Fishers High School

Fishers JV2 Silver Tigers (10-9-1) used a huge third inning to take control Thursday night, pulling away from Brownsburg for an 11-4 victory. After a tight start through the first couple innings, the Tigers exploded offensively and never looked back, combining aggressive baserunning, patience at the plate, and timely hits to complete the series sweep. Henry Gonso got the start for Fishers and worked a clean first inning with help from solid defense behind him. The Tigers threatened in the opening frame after Alex Stiefel lined a single to center, but Brownsburg escaped the inning scoreless. Fishers broke through in the second after Landon Sanders walked and eventually came home on a sacrifice fly from Mason Walker to make it 1-0. Brownsburg nearly answered immediately in the top half when a pair of Fishers errors helped put runners on, but the Tigers limited the damage and kept the lead. Brownsburg pushed ahead in the third after they delivered a two-run single to right field, giving the visitors a 2-1 advantage. Fishers responded in dominant fashion in the bottom half with the biggest inning of the game. Chase Stone reached to start the rally before Dawson Gustin walked and Stiefel reached on an error to load the bases. Nate Birsa then drew a bases-loaded walk to tie the game before another Brownsburg error allowed another run to score. Sanders followed with a hard-hit ball that resulted in another run crossing the plate, and Max Bishton delivered the knockout blow with a bases-clearing double to center field that brought home three more runs. Walker capped the six-run inning with an RBI single to right as the Tigers suddenly opened up a 7-2 lead. Fishers continued to apply pressure in the fourth. Stone walked and stole second before Stiefel added another RBI single to stretch the lead to 8-2. The Tigers were aggressive on the bases all evening, with Stone swiping three bags and the team totaling four steals overall. Even when Brownsburg threatened, Fishers found answers. Koltyn Stewart entered in relief and immediately settled things down with a pair of strikeouts in a scoreless fourth inning. The Tigers added even more insurance in the sixth inning. Stone singled to start another rally before Gustin was hit by a pitch and Stiefel drove in another run on a fielder’s choice. Ryan Storm later delivered a two-run single to right field to push the lead to 11-3 and effectively put the game out of reach. Brownsburg scratched across one final run in the seventh, but Birsa closed the door from there to finish off the win. Fishers collected timely hits throughout the lineup, with Stiefel recording two hits and Bishton driving in three runs from the bottom of the order. Walker added an RBI single and sacrifice fly, while Stone constantly pressured the defense with his speed. Defensively, the Tigers bounced back nicely after a shaky second inning and turned a key double play in the third to help limit Brownsburg’s momentum. Combined with strong relief pitching from Stewart and Birsa, Fishers put together another complete performance to finish the week strong.