Crawfordsville baseball hasn’t let their stellar season or No. 4 ranking distract them from continuing to just show up and do what they’ve done all season. Win. The Athenians finally were able to conclude their two-game Sagamore Conference series against Western Boone on Saturday after it had been postponed multiple times last week. CHS jumped on the Stars early with five runs in the first two innings and another run in the fourth as the Athenians silenced the Stars bats to win 6-1.
Coming into Saturday’s game CHS had won five out of their last six games in five innings. While this game did have to go the full seven, CHS coach Brett Motz liked that his team had to fight in all seven innings for the win.
“That’s how baseball is supposed to be played,” he said. “The games we’ve been having lately aren’t normal and it felt nice to get a full seven inning game where it was anyone’s game throughout. We did get a good start and were able to put up those runs early and we’ve been fortunate that our guys come to the park ready to play and have been able to score early. We continued to put the ball in play and not strikeout much at all. Western Boone did a good job of making plays today when hit it right at them.”
Crawfordsville (17-1, 9-0 SAC) tallied seven hits led by Austin Motz who went 3-4 with a pair of RBI’s. Alex Kellerman picked up a pair of hits and Jude Coursey and AJ Hall each collected a hit with Hall driving in two runs. Bryce Dowell picked up the win on the mound for CHS. The sophomore threw five innings allowing just three hits and no earned runs while striking out four. Kellerman came in relief and pitched the final two innings giving up three hits and one earned run.
“It was good for Alex to come in and give us two solid innings that really mattered.” Motz said. “He came in and attacked hitters and I’m really looking forward for him to have more of an extended role the rest of the season. He’s going to be a guy that can come in in big situations and shut the door like he did today.”
Crawfordsville sure isn’t taking their success for granted. While a 17-1 season and a high ranking can be distracting to some teams, Motz and the Athenians continue to just keep their focus on the next game. The energy and confidence that they are playing with hasn’t come by accident as Motz describes.
“We’re honored to be where we’re at right now,” he said. “It’s due to the fact that our kids have prepared themselves and put a lot of time and energy to feel this confident at whatever they’re doing. I feel really good about where our kids are with their mindset. They truly believed that any person in our lineup can change the reflection of the game in a positive way for us.”
Next up for the Athenians will be county rival North Montgomery. The Athenians and Chargers hold the top two spots in the conference and also a county title will be on the line. The first of the two-game series is scheduled for Tuesday with a 7 p.m. first pitch at North Montgomery with the Chargers traveling to CHS on Wednesday for a 6 p.m. start.
“Every game the rest of the way is important and we want to try to come out for every game relaxed but also intense,” Motz said. “I have no question that we’ll be prepared to do that again. You can’t avoid the fact that it’s a county game, but at the same time it’s just another game for us that’s important to reach our goals. North just happens to be one other team that is in between us and those goals.”
