Not a bad way to win your first regional championship in 11 years, eh?
South baseball won a game for the ages Saturday, June 6, knocking off Columbus North, 6-3 in 13 innings, to claim an IHSAA Class 4A regional title.
Visit newsbetting.club for more information.
The Panthers (21-6) will play in their first semi-state since 2015 this Saturday, June 13 against North Central. The time and location were not announced as of 7:30 p.m. Saturday, but they are listed as the second semifinal game opposite Evansville North vs. Center Grove.
The semi-state semifinals and title game happen on the same day. The survivor advances to the Class 4A state championship game the weekend of June 19-20 at Victory Field in Indianapolis.
Connor Couch the hero for Bloomington South
After a seesaw battle that saw South take a 2-0 lead to the 6th, North score runs in consecutive innings — including extras — only for South to keep the game alive in the bottom of the 8th, the offense dried up. Zero runs were scored in innings 9-12, despite both teams threatening to win the game.
North put two runners on in the top of the 13th, but failed to score. This set up the dramatic finish for the Panthers.
After Max Surdam reached by an error and Luke Arnett singled, senior Connor Couch smacked a three-run home run over the leftfield fence for the walk-off win.
Couch was sensational on the pitching mound too, going eight innings, allowing three runs (two earned) with six strikeouts. Senior Tyler Morris followed with 2 1/3rd innings of shutout ball, followed by 2 2/3rd spotless innings from junior Reid Walker.
Walker drove in the first run of the game on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the third. The Panthers made it 2-0 the next frame on an RBI single from junior Drew Palielo.
Columbus North scored a run in the 6th via a fielder’s choice, tied the game on a passed ball in the 7th and took a brief lead in the 8th on an RBI single from Cade Finke.
This initial story was written by USA Today Co. Indiana high school sports editor Austin Hough. The story will be updated online by Jim Gordillo with more quotes and details later.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Bloomington South baseball wins IHSAA regional title over Columbus North