Cougars win on Bolin walk-off

It was an emotional celebration for the North Harrison baseball team Monday when Mitch Bolin’s single to center field provided a walk-off win for the Cougars over Brownstown Central.
Staring at a 3-3 score, Bolin approached the plate with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the seventh. The freshman left-handed batter laced a single to center, plating Lincoln Jones to ensue a celebration around both players.
‘Lot of times, I think of my dad when I play baseball,’ Bolin said. ‘He passed away when I was real young and, this time, I looked up to him to help me out. I asked for some guidance and he came through. He helped me with that hit. And when I hit it, it was just a really good feeling.’
Bolin’s single was part of the dramatic, three-run seventh inning that gave the Cougars the 4-3 Mid-Southern Conference victory.
Down 3-1, Jordan Robbeloth and Josh Wenning led off the inning with singles. A Taylor Starcer sacrifice bunt moved both into scoring position. Chad Eveslage then smashed a ground ball toward shortstop ”’a ball that was misplayed ” leading to Robbeloth and Wenning crossing the plate.
Lincoln Jones followed by reaching on an error. Then, after fouling off several pitches in a long at bat, Joe Bolin was hit on the foot, resulting in loading the bases. Wyatt Faith recorded the second out of the inning when he grounded into a fielder’s choice, but Mitch Bolin eventually provided the heroics.
‘Mitch Bolin, a freshman, had a big hit,’ North Harrison coach Gregg Oppel said. ‘He had a little confidence issue, and we talked in the dugout about changing our approach. I told the guys to go against the grain in the seventh inning. I told them to be aggressive at the plate instead of taking a bunch of pitches. It paid off.’
Robbeloth scored the win on the hill for North Harrison. He threw three innings of relief, giving up one run while striking out three.
‘Robbeloth is growing into being a fine young pitcher,’ Oppel said. ‘He is progressing well. With some injuries we are facing, he stepped up against Brownstown, a team loaded with seniors, and rose to the occasion.’
Brownstown Central scored its first two runs on errors. Elijah Bean plated the second run with a single to put the Braves up 2-0.
North Harrison scored in the fifth inning when Collin Book led off with a single and was eventually plated when Wenning sliced a double down the left-field line.
Jones pitched the first four innings for North Harrison, striking out six Braves.
‘Our pitching is really coming around,’ Oppel said. ‘Lincoln started the game off throwing hard and a lot of strikes. Now, we are getting ahead in the count and locating our off-speed pitches, which is something we weren’t doing in early games. His fastball was really good today.’
Kelly Wagner started on the mound for Brownstown Central and threw well over his five innings, giving up one run. Lefty Colin Woods pitched in relief and took the loss.
‘It was a team effort today. I just happened to be the one to get that big hit,’ Mitch Bolin said. ‘We battled really hard. We’re a young team, and we’re just going to keep getting better.’
North Harrison hosts Crawford County tonight (Wednesday) at 7. The Cougars also host Clarksville tomorrow evening at 6:15, followed by a double-header at Mitchell on Saturday.
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