Fishers High School

Fishers JV2 Silver Tigers (3-7) battled back early but couldn’t overcome a first-inning deficit, falling 6-4 to Hamilton Southeastern JV White on Thursday. The game opened with immediate pressure from Hamilton Southeastern. After a series of hits and a walk loaded the bases, Fishers turned a huge defensive double play to momentarily limit the damage. But the inning quickly flipped when HSE launched a 2-out 3-run HR to right field, giving Hamilton Southeastern a 4-0 lead before Fishers could settle in. Fishers responded right away in the top of the second with one of their best offensive innings of the season. Nate Birsa reached and aggressively moved into scoring position, eventually crossing the plate on a wild pitch to get Fishers on the board. The lineup showed patience at the plate, drawing multiple walks to keep the inning alive. Mason Walker worked a key walk to force in another run, and Dawson Gustin delivered the big swing—lining a single to right that brought in two more runs and tied the game at 4-4. Just like that, Fishers had completely erased the early deficit. Hamilton Southeastern threatened again in the bottom of the second, but Fishers tightened up defensively. Kellen Battershield made multiple plays at second base, including a clean groundout and a pop-up to end the inning, helping Landon Sanders settle in on the mound. The game shifted in the bottom of the third. Hamilton Southeastern used patience at the plate to create traffic, drawing walks and putting pressure on the defense. With runners moving, a walk forced in the go-ahead run, putting Hamilton Southeastern back on top 5-4. Fishers managed to limit further damage with a strikeout and a diving play on a pop-out by McNall behind the plate, but the momentum had swung back. In the fourth inning, Hamilton Southeastern added what would become the insurance run. After a couple of base runners reached, a sacrifice fly allowed a runner to tag and score, stretching the lead to 6-4. Despite the run, Fishers continued to play solid defense, recording multiple fly ball outs and avoiding a bigger inning. From there, Sanders found a groove on the mound. The right-hander locked in during the fifth, striking out two batters looking and forcing a fly out to retire the side in order. It was one of his strongest innings and gave Fishers a chance to climb back in. Offensively, Fishers continued to put the ball in play but struggled to string together hits late. Zach Dowd picked up a base hit in the fifth, and Alex Stiefel added a single in the sixth, but Hamilton Southeastern’s pitching held firm. Fishers had one final chance in the sixth, getting a runner aboard, but a strikeout and back-to-back fly outs ended the threat. The bottom half of the inning saw Fishers defense finish strong, with three quick outs including a pair of fly balls handled by Battershield and a clean groundout to close it. Despite the loss, Fishers showed resilience after the early deficit. The offense battled back with patience, drawing six walks and capitalizing on opportunities, while the defense remained steady all game—turning a double play and committing zero errors. Gustin led the way offensively with two RBIs, while Chase Stone, Dowd, and Stiefel each added hits. Sanders went the distance on the mound, working six innings against a tough lineup.