Brock Kintner
The Columbus North baseball team needed a huge spark and finally got one.
It took the Bull Dogs until the bottom of the sixth inning to get the push they needed. They scored three runs in that inning to come away with a 5-2 win over Jennings County Thursday night.
Prior to the bottom of the sixth, the score was tied 2-2. To start the sixth, Jayce Emmitt had a single, and then a couple errors loaded the bases for North. Dillon James then hit into a fielder’s choice at home plate. Blake Osbourne then knocked in a run on another fielder’s choice. A wild pitch plated another run to make it 4-2. Brock Kintner then knocked in the final run with an RBI-single.
“Once we had the ballgame tied up, and we got out of the (top of the) sixth inning, we knew what we had coming up,” North coach Mike Bodart said. “We did what we were supposed to do. We put the ball in play… Those were huge, huge extra runs to have and then hand the ball to (Ryan) Rayburn for the save was important.”
Bodart mentioned a key moment came in the bottom of the fourth inning after the Panthers (2-7) had scored two runs in the top of the fourth. The Bull Dogs (6-1) got a couple baserunners on, and Rayburn delivered the game-tying single.
Cooper Lane smacked a two-out, two-run single to give Jennings its 2-0 lead in the top of the fourth.
Three North pitchers combined on a two-hitter. Emmitt started the game on the mound and went four innings, allowing two runs, one hit, two walks and three strikeouts. Kintner earned the win, going two innings and allowing one hit. Rayburn pitched the final inning for the save.
“We’ve got multiple guys that can do the job. We‘ve got to keep our heads in it and play through adversity,” Kintner said. “We can’t fall to the pressure. We can’t look past anybody. We‘ve got to stay focused and be ready.”
Kintner went 2 for 4 at the plate to lead the Bull Dog hitting attack. For the Panthers, Ryan Schuck went six innings, allowing five runs, six hits and two strikeouts in the loss.
North has a fast turnaround when itfaces Floyd Central today. Jennings will travel to Seymour today.
