FISHERS – The outcome of Monday night’s tilt between visiting New Palestine and Fishers at Billericay Park wasn’t what anyone expected from a game featuring the Class 4A No. 1 Dragons (18-2) and the seventh-ranked Tigers (17-6). 

Fishers won 13-2 on Craig Yoho’s grand slam homer in the bottom of the sixth that ended the game on the 10-run rule.  Yoho’s blast closed out a bizarre contest that saw a combined total of 19 walks, three hit batters, five wild pitches and 21 stranded baserunners.  

For the handful of fans who endured the two-hour, 15-minute affair, Yoho’s heroics made him seem less like Harmon Killebrew and more like Dr. Kevorkian.  

“It was ridiculous,” commented Fishers coach Matthew Cherry on the plethora of free passes.  

On the bright side, neither team committed an error, and Fishers starter Mason Thomas took a no-hitter into the fifth inning. 

“Mase Thomas is a young guy, a sophomore.  He’s gonna be a great pitcher,” said Cherry.  “He’s just gotta pound the zone.  When he pounds the zone, he’s really good.”  

The left-handed Thomas began the night with a 2-0 record and a 2.05 earned run average.  He found himself in a first-inning fix, which began with a base on balls to New Pal leadoff hitter Nick Rusche.  After Colby Jenkins flied out, Thomas drilled Jack Walker and Jacob Garrison to fill the sacks.  The next batter struck out and when Luke Greene lined to right, Thomas emerged unscathed. 

In the bottom of the frame, Fishers nicked New Palestine starter Cameron Pitzer for a run.  Pitzer, a senior righty, issued one-out walks to Yoho and Grant Richardson.  A force play at second put runners at the corners, and when Matthew Wolff laced a single to right, the Tigers took a 1-0 lead. 

Fishers blew the game wide open in the third, sending 13 men to the plate and tacking on eight runs.  After base hits by Richardson and Kyle Brenczewski, Wolff bunted for a base hit to fill the sacks.  A base on balls to Alex Jamieson forced in a run, and when Jack Roudebush drilled a double off the right field wall the Tigers were up 4-0. 

Ben Burton followed with a single to left that plated Wolff, and a wild pitch scored Roudebush from third.  When Burton came home on Nick Lukac's single, that was all for Pitzer.   

Cameron Espich replaced him, and the senior right-hander recorded the first out of the inning.  After Yoho was hit by a pitch, Richardson sliced a shot down the right field line that dropped for a two-run double. 

While the Tigers were busy mauling New Pal pitchers, Thomas held the Dragons hitless for the first four-and-a-third innings.  Walker, New Pal's designated hitter, ended Thomas’s hopes for a no-no with a single to right.  The Dragons loaded the bases on Garrison's hit and a walk to Espich. Thomas extricated himself once again, spearing a liner by Luke Greene and firing to first to catch Espich off the bag for an inning-ending double play. 

Thomas struck out six while hitting two batters and giving up seven walks and a pair of hits.  He said the prospect of a no-hitter “was in the back of my mind, but I wasn’t really focusing on it.  I was struggling in the zone today, so I was really trying to work on getting my pitches in the zone. My two-seam was running off the plate, so eventually we had to switch to the four-seam.  That started working and that’s where we found it.”   

A.J. Waltermann replaced Thomas in the top of the sixth.  The senior righty filled the bags with nobody out on a walk to Jacob Bain, Grant Wiegand's single, and a base on balls to pinch-hitter Dylan Casner.  Rusche followed with a base hit for New Pal's first run.  After a force out at home plate, a base on balls to Walker brought in a run that made it 9-2. 

That was all for Waltermann.  Daniel Owens, the third Fishers hurler, entered the game and the junior right-hander fanned the next two batters to send the game into the bottom of the sixth. 

Jaden Jaques came in for New Pal, and the junior righty walked Roudebush and Burton.   One out later, Woolwine beat out a bunt to load the bases.  Yoho followed with a blast over the left field fence that put the Dragons (18-2) out of their misery.   

“It’s always fun to hit those,” said Yoho, the Tigers’ shortstop and a University of Houston commit.  “But we won the game, that’s all that matters. I always go up there looking to stay simple, just put the barrel on the ball and hit it hard somewhere.” 

Woolwine’s three hits paced the victors.  Richardson, Wolff and Lukac chipped in with two hits apiece.  Every player in the Tigers’ starting lineup scored at least one run. 

“Getting the lineup back together paid off today,” said Cherry.  “We got Grant Richardson back from being sick.  He’s been out a couple of weeks. We got him back Friday.  Swung it well.”  

Diamond Dust: Fishers dropped from No. 1 to No. 7 in Class 4A this week after losses to Columbus East and McCutcheon.  Between April 10-26, the Tigers had won nine in a row. 

New Pal moved up a notch from No. 2 to No. 1 after three wins and a loss last week.  The Dragons had won their first 16 contests before losing to Zionsville on May 2. 

Pete Cava is the author of “Tales From the Cubs Dugout” and “Indiana-Born Major League Baseball Players:  A Biographical Dictionary, 1871-2014.”

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