By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – Crash Davis said it best. “Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains.” And sometimes, to paraphrase the classic Bull Durham quote, the inexplicable happens. After all, it’s a game played by kids, no matter what level. “Think about that for a while.”
Bedford North Lawrence will have a lot to think about after a crashing loss. Columbus East limped into Tuesday’s clash with only one win, then left with a stronger stride after stunning the Stars 5-2. That’s why games are played on the turf, rather than on paper.
East pitcher Jordan Flanders had the Stars (9-4) floundering at the plate, inducing 10 fly-ball outs during his six innings of work, and the Olympians (2-11) scored more runs than their previous four games combined. Heads were shaking all around the ballpark.
Actually, East’s record is deceiving because of the quality of competition it has battled. BNL, which is receiving votes in the Class 4A poll, should have been another in that line. But the Stars lacked energy, perhaps guilty of taking a peek at the East record, and paid the price for taking something for granted.
“The number one key to tonight was not looking at their record, look at their schedule,” BNL coach Jeff Callahan said. “There’s a lot of teams that wouldn’t have a very good record, they play one of the best schedules around. I knew it wouldn’t be a ‘show up and win.’ If anyone thought that, we got what we deserved.
“There wasn’t much energy. It was a blah game, for whatever reason. I’ll take the blame, it’s my job to get the team ready.”
First, give credit to Flanders, a mid-winter transfer from California who was making his first start of the season. He allowed only four hits, and the lone run he surrendered crossed on a balk.
“He got ahead of hitters (14 first-pitch strikes to the 26 batters he faced),” East coach Jon Gratz said. “That’s what we’ve been struggling with this year. We’ve been behind guys, and it’s tough to pitch when you get behind. He got ahead and kept them off balance. And we didn’t give up free bases, That’s been an issue.”
East scored a run in the first (back-to-back, two-out doubles by Blake Borkhardt and Carson Williams), then added two more in the third (a two-run single by Williams). The Olympians went up 5-0 in the fifth on a two-out, two-run single by Caleb Martoccia.
BNL scored in the fifth as Walker Ward reached on an error, Jonny Stone blasted a double to deep center, and Flanders balked in the run. In the seventh, Kline Woodward dropped a single down the right-field line, just off the first’s baseman’s glove, to chase home Kaedyn Bennett. That last threat ended when Stone launched a drive to the fence in center that Martoccia tracked down.
BNL collected only five hits.
“We took a lot of pitches that I thought looked like they were good, and we swung at some questionable ones in key counts,” Callahan said. “It becomes contagious, good and bad. When you start hitting, everyone hits. When you don’t, everyone starts pressing.”
Williams and Eli Tindell had two hits each for East.
BNL will return to action on Friday, hosting Martinsville in the annual Coaches vs. Cancer fundraiser for the Lawrence County Cancer Patient Services.
