BASEBALL: Bierman’s one-hitter leads Jeff past Castle, 3-0
By PHILLIP STEINMETZ
Gabe Bierman allowed only one hit as the Red Devils defeated Castle, 3-0. He had a no-hitter until the Knights earned their first hit in the seventh inning on a Will Randell single.

“Tonight was an excellent team win,” Jeff senior Ian Ellis said. “Gabe went out and threw magnificent against a pretty good team. It was big for him because his last two starts have been losses and you could see that he had a chip on his shoulder.”

The Class 4A No. 8 Devils (12-3) looked poised and focused from the start. Senior Drew Campbell started the game off with a single right down the middle. Ellis then got a hit that forced Campbell out at second, but an error by Castle allowed Ellis to advance to second base in the first inning. Jeff, though, ended up not scoring a run in the frame.

Bierman was not allowing the Knights (13-6) to get comfortable in the first couple of innings. It seemed as no one could figure him out and he continued to strike batters out. They came close to getting hits but the defense of Jeff came through when needed.

“While I haven’t being out there for almost two weeks due to being ill, I’d say tonight was a success,” Bierman said. “My defense in the outfield and infield helped me out a lot.”

The first two runs of the game came in the third inning for Jeffersonville. Campbell hit the ball into left field, then stole second base. Ellis drove Campbell in by striking a double that was inches away from being a home run. Jeff’s Bailey Falkenstein then brought Ellis home with a single. The Red Devils got three hits in the inning to put more pressure on the visiting Knights.

Jeff junior Bennie Day got his first varsity start in left field, filling in for senior Jordan Thomas. He was able to make a couple catches that could’ve ended up as runs.

Also, Day drove in senior Chris Downs with a sacrifice fly to widen the lead to three runs in the fourth inning.

“I tried to put the nervousness aside and just play like I know how to play,” said Day.

Castle was unable to get anything going for the rest of the game. Jeff wasn’t able to score after the fourth inning because of the Knights’ solid defense. They made a couple errors, but were able to make up for it by still forcing outs right after.

Cam Northern hit a ball down the first-base line and it seemed like an easy out until Castle dropped the ball and another player scooped it up to get the junior third baseman out.

Castle changed pitchers in the sixth inning, while Bierman stayed in throughout the entire game. Despite having his no-hitter broken up in the top of the seventh, he still got the much needed victory for him. Bierman struck out six and walked two.

“It’s nice to come out like that before [next week’s Hoosier Hills Conference Tournament],” said Campbell, who ended going 2-for-3. “It was good to see Gabe bounce back like he did. As long as our pitchers are pitching good, I think we’ll be able to put runs up for them next week.”

Jeffersonville was able to grind out the victory right before the conference tournament and proved that it is still deserving of their top-10 state ranking.

The Devils will play in the first round of the HHC Tournament on Monday at Seymour against the Owls. The Jeff players wore pink wrist bands to honor Mother’s Day, which is Sunday.

JEFFERSONVILLE 3, CASTLE 0

Castle 000 000 0—0 1 3

Jeff 002 100 x—3 4 2

W — Gabe Bierman (3-2). L — Sam Huff. 2B — Ian Ellis (J).

Records — Jeffersonville 12-3, Castle 13-6.

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