PENDLETON — It felt like it took forever, but in the end, it was more than worth it.
After having weather shut down two straight sectional games, forcing their semifinal and final to both be split over two separate days, the Greenfield-Central Cougars finished what they started on Tuesday.
Behind strong pitching from Brady Mundell and Adam Hutchison and timely hitting from Jacob Hauser, the Cougars claimed the Sectional 9 championship by topping Richmond, 5-3, and advancing to Saturday’s regional round.
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“It felt like we’d been playing this game for a long time, because we had to come out here and play Anderson on Saturday … it got rained out,” Hauser said. “Had to finish this game today, because it got rained out. It felt like this game was going on forever. It feels good to get it over with, especially winning.”
The Cougars led Saturday’s semifinal against Anderson, 2-1, in the sixth inning before weather halted the game and pushed the conclusion to Monday at 1 p.m.
It took less than an inning for Greenfield-Central’s momentum to carry over. The Cougars scored five quick runs in Monday’s abbreviated game and won, 7-1, then started off fast in the ensuing championship game against Richmond on Monday afternoon.
Carson Gibson singled and Blake Wilson homered, giving Greenfield-Central an early lead before weather put a halt to things in the first inning.
The tornado that tore through Pendleton on Monday night meant that the championship game wasn’t just split over two days. It was split between two locations.
It didn’t make a difference.
The Cougars again picked up right where they left off when the title game resumed at Memorial Field in Anderson on Tuesday. Hauser singled in another first-inning run, about 26 hours after the first two runs crossed the plate, and the Cougars had a 3-0 lead minutes into the restart.
“First of all, I don’t think I’ve ever been through that,” senior third baseman Nick Atwood said. “I think we all tried to just stay together. It’s tough to do, but we did it.”
Richmond got a solo home run in the top of the second to cut into the lead, but the Cougars pushed things to 5-1 in the fifth inning behind Hauser’s clutch hitting.
The catcher had a big day at the plate, going a perfect 3-for-3 with three RBIs. Wilson had two hits and Gibson had one, accounting for all of the Greenfield-Central offense.
Mundell was strong on the mound, throwing 3.2 innings and striking out seven. He allowed three hits and a solo home run before giving way to ace Adam Hutchison. Hutchison pitched the final 3.1 innings, striking out four, walking one and allowing two runs.
“Oh my gosh, man. I was on the team as a freshman, and it’s just a good feeling to actually be on the field. It was Drey (Jameson) my freshman year,” Mundell said. “To be a part of it, pitch in it and get a win is awesome.
“The coaches gave a lot of trust in me, and I appreciate that. I felt like I did the job. Left one ball up, hit a home run, but got the win, right?”
The win was the 14th sectional title for the Cougars, the last coming in 2017. It pushes the team past the 20-win mark for the season, and gives them the sectional title to go along with the Hoosier Heritage Conference championship.
“It feels real good,” head coach Mark Vail said. “We have a great coaching staff and had a lot of great kids back. They put in the work and they did it.”
Just like in 2017, Cathedral now awaits in the regional round.
The Irish eliminated New Palestine on Monday to win that sectional and will meet the Cougars at 11 a.m Saturday at Decatur Central. The winner of that game will meet either Avon, Decatur Central or Southport in the 8 p.m. championship game.
Cathedral topped the Cougars, 1-0, in an eight-inning pitcher’s duel in 2017.
“It feels amazing. I think this is probably one of the best groups I’ve ever played with, besides my freshman year,” Hutchison said. “Winning two sectionals feels amazing. I just hope we can go get the regional championship, beat Cathedral. We’re playing ‘em again.”
“The first one was nice, but this one, being a senior, it’s awesome,” Atwood said of the sectional win. “No matter how many times it is, nothing beats this.”
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Greenfield-Central 5, Richmond 3
R (18-9);010;002;0;—;3;6;1
GC (20-7);301;010;X;—;5;6;0
WP: Brady Mundell. LP: Phillip Hobbs.
HR: Blake Wilson (GC), Brice Brown (R). RBI: Jacob Hauser 3, Wilson 2 (GC); Brown, Mason Brewer, Nicholas Turner (R).
Notable: Mundell 3.2 IP, 7 K, 3 H, 1 R; Adam Hutchison 3.1 IP, 4 K, 1 BB, 2 R, 3 H (GC).
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