SOUTH WHITLEY – After scoring at least one run in each of the first three innings, the offense got cold for the Whitko baseball team Monday in South Whitley. The first-round of Class 3A Sectional 21 was played at Tippecanoe Valley High School, but because of wet conditions at the field, the semifinals and championship game were moved to Whitko High School. With a berth in championship game on the line, the Whitko Wildcats fell to Columbia City 8-5 in the day’s opening game, ending the possibility of Whitko capturing its first sectional title. “We just got beat today,” Whitko coach Erik Hisner said. “I don’t know anything else we could have done — other than get a couple of big hits.” The Wildcats opened the game with a 3-1 lead after the first inning, then found themselves in a 5-5 tie after three innings. But from there, the Columbia City Eagles added a run in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, while Whitko stayed at five. The win advanced the Eagles into the afternoon’s championship game, in which they fell 8-4 to the NorthWood Panthers. Against Whitko, Columbia City junior pitcher Connor Slavich was roughed up for five runs on five hits through three innings, which included a solo homer by Whitko freshman Ethan Nicodemus. After the Nicodemus home run, which led off the third inning, Slavich gave up just one hit over the next three innings. “We knew Slavich was going to come and compete,” Hisner said. “He’s a good pitcher — a tough kid. He pitched well, but we got to him early. We had some momentum, but he did a good job of slamming the door on us.” Slavich did walk three batters after the Nicodemus homer, which led Columbia City skipper Zac Bireley to bring in sophomore Jordan Bickle for the final two innings. In the closer role, Bickle gave up three hits and struck out three in the sixth and seventh innings. “Slavich struggled there for the first couple of innings, but he settled in nicely,” Bireley said. “He got us through to the sixth inning, then we were able to change it up and bring Bickle in to hold them. Whoever was going to stop the offense was going to win that game.” Despite the good pitching by the Eagles, Whitko still had its opportunities to put more runs on the board. With one out and a runner at first base in the bottom of the sixth, a single by sophomore Alex Stoddard should have had runners at first and second, but a heady play by Eagles junior Brandon Gay disrupted it. Following Stoddard’s single, the ball was thrown to Gay from the outfield. Instead of simply tossing the ball to the pitcher, Gay acted like he was going to try to pick Stoddard off at first. That reaction caused the Whitko runner at second to stray off the base, allowing Gay to throw the ball to second for the pickoff. “We’ve been working on that since February in the gym,” Bireley said. “That’s something we work on everyday in practice, and this is the first time this year it’s worked.” After a fly ball, the Eagles were out of the inning, but not of the woods. Again in the seventh, singles by senior Nathan Sherrard and junior Wes Gensch brought senior pinch hitter Josh Smith to the plate as the tying run with two outs, but Bickle got the strike out, ending Whitko’s season. “We played well, they played well,” Bireley said. “It was just a good overall game.” A win over their Whitley County rival would have put Whitko in a great position for a title, as NorthWood and West Noble each had records well under .500 in the other semifinal. But as it was, Whitko didn’t get a chance to face the winner of that matchup. “We weren’t looking ahead,” Hisner said. “We threw everything we had at Columbia City. You can’t get to the championship unless you get by the (semifinal).” On top of getting the win on the mound, Slavich also went 2 for 3 at the plate, hitting a two-run dinger, as well as an RBI-single and RBI-fly out. Gay also had a good game, going 2 for 3 with a a double and a solo home run. The Whitko offense was led by Stoddard and Gensch, who each had two hits.
COLUMBIA CITY 8, WHITKO 5 (Sectional 21 Semifinal)
