Columbus North first baseman Lane Schrader chases down a foul fly ball against Whiteland Wednesday during the sectional at Columbus East High School.
Tommy Walker | For The Republic
After giving Columbus North two runs with two out in the top of the first inning Wednesday night, Whiteland took its turn getting the clutch hits.
The Warriors scored seven runs after two were out over the first three innings to erase the early deficit and went on to post a 12-2, six-inning victory in the opening round of the Columbus East Sectional.
“Baseball is a game of inches,” North coach Mike Bodart said. “We were an inch away from a double play, and we had two close plays at first. Unfortunately, we just weren’t able to stay strong mentally to kind of battle through that when they got those runs back that we scored the first inning.”
The Bull Dogs (7-16) jumped on Whiteland’s Peyton Dickens for a pair of runs in the top of the first. Brock Kintner led off with a single and went to second on a sacrifice by Lane Schrader. After a two-out walk to Jayce Emmitt, Jesse Clark came through with an RBI-single to left. Dillon Long then reached on an error, and Emmitt came around to score.
That was about all the offense North could muster. Dickens settled down after the first, allowing only one hit the rest of the way. Jack Whaley tripled with one out in the third, but was stranded there.
“It was one of those days where we just didn’t get enough bats on the ball to make a whole lot of difference, and they came out and put the ball when they needed to at crucial times, and that’s what happens when you come out and swing the bat,” North coach Mike Bodart said. “They did a good job of that, and we just couldn’t get anything to fall. That’s kind of been the story of our year. We just have kind of struggled with hits in timely situations.”
Dickens, a University of Houston recruit, finished with 10 strikeouts and one walk in his three-hitter.
“He found a groove, and he was starting to hit spots and he threw the ball really well,” Whiteland coach Scott Sherry said. “I think it’s just typical sectional nerves a little bit to start. Even though you had seniors out there, they were a little nervous. I think once we answered in the bottom of the first, I think we were able to relax and put forth one of our best offensive efforts all year. It was just great at bats all night from top to bottom. We had ground balls that scored guys, fly balls that scored guys, base hits when we needed them. It was a clutch performance from top to bottom.”
The Warriors (14-9) scored three times in the first, three in the second and one in the third off Bull Dog starter Jayce Emmitt. Fellow senior Joey Fry, who was coming off a back injury, allowed two in the fourth and three in the sixth.
“I didn’t make a decision until (Tuesday) evening on who was starting,” Bodart said. “The coaches and the staff spent a lot of time comparing stats and scenarios and situations, and Jayce had thrown three really good outings of six innings each outing and only given up a handful of earned runs, and Joey hadn’t thrown in a few weeks. We really felt like Jayce was dialed in, and we knew Joey was come in at some point in time in a reliever role in a shortened outing. It just didn’t work out for us.”
Whiteland moves on to face East Central in the semifinals at around 8:30 p.m. Friday. Franklin and Columbus East will meet in the first semifinal at 6 p.m. Friday, and the championship is at 6 p.m. Monday.
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