” Christophel said. “I’ve been playing with all these guys since I was 6, so it’s great to have the kind of season that we’re having right now.”
Because of his early-season success prior to the injury, Christophel was named to the All-District team. He committed earlier this spring and signed last week with Jackson College, a junior college in Jackson Michigan, where he will join teammates Ethan Ianni and Harry Major.
“He really was a big-time player for us early in the year, and his injury devastated him a little bit, and he’s been working his tail off to try to get back and help out his teammates,” Gratz said. “It was tough for us, and it was really hard on him because he’s worked so hard, and he plays so hard.
“He was an extremely important piece of our team, but really just for him, you feel terrible for a kid that’s having such a great year and gets hurt has to sit and watch,” he added. “That’s really hard to do, and he battled through that. Credit to him because a lot of guys would kind of pack up shop and go on and play in college. But he hasn’t done that. He wants to come out with his team and hopefully contribute again. I have a lot of respect for him for doing that.”
