Cougars, Panthers drop sectional openers

Both North Harrison and Corydon Central's baseball seasons came to an end during the opening round of the Indiana High School Athletic Association Class 3A Sectional 30 at Madison Consolidated at the end of May.

While Silver Creek ascended to another sectional crown, the North Harrison Cougars opened the tournament by falling to Charlestown, while the Corydon Central Panthers lost a tight matchup against Salem.

On May 24, the Cougars were completely stifled by the Pirates’ Noah Tilton, who shoved a one-hit shutout and struck out 11 to help Charlestown advance to the sectional semifinals. That lone knock came courtesy of freshman shortstop Caden Hoehn to lead off the bottom of the third.

The Pirates, meanwhile, needed only a pair of two-run innings. The first came in the top of the second, which began with a lead-off double from Tilton followed by a walk by Quincy Gordon. Garrett Titzer sacrificed both runners into scoring position before Dawson Boyd brought them both home on a two-run double.

The bats laid dormant for the middle innings but returned to life in the top of the sixth when Tilton and Titzer each earned free passes sandwiched between a Gordon single to short. Boomer Hetser put the game away with a two-run single back up the middle to reach the final margin of 4-0.

Zach Miller took the loss on the mound for the Cougars despite pitching six innings, striking out six and walking four while allowing all four Pirate runs on six hits. With the end of the season, the Cougars say goodbye to their lone senior, catcher Brody Fessel.

A day later, Corydon Central was in another tight ballgame against Salem, which the Panthers defeated in extra innings a couple of weeks prior. While the contest remained in regulation this time around, the Lions got revenge for the Panthers’ walk-off victory with one of their own to win 5-4.

Half of the scoring took place in the opening frame, which began with Panthers’ senior shortstop Jalen Fowler sending a ball into deep center for a lead-off triple before coming home on an RBI single by senior catcher Logan Edwards.

The Lions answered right back against the Panthers’ Carter Coffman in the bottom half when Evan Bowling worked a lead-off walk before moving to second on a Kaleb Tucker groundout. Cameron Albertson tied the contest on a one-out RBI single to left before the Lions mustered three consecutive two-out base knocks to give Salem a 4-1 edge.

The Panthers found themselves stifled during the next four innings by Lions’ starter Josh Burton. That changed in the top of the sixth when Jacob Stark slapped a lead-off double to left before Deven Baty reached on an error at third base. After Fowler and Edwards both struck out, Wesley Taylor drew a free pass to load the bases, setting up a two-out, two-run single by Colton Smith before Taylor scored the tying run on a wild pitch.

Entering his fourth inning of relief, Fowler hoped to send the game into extra innings. Unfortunately for the Panthers, the Lions rallied with a lead-off single from Albertson before Chance Colwell put the winning run at third. After Burton was intentionally walked, Zayne Paulley sent the Panthers back home to Corydon on a walk-off RBI single.

Burton took the win on the bump for the Lions, shoving for a complete game while allowing four runs (one earned) on four hits, striking out 10 while walking a pair. Fowler took the loss despite 3-2/3 strong innings of relief, allowing only one run on three hits, punching out four while walking three.

Smith led the way for the Panthers at the plate with a pair of RBIs, while he, Fowler, Edwards and Stark each had a hit. Colwell, Albertson and Paulley each led the Lions with two hits apiece.

With the loss, the Panthers say farewell to a trio of seniors: Fowler, Edwards and Tyler Stark.

Charlestown 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 4 6 0

North Harrison 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1

WP: Tilton (C); LP: Miller (NH); 2B: Tilton, Boyd (C).

Corydon Central 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 4 4 1

Salem 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 8 1

WP: Burton (S); LP: Fowler (CC); 2B: J. Stark (CC); Colwell (S); 3B: Fowler (CC).

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