Columbus North High School

April 11, 2023 - Six games in six days will take a toll on any team, especially a baseball team who must be cautious about overusing pitchers. After one day break, the Bull Dogs welcomed third-ranked Center Grove to the Southside diamonds and Conner Hensley got the start on the mound. Hensley was outstanding through four innings, but the Trojans started to roll with three runs in the top half of the fifth inning and held on to beat North 8-2. Hensley pitched four and one-third innings, giving up six hits, four walks, and four earned runs while striking out four batters. Ryan Rayburn came on in relief and threw one and two-thirds innings, giving up two hits and no runs. Senior Tyler Blythe then took the mound in the seventh inning for the first time this season. Blythe, who threw two runners out at home plate from center field earlier in the game, gave up four runs on four hits while striking out one. The Bull Dogs were able to tally only one hit for the game, a single by Hensley. Hensley and Blake Osbourne each scored runs for Columbus North in the seventh inning, but ten strikeouts by Bull Dog batters and just one hit was not a recipe for success against a talented Trojan team. The Trojans (Red) JV also won the concurrent sub-varsity game against Columbus North’s JV (White) team. The varsity Bull Dogs will get a little time to rest as they are off until an afternoon doubleheader against Silver Creek on Saturday, beginning at 11:00 am. The JV (Blue) team will be in action this afternoon at Hauser, and the JV (White) will face off against Bloomington South in Bloomington on Wednesday. Photo: Catcher Ely Lucas tags out a Center Grove runner at the plate after a throw from center fielder Tyler Blythe. This was one of two center field assists from Blythe for the game, but the Dogs fell to the Trojans 8-2.