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Greencastle advances to semistate final with 3-0 win over North Posey
UPDATED 6-9-24
PLAINFIELD – When the ball left the bat of North Posey’s Jed Galvin in the bottom of the seventh inning, there was a collective inhale around the baseball field at Plainfield Saturday afternoon.
One side was looking for the ball to drop; the other was looking for the final out.
That it was headed toward Colton Sprinkle was fitting as the freshman was forced into action for Greencastle midway through the opening game of IHSAA Baseball Class 2A South Semi-State.
Sprinkle camped under the ball, collected the final out and the Tiger Cubs advanced to the championship game with a 3-0 win over the No. 1 Vikings.
“We have full trust in all of our guys,” Greencastle head coach Ben Wells said. “(Sprinkle) is a great kid who practices every day, works his butt off, does what you ask of him and doesn’t complain about not getting a lot of playing time as a freshman.
“He comes to work and encompasses what we want in a team player.”
Greencastle had jumped out to a 2-0 lead after an inning thanks to a Sam Gooch triple, driven in on a Nathan Sutherlin groundout, before singles from Ashton Dayhuff and Trevin Long set up Treyten Clark for an RBI single.
“That was huge,” Wells said about getting two early runs. “Like with Covenant Christian, in a high-pressure game where everyone is amped up a bit, it definitely helped settle the guys down and put us in a good mindset.”
Though not as efficient as in previous outings, Bryton Gregg went to work on the hard-hitting North Posey lineup, allowing a single in the first inning and a walk in the second but no further damage.
Singles from Gregg and Sutherlin to start the second saw Viking starter Easton Luigs chased in favor of Colby Angel, who got an out before hitting Long to load the bases.
A wild pitch allowed a run to come in to make it 3-0 before a key moment in the game and day took place.
An awkward pop fly into the triangle between second, short and center field was dropped, allowing Galvin to reach second base.
Angel popped to the same spot with Owen Huff and Gooch tracking the ball.
Gooch would make the catch but, in order to avoid a collision, Huff bailed by rolling, unintentionally wiping Gooch out in the process. Gooch would leave the game and not return.
“This is a close group of guys and they have full trust in each other,” Wells said about the team reaction to Gooch’s exit. “These guys embody the motto ‘next man up.’
“Losing Sam was a big blow for us, both defensively and hitting, and as a leader.”
Sprinkle came in and was immediately called into action, corralling a fly ball to help get out of the inning.
“It’s funny and that’s how baseball seems to work,” Wells said on Sprinkle being called to action immediately. “The ball always finds you.
“I had complete confidence in him as he reads the ball well in practice. I didn’t have any hesitation to put him in the game.”
Gregg got out another bad spot in the fifth as a walk, single and wild pitch put runners on the corners before the freshman got Luigs to line out to Huff.
Huff singled and reached third in the seventh but was stranded there and though Caige Christie doubled to start the bottom of the inning, Gregg got to punchouts before getting Galvin to fly out to Sprinkle for the win.
“I can’t say enough positive things about (Bryton),” Wells said after the win. “He’s one of the most composed kids on the mound, especially for his age.
“With him on the mound, we’re able to put one of our best defenses behind him that we have. He trusts those guys, pitches to contact and doesn’t walk a lot of guys.”
Greencastle 301 000 0 — 3 9 1
North Posey 000 000 0 — 0 3 0
WP — Gregg 7 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 5 K
LP — Luigs 2 IP, 3 R (2 ER), 7 H, 2 K
3B — Gooch
2B — Christie
RBI — Sutherlin, Clark