Fishers High School

Fishers JV2 Silver Tigers (4-9) used an explosive second inning to take control early and never looked back in an 11-1 victory over Avon Junior Varsity Black Orioles on Wednesday night. Avon struck first in the top of the opening inning after a passed ball allowed a run to score, but Fishers answered immediately in the bottom half. After Dawson Gustin reached on an error and moved into scoring position, Alex Stiefel grounded out to bring home the tying run and even the score at 1-1. That tie did not last long. The Tigers broke the game wide open in the bottom of the second with an offensive outburst that produced eight runs on a relentless string of hits, walks, aggressive baserunning, and pressure on the Avon defense. Nate Birsa started the rally with a double into left field before Zach Dowd was hit by a pitch. Henry Gonso followed with a perfectly placed bunt single to load the bases. Brayden McNall then delivered one of the biggest hits of the inning, shooting a hard ground ball through the left side to score two runs and give Fishers a 3-1 lead. Chase Stone followed with a bunt single to keep the pressure on, and Gustin worked a bases-loaded walk to force in another run. With the bases still full, Isaac Repp stepped to the plate and wasted no time crushing the first pitch to deep left center that rolled all the way to the wall for a three-run triple, extending the lead to 7-1 and igniting the Fishers dugout. The Tigers continued to pile on from there as Stiefel added an RBI single, and Dowd followed with another run-scoring hit to cap the massive inning with Fishers ahead 9-1. Avon threatened briefly in the top of the second and fourth innings with multiple baserunners, but Fishers continued to make key defensive plays behind starting pitcher Eli Engebretson. In the fourth, Avon put runners on first and second with one out, but the Tigers escaped the inning thanks to a groundout and a line drive snagged by Dowd at third base. Fishers added two more insurance runs in the bottom of the third to complete the 10-run mercy rule. McNall doubled to left field to spark the inning before Gustin grounded out to bring home a run. Repp later scored on an RBI single by Sanders down the left field line, pushing the lead to 11-1. Engebretson settled in nicely after the first inning and controlled the game from the mound the rest of the way. The right-hander worked five innings, allowing just four hits and one unearned run while striking out three and walking one. He consistently worked ahead in counts and kept Avon from ever building momentum offensively. Offensively, Fishers pounded out 11 hits in one of their strongest team performances of the season. Repp led the way with three RBIs and two extra-base hits, including the huge bases-clearing triple in the second inning. McNall, Birsa, and Repp each collected two hits, while Sanders, Stiefel, Dowd, Gonso, and Stone all contributed during the offensive surge. The Tigers played aggressive baseball throughout the night, taking extra bases whenever possible and forcing Avon into mistakes that helped fuel the lopsided win. They head to Avon for game 2 on Thursday, May 7th in an attempt to complete the sweep.