FISHERS – The fifth-ranked Class 4A Zionsville Eagles had little room for error.

Ahead in the Hoosier Crossroads Conference standings by one game over 4A No. 3 Fishers entering the teams’ three-game series opener on Thursday night, miscues loomed large and ultimately proved the Eagles’ undoing.

With the conference championship hanging in the balance, the host Tigers (21-7, 13-3 HHC) battled back from a 3-1 deficit and plated five runs in the bottom of the fourth – three via an error and a passed ball – en route to a 6-3 victory in a highly-anticipated HCC showdown.

“They’re a very good ball club, so you have to take advantage when mistakes happen,” Fishers head coach Matthew Cherry remarked after his Tigers rallied to win their third straight. “That’s what two heavyweights do, they take advantage of mistakes.”

In the top of the first, the Eagles (18-6, 13-3 HHC) were the first to capitalize.

Putting two runners on after a Riley Bertram leadoff double followed by a fielding error, Zionsville turned opportunity into a quick 2-0 lead behind an RBI-sacrifice fly from senior Kyle Richardson and an RBI-single by senior Stephen Karis.

The Eagles added another run in the top of the fourth off an A.J. Cantrell RBI-groundout to drive in Karis, but Fishers starter Luke Albright, a Kent state commit, settled in for his fifth win on the season.

The right-hander tossed 114 pitches through six innings and scattered seven hits with seven strikeouts to quiet the Eagles, who are hitting .339 as a team this year.

Albright’s early pitch count ramped up over 50 after three innings, but the 6-foot-4 senior retired six straight in one stretch and stranded six of the Eagles seven runners left on base.

“We know who they are. We’ve seen them. We’ve heard about them all year,” Albright said. “It’s the last series and a lot rides on this. It was very important, and we came out and won as a team. The focus was there.”

Motivation was a given for the defending HCC champion Tigers, who lost to the Eagles 4-3 in the Lafayette Jefferson Regional finals last June after winning their conference series against Zionsville 2-1.

“Yeah, there’s a lot riding this weekend, but the guys were locked in and ready to play today,” Cherry said. “We knew they could hit, so the biggest thing was making sure we stopped the bleeding as quick as possible, and then we came back and tried to punch them in the mouth. We were able to do that in the five-run inning.”

Fishers cut the deficit 2-1 in the bottom of the second as sophomore Nick Lukac grounded out to score Navy commit Matthew Wolff from third base. Lukac finished 1-for-3 with two RBI, driving in another run in the bottom of the fourth with runners on the corners and one out.

The second baseman faced an 0-1 count in the fourth when he hit a Nick Brier offering to shortstop, which was misplayed for an error.

A passed ball with two outs and runners on third and second cleared the bases as Fishers jumped out to a 4-3 lead. Ben Burton concluded the at-bat with an opposite-field double, setting up Miami (Ohio) commit J.J. Woolwine’s RBI-triple.

Senior Craig Yoho, a Houston recruit, capped the comeback with an RBI-single before getting thrown out at second base as Fishers built a 6-3 advantage.  

“We didn’t let their lead faze us. We just never gave up and kept pushing,” Lukac said. “It means a lot to us when Luke goes out and deals for us. We just want to back him up and do the best we can, especially in that one inning, getting five.”

Brier took the loss with two strikeouts, three walks and five hits allowed through six innings. He was charged with one earned run and held the Tigers’ hitters to no more than one hit apiece, including an Alex Jamieson double in the bottom of the second.

“I thought Nick threw really well. He gave up one earned run,” Zionsville head coach Jered Moore said. “In order to win you really need to limit the mistakes and avoid the big innings. That’s what it came down to. We made an error and the passed ball allowed two runs to score. It extended the inning, and they got a few hits after that. We make the play at short and the inning doesn’t extend as much as it did.”

The Eagles posted nine hits against the Tigers, but Albright and Wolff, who closed out the top of the seventh, combined to strand six runners in scoring position.

Albright halted a pair of threats in the third and fourth innings with inning-ending strikeouts and induced a key infield fly for the third out in the top of the fifth to keep senior Kyle Callahan at second base.

Callahan, a DePauw recruit, was 2-for-4 with a run scored and two stolen bases. Bertram, a Michigan commit, went 2-for-4 with a stolen base. Karis finished 2-for-3, and Sam Edgell was 2-for-3 with a double.

Edgell and Cantrell both lined one-out singles in the top of the sixth, but Albright shut down the Eagles with a deep fly to left field and a groundout.

 “Our hitters did a good job of working the count. They were patient. I think that’s why we’ve had the success we’ve had this year,” Moore said. “Albright is a really good pitcher. I thought we had some success against him, but we just couldn’t come up with the big hit.”

The series continues on Friday at Zionsville. The first pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. with the series finale set for noon Saturday at Fishers during Tigers Senior Day.

 “I don’t ever doubt us for a second,” Albright said. “Just like that, we can turn it on. We just have to get a guy on, start it up, and that’s when the dugout comes to life even more. That’s a lot of fun to see.”

SHOWCASES

SHOWCASE	STATE	DATE	LOCATION
Improve My Profile with HS Game Video	IN	06/03	Indiana
2018 Summer Trials	IN	06/05	Grand Park - Westfield, IN
2018 Top Prospect Games	IN	06/12	Purdue University - West Lafayette, IN
Future Prospects Showcase & Educational Camp	IN	06/26	Grand Park - Westfield, IN
Mid-Summer Open, Fort Wayne	IN	07/10	Carroll High School - Fort Wayne, IN
PBR ProCase - Midwest	IN	07/10	Silver Cross Field - Joliet, IL
Mid-Summer Open, Region	IN	07/17	Hobart High School
2018 Underclass Games (Invite Only)	IN	07/24	Indiana University - Bloomington, IN
Prospect Games at Notre Dame	IN	07/24	University of Notre Dame - Notre Dame, IN
2018 PBR Future Games (Indiana Invite Only)	IN	08/01	Grand Park - Westfield, IN
PBR Junior Future Games (Invite Only)	NATIONAL	08/02	Grand Park - Westfield, IN
GPA Games	IN	08/12	Lee Pfund Stadium - Carol Stream, IL