Fishers defeated the Brownsburg Bulldogs 8-7 in 10 innings on Friday night to win Game 2 of the Hoosier Crossroads Conference series.
The Class 4A No. 3 Tigers scored five runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to take what appeared to be a commanding 7-3 lead heading into the final inning. However, two different two-out errors allowed the Bulldogs to score four unearned runs to tie the score and send the game to extra innings.
With two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning, Matthew Wolff scored the winning run for the Tigers on a wild pitch. Wolff led off the inning with a single and proceeded to steal second and advance to third with a great read on a ball in the dirt. Wolff’s aggressive base running put him in position to score the winning run on the wild pitch.
Wolff (1-0) not only scored the winning run, but also earned the victory on the mound pitching three and a third innings of relief. Wolff entered the game with two outs in the seventh and the go-ahead run on third base. He induced a groundball to end the inning and continued to pitch brilliantly during the next three innings. Wolff struck out three and did not allow a hit.
The Bulldogs opened up the scoring with three runs in the second inning off of starter Jon Vore. Vore settled down and retired 13 of the final 14 batters he faced. He allowed two earned runs on five hits, while striking out 10 and walking two.
Down 3-0, the Tigers cut the lead to 3-2 in the third inning. JJ Woolwine and Craig Yoho hit back-to-back doubles with one out. One batter later, Wolff scored Yoho on an RBI single.
The score remained 3-2 until the Tigers bottom half of the sixth. Collin Shelton led off the inning with a single. He was forced out at second when Ben Burton reached on a fielder’s choice. Woolwine then singled to right, and Burton raced to third. An errant throw from the Bulldog’s right fielder allowed Burton to get up from his slide at third and race home to tie the score at 3-all. Woolwine was thrown out trying to advance to third after the errant throw.
With the bases empty, two outs, and the score tied, the Tigers next six batters reached base scoring four runs to take the 7-3 lead. Yoho walked, Kiel Brenczewski singled, and Wolff walked to load the bases. Alex Jamieson then delivered a three-run double over the left fielder’s head. After Daniel Owens walked, Jack Roudebush plated courtesy runner Grant Whetsel with an RBI single.
Alex Klotz came on to pitch the seventh in relief of Vore. After back-to-back walks to start the inning, Klotz struck out the next batter, and then gave up a single to load the bases. Klotz struck out the next batter for out No. 2. Back-to-back errors, the second one a throwing error with the bases loaded, allowed four unearned runs to score to tie the game and send it to extra innings.
Five Tiger players had multiple hits tonight. Woolwine was the leader in hits finishing 4-for-5 with two doubles, a run, and a sacrifice bunt. Jamieson was the leader in RBIs with three finishing 3-for-6 with two doubles. Wolff also contributed three hits with an RBI. Yoho and Burton both had two hits with Yoho contributing a double. Wolff, Yoho, and Roudebush all had one RBI each.
The Tigers look for the sweep of the Bulldogs as they travel to Brownsburg to play Game 3 at noon on Saturday.
Carmel baseball falls to Bull Dogs
Carmel dropped an 8-1 game to Class 4A No. 9 Columbus North Friday at Hartman Field.
The Bull Dogs never trailed, scoring four runs in the top of the first inning. The Greyhounds got their run in the seventh, when Evan Petruzzi’s double to left field scored Jack Van Remortel.
Carmel is 3-7 and starts a Metropolitan Conference series with Lawrence North next week. The ‘Hounds host the Wildcats on Tuesday then play at LN on Wednesday.