FISHERS – Nothing about the scenario Class 4A No. 3 Fishers faced was ideal. But the Tigers could care less.

They had a mission to accomplish during their regular-season series finale against rival 4A No. 5 Zionsville, and on Saturday afternoon the host Tigers raised the W flag as repeat outright Hoosier Crossroads Conference champions.

Stuck behind Zionsville (18-7, 13-4 HCC) by one game in the HCC standings before tying the race with a 6-3 home victory to open the teams’ three-game set on Thursday, the Tigers (23-7, 15-3 HCC) leapt in front with an 8-3 road win on Friday and completed their championship sweep with a 7-5 finish on Senior Day.

Seniors Matthew Wolff and Alex Jamieson belted back-to-back home runs during the Tigers’ four-run bottom of the first, setting the tone on Saturday, while a three-run third inning supplied Fishers’ trio of hurlers ample support en route to the program’s fifth straight win.

“It’s really something special. Last year, winning our first one, it was really a special moment, and being able to go back-to-back, it’s crazy to say we’ve finally done it,” said Wolff, a Navy recruit. “We talked on Wednesday, it was going to take 63 outs and 21 locked-in innings. We did a great job of staying focused. It was an all-around great team effort.”

The feat was a testament to the Tigers’ resolve as pop-up showers throughout the region plagued the final two games, including on Saturday, which led to an hour-plus delay.

The finale was halted after the top of the second with Fishers clinging to a 4-3 lead and starter Grant Richardson, an Indiana University signee, struggling with his command.

However, once play resumed, so did the Tigers’ collective drive.

Jamieson, a Huntington recruit, padded Fishers’ lead 6-3 in the bottom of the third with a one-out, two-run double that smacked the left-field wall, and senior Jack Roudebush sliced a two-out RBI single to make it 7-3.

The Tigers racked up six hits through the first three innings against Eagles’ right-handed starter Riley Bertram, a Michigan recruit, and posted eight overall, leaving six runners on base compared to Zionsville’s 13.

“We had to try to regroup the bats again and get it going (after the delay),” Fishers senior shortstop Craig Yoho, a Houston recruit, said. “We started to find that groove again, but we still had to battle. We got it done.”

Jamieson led the Tigers by going 2-for-3 with three RBI, a solo home run and a run scored. Wolff went 1-for-1 with two runs scored, two RBI, a walk and a two-run bomb over the fence in left field.

Senior Ben Burton, a Franklin recruit, was 2-for-3 with a double, and junior J.J. Woolwine, a Miami (Ohio) commit, along with Navy commit Kiel Brenczewski and Roudebush each had one hit apiece.

“I was very worried (about the delay) because our guys were grumpy that they had to work on the field,” Fishers head coach Matthew Cherry joked. “We did lose a little momentum and they got some, but we were able to fight it off. It was awesome.”

Every run mattered against Zionsville, who was attempting to clinch a share of the HCC to end their regular season. Able to take advantage of Richardson’s control issues, the Eagles logged nine walks against the left-hander and cut the deficit 7-4 in the top of the fourth.

Zionsville loaded the bases five times in the first three innings, but Richardson minimized the damage by leaving 10 base runners stranded. The senior went four innings with four hits allowed and one hit batter.

Sidelined for several weeks in April due to illness, Richardson is continuing to regain his stamina and strength, and he battled with the Tigers’ backs against the wall to improve to 5-0 on the season in only his second pitching appearance this month.  

“Being bed ridden for two and a half weeks, kind of gets to you,” Richardson said. “That (four-run first inning) helped me out a lot. It helped me settle in a little bit, and then the rain started coming. That’s when it kind of got rough, but what can you do? It’s baseball.”

Zionsville took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first when DePauw recruit senior Nick Nelson was hit by a pitch to score fellow future Tiger Kyle Callahan, a senior, with the bases packed.

The Eagles put four runners on base with one out behind a Callahan double and consecutive walks. A fielder’s choice throw out at the plate slowed the bleeding before Richardson induced a fly ball for the third out in foul territory.

Three walks following a Jack Firestone one-out single in the top of the second setup a bases-loaded RBI walk by East Tennessee State recruit Kyle Richardson. Eastern Michigan signee Stephen Karis plated the Eagles third run with a sacrifice fly to deep center field before Grant Richardson coaxed a third-out pop up to left.

Zionsville senior A.J. Cantrell narrowed the gap 7-4 in the top of the fourth with a two-out RBI single, and Kyle Richardson, who went 1-for-2 with three walks, drove in a run in the fifth with a two-out double against relief pitcher Daniel Owens.

Owens tossed two frames with one walk, four strikeouts and two hits surrendered. Wolff closed out the top of the seventh, allowing just one hit and hitting a batter before the Tigers’ defense turned a game-ending double play.

“The first three innings we left eight guys on and we needed that big hit, and we didn’t get it,” Zionsville head coach Jered Moore said. “There’s no question (Grant Richardson) struggled with command, and I think our guys took advantage of it and made him throw strikes. But each inning we just couldn’t get the big hit we needed.”

Zionsville left eight runners in scoring position and recorded seven hits, but a pair of errors in the bottom of the first scored Woolwine and put Yoho on before Wolff cleared them all with his second home run. Jamieson’s blast was his fourth on the year.

“Wolff has been awesome all year, but he has struggled the past few weeks. He’s starting to figure it out,” Cherry said. “That was great for him in that first inning on Senior Day.”

Zionsville begins the IHSAA postseason on May 25 against Logansport in the Kokomo Sectional 7 semifinals. The Tigers also drew a first-round bye in the IHSAA state tournament and are off until Memorial Day when they face North Central at Noblesville in the Sectional 8 semifinals.

If both teams advance, they could potentially see each other for a fourth time this season in the regional tournament where the Eagles knocked off the Tigers 4-3 in the finals last year.

Until then, the defending sectional champion Tigers plan to prepare for their end goal – a run at state.

“That’s what our main goal was when I first got here and even before I started. We talked about it,” Grant Richardson said. “This is just one of many goals we want to accomplish. We have four more to go.”