Fishers High School

Fishers JV2 Silver Tigers (7-9) survive a wild back-and-forth battle against Harrison Raiders to win 15-12. The Tigers used a huge fifth inning and a relentless offensive attack to outlast the Raiders on Saturday in one of the wildest games of the season. The Tigers piled up 13 hits, stole six bases, and overcame multiple momentum swings to secure the high-scoring victory. Fishers wasted no time jumping on the board in the opening inning. Landon Sanders worked a walk and quickly stole second before Dawson Gustin followed with another free pass. After Alex Stiefel loaded the bases with a walk, Nate Birsa came through with the first big hit of the day, ripping a single into left field that brought home both Sanders and Gustin for a 2-0 lead. The Tigers kept the pressure on in the second inning. Max Bishton opened the frame with a single before Sanders added another hit. Gustin then lined a single into center to score Bishton, extending the lead to 3-0. Moments later, aggressive baserunning paid off again when Gustin stole third and eventually scored on a throwing error by the catcher, giving Fishers a 4-0 advantage. Harrison began battling back in the bottom half of the second. They tripled to left field and later scored as the Raiders cut into the deficit. The momentum continued into the third inning when Harrison tied the game at 4-4 behind a sacrifice bunt, an RBI single, and pressure created by baserunners throughout the inning. The Raiders then grabbed their first lead of the afternoon in the fourth. The Raiders doubled and eventually scored after another defensive miscue pushed Harrison ahead 5-4. Despite the lead change, Henry Gonso kept the game within reach on the mound, recording key strikeouts and limiting what could have been a much bigger inning. Then came the decisive fifth inning explosion from Fishers. The Tigers sent wave after wave of hitters to the plate and completely flipped the game around with eight runs on five hits. Gustin reached to start the rally before Isaac Repp reached on an error that allowed two runs to score. Stiefel followed with a clutch two-run single to left field to give Fishers the lead for good. Reed Grampp later added an RBI single, Eli Engebretson knocked in another run with a hard-hit single to center, Bishton drove in Kellen Battershield with another RBI hit, and Sanders capped the inning with a run-scoring single as the Tigers suddenly surged in front 12-5. Fishers continued adding insurance in the seventh inning. Sanders drew a walk and later scored on Repp’s RBI single to left. Birsa collected his third hit of the game later in the inning, reaching on a pop fly single while also advancing around the bases on a Harrison error that allowed another run to score. Kyle Wheeler then added an RBI single to stretch the lead to 15-8. Even with the large lead, Harrison refused to go away quietly. The Raiders rallied for four runs in the bottom of the seventh, using hits, walks, and defensive miscues to put pressure on the Tigers late. Harrison eventually closed the gap to 15-12 with runners still on base. Koltyn Stewart entered during the late chaos and managed to slam the door shut. After the Raiders scored twice on a ground ball and an error, Stewart regrouped and struck out the batter looking for the final out of the game, ending the comeback attempt and securing the dramatic win. Birsa led the offensive charge with a 3-for-4 performance and two RBIs. Sanders and Bishton each added multiple hits, while Stiefel delivered one of the game’s biggest swings with his two-run single during the massive fifth inning. Gustin and Sanders also wreaked havoc on the bases all afternoon, combining for multiple steals as Fishers constantly pressured Harrison defensively. Gonso earned the win after battling through five innings on the mound, striking out four. Stewart eventually closed out the victory after a tense final inning. The Tigers showed resilience throughout the afternoon, answering every Harrison rally with offense of their own and surviving a late scare to finish off an entertaining 15-12 victory.