Columbus North’s Jesse Clark looks to throw the ball to first base after fielding a ground ball against Jeffersonville Wednesday at Southside Elementary School.
Tommy Walker | For The Republic
Wednesday evening was a night of firsts for the Columbus North baseball team.
Javier Uscanga made his first varsity pitching start, Jayden Adorno picked up his first varsity pitching win and Dillon Long notched his first varsity hit.
Long’s hit was a big one. The junior’s two-out, two-run single in the fifth lifted the Bull Dogs to a 4-3 victory against visiting Jeffersonville.
“I haven’t got a lot of at bats this season, but I’m confident in myself,” Long said. “I know I can hit, and I was just ready for it. It was great to finally get that out there. It calms down the nerves a lot. Just like my first outing pitching, it just calms down the nerves after you show what you can do and really helps the confidence.”
Uscanga and Adorno were in similar situations. The juniors combined on a two-hitter and did not allow an earned run. They combined to strike out 11 and walk three.
“The pitchers did an excellent job,” North coach Mike Bodart said. “Javier did an excellent job, and we’re really looking forward to what he’s going to be able to bring to us. Jayden came in with his second varsity appearance. I told him before the game with four games in four days, we were kind of short on pitchers, and he was able to come in and said, ‘I’m good for three innings,’ so it worked out well. Javy got us four, and Jayden got us the last three.”
After the Red Devils (1-1) plated an unearned run in the first, the Bull Dogs (3-1) tied it in the second. With one out, Macario Mendez walked and stole second, Long reached on a fielder’s choice and Jesse Clark and Lane Schrader came through with singles.
Jeffersonville scored two more unearned runs in the fourth before North went ahead for good in the fifth. Jack Whaley drew a one-out walk, and Jayce Emmitt reached on a two-out single. Jackson Newman then reached on an error to load the bases. After a walk to Mendez forced in a run, Long delivered his game-winning two-run single.
North finished with seven hits by seven different players.
“Jesse Clark’s been hitting the ball really well,” Bodart said. “Lane hit it good. It was good for Sam Perry to get a base hit and get on base. Then, Jack Whaley has been hot and staying hot.”
The win was the second come-from-behind victory in as many days for the Bull Dogs, who rallied from a 9-5 deficit for an 11-9, eight-inning win Tuesday at East Central.
“We talked a lot about (Tuesday) night how our grit was and how we were able to stay in that ballgame the whole time and keep fighting and being ready, and I told them today, this is a different type of a gritty win,” Bodart said. “We could have rolled over with a couple of those errors that we had, but we stayed on it, and we were gritty and that’s what we were looking for.”
“We know what each other can do, and we really support each other,” Long said. “I feel like we’re never out of a game, no matter what the score is.”
North will open its Conference Indiana season Thursday at Bloomington North, then will return home to host Class 4A No. 2 Center Grove Monday.
“We play one of the toughest schedules in the state of Indiana, and it’s always going to be that way as long as I’m the coach here, and these guys love it,” Bodart said. “They love the competition, and they’re ready for it every game.”
