North Baseball Stumbles in Sectional Opener Against Whiteland

Columbus North baseball saw its season come to an end in the opening round of Sectional 14 on Wednesday night, falling 12-2 in six innings to a red-hot Whiteland squad that turned up the pressure with two-out hitting.

The Bull Dogs jumped out to an early 2-0 lead thanks to a first-inning single from Brock Kintner and an RBI knock from Jesse Clark. North capitalized on an error to bring home a second run before Whiteland even stepped into the batter’s box.

But the Warriors answered immediately with three runs of their own, then poured it on across the next two innings—plating seven of their 12 runs with two outs. Columbus North had no answer at the plate after the opening frame, managing just one hit the rest of the way against University of Houston commit Peyton Dickens, who fanned 10 and found his rhythm after a shaky start.

North wraps up a rebuilding season at 7-16, while Whiteland (14-9) moves on to face East Central in Friday’s late semifinal. Columbus East and Franklin meet in the 6 p.m. game, with the championship set for Monday night.