Columbus East High School

The Columbus East Olympians traveled to Bedford on Friday night for a Hoosier Hills Conference clash with the Bedford North Lawrence Stars, but despite a strong effort, the host Stars rode the long ball to a 6-1 victory. BNL opened the scoring early with a solo home run from Grours in the bottom of the first. Columbus East had their chances in the early innings, collecting hits from Taylor Wessel, Mackenzie Hampton, and Natasha Armstrong, but left runners stranded in the second and third innings. The Stars extended their lead in the third when Ratliff launched a two-run homer to center, pushing the score to 3-0. East pitcher Baleigh Fish showed resilience in the circle, striking out four and throwing 102 pitches over six innings, but BNL’s power proved to be the difference. East scratched across their lone run in the fifth inning. Lola Watkins and Armstrong started the frame with back-to-back singles. After a fielder’s choice, Jacque Boroughs delivered a clutch RBI single to center, scoring Watkins and cutting the deficit to 3-1. However, the Stars answered immediately. Grours smacked her second homer of the night in the bottom half, and BNL tacked on two more runs in the fifth and sixth innings to put the game out of reach. Fish led East at the plate with a double and two total bases, while Boroughs and Armstrong each collected two hits. Wessel added a pair of hits and was hit by a pitch, reaching base three times. Despite tallying nine hits—matching BNL—the Olympians couldn’t string together enough offense to capitalize on their opportunities. The Olympians are off this weekend(5/3) and will travel to New Albany High School on Tuesday, May 6th to battle another Hoosier Hills Conference opponent. First pitch: 6 p.m.