By Noah Dalton
MITCHELL – Mitchell High School, currently ranked as the No. 4 team in 2A in the most recent Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association poll, extended their win streak to four games on Tuesday, beating Scottsburg 8-4 after claiming the lead in the third inning behind a grand slam from freshman Bryson Zeeks.
Until that point, the Bluejackets trailed 3-2 after allowing the Warriors to score two runs in the top of the third. Three straight Mitchell batters reached base to start the inning, loading them for Ethan Turner, who drove in one to tie the game. Shortly after, Zeeks stepped to the plate and, with a full count, crushed a pitch from Scottsburg’s Tanner Best over the center field fence to give Mitchell a four-run lead they would hang on to for the remainder of play.
“We worked the ball, we want to work to pitchers get a good count and even when Bryson was up there, he was way ahead in the count and he sat back and he got his pitch and man, he drove that,” Bluejackets’ head coach Jerry Chaney said. “What a freshman hit, man. That was huge, a grand slam. We’ve got some power on this team. We’ve been we’ve been hitting the ball well and we’re doing a lot of good things.”
After taking the lead in the third, the Bluejackets were able to add another run to their total in the fourth, while managing to hold the Warriors to just one more run scored for the remainder of the game.
Chaney was proud of the way his team bounced back against the early deficit against a strong Scottsburg team.
“We beat a quality opponent and Scottsburg has always kind of a nail on our side, a thorn in our side and I thought we came back and fought hard. My boys didn’t back down and that was the big thing I liked today and we really hit their fastball pitching,” Chaney said. “I mean, this team is starting to really believe and then when you believe, you achieve so we’re playing well.”
Zeeks’ four RBIs led Mitchell in that category on the evening. The team finished with seven total hits, with Ben Seitzinger as the only Bluejacket to finish with more than one.
Ashton Luman earned the win for Mitchell, improving his season record at the mound to 3-0. Luman faced 22 batters in five innings, allowing three hits and one earned run with two strikeouts.
With four-straight wins under the belt, the Bluejackets improve to 10-1 on the season, with an undefeated 3-0 record in Patoka Lake Athletic Conference games.
Their lone loss this year came at the hands of Corydon Central on April 11. Chaney said heading into that game, he felt his team seeing themselves reach the top 10 in the statewide 2A rankings perhaps had gotten to their heads, saying their 10-run defeat on that night served as a humbling experience for his players.
“A couple of weeks ago, we got ranked in the top 10 And the boys were gonna get their heads blown up a little bit. So, we got humbled. And then this week, when the rankings came out, we were ranked fourth. They were kind of like OK, we expect that coach,” Chaney said.
As they approach the halfway point in the season, Chaney said Mitchell continues to look to improve across the board, including defending their PLAC championship from the previous season.
“We want to get better every day. Our goals are the same; get better every day and keep improving, win the PLAC and just get better. And that’s what they’ve got to do. Just concentrate on them and not the rankings. I mean it’s nice, it’s nice to get the accolades, but it’s better when you’re playing good baseball. And tonight, I thought we played one of our best games. So, this was a complete win. A good team win,” said Chaney.
Stats
Scottsburgmore stats
| Lineup | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T Best | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| B Spaw | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| D Edwards | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| K Raichel | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| N Montgomery | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| G McClellan | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| C Gricius | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| J Martin | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| D Richey | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| A Binzer | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| C Barger | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Totals | 28 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
Batting2B: G McClellan
TB: T Best 2, G McClellan 3, A Binzer, D Richey
RBI: B Spaw, C Gricius, D Richey
ROE: B Spaw, N Montgomery
FC: T Best, D Edwards, C Gricius
SB: G McClellan 2
CS: T Best, K Raichel
TotalsTeam QAB: 14 (45.16%)
T Best 2, D Edwards, K Raichel, N Montgomery, G McClellan 3, C Gricius 2, J Martin, A Binzer 3
Team LOB: 6FieldingE: K Raichel
Mitchellmore stats
| Lineup | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simon Gaines | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| AJ Sarver | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Ben Seitzinger | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Carsyn Herald | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Ethan Turner | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Kody Earl | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Bryson Zeeks | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 |
| Gibson Glassco | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Ashton Luman | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Connor Teague | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Aiden Premo | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Totals | 23 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 9 |
Batting2B: Simon Gaines, Gibson Glassco
HR: Bryson Zeeks
Grand slam: Bryson Zeeks
TB: Simon Gaines 2, Gibson Glassco 2, Ashton Luman, Ben Seitzinger 2, Ethan Turner, Bryson Zeeks 4
RBI: Gibson Glassco, Ashton Luman, Ben Seitzinger, Ethan Turner, Bryson Zeeks 4
SF: Gibson Glassco
ROE: Ethan Turner
HBP: AJ Sarver
SB: Ashton Luman, AJ Sarver
CS: Gibson Glassco
TotalsTeam QAB: 18 (64.29%)
Kody Earl, Simon Gaines 2, Gibson Glassco 2, Carsyn Herald 3, Ashton Luman 2, AJ Sarver, Ben Seitzinger 3, Ethan Turner 3, Bryson Zeeks
Team LOB: 2FieldingE: Simon Gaines, Ashton Luman
Scottsburgmore stats
| Pitching | IP | #P | S% | H | R | ER | SO | BB | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C Gricius | 2.0 | 55 | . 509 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| T Best | 3.0 | 51 | . 608 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| K Raichel | 1.0 | 11 | . 636 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 6.0 | 117 | . 564 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 3 | 1 |
PitchingL: C Gricius
HBP: C Gricius
WP: T Best
BK: C Gricius
Pitches-Strikes: T Best 51-31, K Raichel 11-7, C Gricius 55-28
Groundouts-Flyouts: T Best 2-2, K Raichel 0-1, C Gricius 0-3
First pitch strikes-Batters faced: T Best 5-12, K Raichel 2-3, C Gricius 8-13
Mitchellmore stats
| Pitching | IP | #P | S% | H | R | ER | SO | BB | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashton Luman | 5.0 | 80 | . 537 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Simon Gaines | 2.0 | 23 | . 826 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 7.0 | 103 | . 602 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
PitchingW: Ashton Luman
WP: Ashton Luman 2
BK: Simon Gaines
Pitches-Strikes: Simon Gaines 23-19, Ashton Luman 80-43
Groundouts-Flyouts: Simon Gaines 2-1, Ashton Luman 5-5
First pitch strikes-Batters faced: Simon Gaines 6-9, Ashton Luman 10-22
