by

Richie Hall 

Sports Editor

Hamilton County Reporter

KOKOMO – Even after trailing the entire game, the Fishers baseball team never stopped believing it could win.

The Tigers were stuck behind Munster for almost six innings Saturday at the
Class 4A Kokomo semi-state at Kokomo Municipal Stadium. But Fishers kept battling, almost as if the team was living up to its nickname – just waiting for the right
time to pounce.

The Tigers did that in the bottom of the sixth inning, nailing back-to-back RBI singles to take the lead. Fishers then took care of the Mustangs three up, three down in the top of the seventh, and the Tigers were celebrating a 3-2 semi-state championship win, sending them back to the state finals.

Fishers will play Jasper at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, June 22 at Victory Field in the 4A state championship game. It will be the second time the Tigers play in the state finals. The first time was in 2018, when Fishers beat Cathedral for the big trophy.

“These guys have taught me that they’re just never out of it,” said Fishers coach Matt Cherry. “We had chances early. We didn’t get a runner in with a guy on third and less than two outs. It was getting a little tight, but these guys, all year long, have just never quit. They just keep doing it. They taught me that just to keep fighting no matter what.”

“We never stopped believing,” said junior Zach Cox, who hit the game-winning RBI. He was at Victory Field in 2018 as an eighth-grader, watching the Tigers win state. Now he will get to be on the field.

“That’s one thing we always rely on is believing,” said Cox. “We always have each other’s backs and we had each other’s backs and we got the job done.”

Munster scored both of its runs in the top of the first inning. Denham Kozy batted in the first run, with a sacrifice fly to score Ben Greiner. Later, Bryce Schaum’s base hit sent Brady Ginaven home.

The Tigers cut into the Mustangs’ lead in the second inning. Zach Cox singled
on to base, moved to second on Gavin Clayton’s single, then scored when Carson Dunn reached on error. The score was now 2-1, and it would stay there for a while.

Fishers changed that in the sixth inning. Caulin Brown got on base with a hit, then Matt Bryant came in to run for him. Bryant stole second base, and that him in scoring position.

Jack Braun came up with one out and hit a single to send Bryant home. Braun moved over to second on a throw, and now he was in scoring position. That to send Braun home.

“We finally got a leadoff guy on,” said Cherry. “We hadn’t got a leadoff guy on all game. He hit that single to right to get a leadoff guy on. Huge credit to Matt Bryant, stealing second to get in scoring position. And then Jack Braun just battled.”

Braun had the count at 2-2, also fouling off an extra strike before getting his single, which Cherry called a huge “senior moment.” Cox’s big hit was a good one, too; it was his second of the game.

“He didn’t hit in the sectional, and we put him back in the lineup in the regional and he gets the game-winning RBI up the middle,” said Cherry.

Fishers had the lead, and was now three outs away for a return to state. The Tigers made those three outs drama-free, as Munster flew out to the outfield for the first two outs, then Tate Warner took care of business with a strikeout to end the game.

“Tate was awesome,” said Cherry. “He’s a competitor, man. He’s a warrior.”

After a rough start, Warner pitched outstanding. While he gave up three hits in the first inning, Warner only allowed one hit for the remainder of the game. He finished with five strikeouts and only one walk.

“We adjusted our game plan a little bit,” said Cherry. “We went more offspeed to start him out and just kind of pitching backwards. His changeup was effective early in the count and then his slider was working.”

Warner was also backed up by the Tigers’ solid defense. A prime example of
that was third baseman Gavin Clayton, who fielded six balls for groundouts. In
fact, at one point he made three consecutive outs, getting the third one in the fifth
inning and the first two in the sixth.

“I’m just always ready,” said Clayton. He paid attention to the Mustangs batters’
tendencies during the game. “The leadoff batter hit it to me first, so I was always ready when he came up to bat,” said Clayton. “And then later in the game, I think the third batter, he hit a rocket to me and then later in the game, he hit another one to me. So I was ready
for that one.”

“He started the year on JV and he was on our varsity roster, but he’s playing JV
and dressing with us,” said Cherry. “We finally got to the point about mid-April,
end of April that we just inserted him at third because he’s got really good hands
defensively. He’s played a great third base. He’s had some big hits for us this
tournament.”

The Tigers are 23-12 for the season.

(Here are more photos of the semi-state game at Kokomo, from the Hamilton County Reporter)