Columbus North’s Luke Harmon pitches to Seymour at the Southside diamonds, Thursday, April 27, 2023.
Paige Grider for The Republic
Columbus North wasn’t as crisp as it would have liked, but the Bull Dogs had just enough for a 4-1 baseball victory against Seymour on Thursday night.
North outhit the Owls 7-5 and got the necessary hits to drive in the runs.
“We didn’t execute they way we’d like to execute, but we took advantage of the situations that we had,” North coach Mike Bodart said.
Luke Harmon earned the win on the mound for the Bull Dogs (8-6). He went the full seven innings, allowing one run on five hits and striking out five.
“They’re a really solid team, and I’m glad that I could go the distance without any problems with my arm or being tired,” Harmon said. “The defense made plays behind me, so it made it easy.”
North scored the first run of the game in the first when Harmon struck out, but reached base safely because of a wild pitch on the third strike. He later scored on a Zach McLean grounder.
In the next inning, Kyler Hashman singled, then Dillon James was hit by a pitch and Harmon singled to load the bases. A wild pitch then caused Hashman to score for a 2-0 lead.
In the bottom of the fourth, Harmon hit a double to plate another run for a 3-0 lead.
Seymour scored its run in the top of the fifth when Jack Pennington singled and scored on an RBI-single from Vince Wilson to make it 3-1. The Bull Dogs added the extra insurance run back in the bottom of the sixth when James scored on a Connor Hensley single.
“I didn’t think we executed very well in the bunting situation, but we capitalized on the errors they made in the beginning,” Harmon said. “(Seymour) pitches really well. Our bats weren’t insanely hot today, but we got the job done.”
Joey Fry went 2 for 3 for North. Harmon and Hensley each went 2 for 4.
The win was the fifth in the past six games for the Bull Dogs.
“We’re doing a lot of things right. This is a really, really good win against a really, really good Seymour team. This is one of the best teams they’ve had in quite a while, and they’ve got a really good record,” Bodart said. “It was a good win for us to be able to come in and earn a really good victory.”
