BLOOMINGTON — It was the only thing Connor Couch struggled with all day.
But a doubleheader like he had in Monday’s IHSAA Class 4A Bloomington South Sectional semifinals and final is a kind of once-in-lifetime moment, so processing it all may take some time.
The Panthers had never won so much a sectional game since 2022, the year before he and a promising senior class arrived. A sectional title had eluded South since 2016.
So, helping deliver both at once? Kind of cool, right? Overwhelming maybe, but not in the moment.
Couch was magnificent, earning two pitching wins while tossing seven scoreless innings, five in the 10-0 short-game win over Martinsville and two more in relief as the Panthers’ stunned rival Bloomington North, 3-2, in eight innings in the final.
Oh, he also hit a grand slam in the semifinals against Martinsville and had the game-trying two-run single in the sixth against the Cougars.
“It’s crazy,” Couch said. “This is probably the best (day) I’ve ever had. Yeah, two wins in one day, I don’t think I’ve ever done that before. Clutch hitting. It’s been a crazy day.”
Couch needed just 62 pitches against the Artesians thanks to Jonathan Winstead’s three-run homer that ended the game in five innings. That left plenty of cushion in his allotment of 120 pitches for the day.
“I was giving it my all in the Martinsville game,” Couch said. “But I’m so glad I could come back (vs. North). It was so fun.”
For Couch, a Columbia recruit, it was winning the lottery after nearly going bankrupt due to a “high hamstring/tendon issue.” He took three weeks off from pitching to work with South trainer Jonah Prickel to correct the issue. He kept going with the bat and playing a solid third base, but not pitching put a dent in his overcall confidence.
“I think it did for a while,” Couch said. “But those weeks off, I threw live against our hitters and just kind of found my grove again.”
Once they did, Couch was showing his old stuff.
“We found Connor, didn’t we?” South coach Phil Kluesner said. “That’s the Connor from last year.”
“So much fun to be back,” Couch added. “Everybody, including the coaches have wanted it forever, it means so much.”
Kluesner has been waiting a decade to finally break through again. They all know how hard winning sectionals is, which only increases the valuation of the hardware and the opportunity.
“We’ve been working toward this,” Kluesner said. “They see it. These guys have been focused from the get-go. They wanted it and they want to keep moving forward. Now that they’ve gotten a little taste of the tournament, I think they’re going to like it. It’s exciting.”
The Panthers advance to regional and another Conference Indiana rematch, this time with Columbus North (19-11), which did not use its ace in a 3-2 South win on May 13. The time and location will not be announced by the IHSAA until Wednesday, June 3.
Squeezing out a win
North pitcher Brogan Hanna started off the top of the eighth with a strikeout before South’s pesky leadoff man and junior shortstop Reid Walker worked a seven-pitch walk. It was the tiniest opening the Panthers needed.
North had senior ace/shortstop Luke Freel behind the plate, knowing his arm could be a deterrent to South’s running game that has piled up over 100 stolen bases this year. But the next pitch from Hanna to Max Surdam slipped out of Freel’s mitt as Walker took off for second.
“I trust myself and I trust my speed,” Walker said. “Once I got on first, my coach (Eric) Dodds, he’s like, (Hanna has) a big leg kick, you can steal right away. I knew I was going to be safe.
“And when I got on second, they’re not holding me on, so steal third as well.”
Two pitches later, Walker was taking third, changing Kluesner’s strategy. He gave the sign and the pitch came screaming at Surdam.
“I just knew I had to get it down,” Surdam said. “I saw coach give the sign and I practice bunting a lot and I have confidence in myself. And then I saw the pitch and it was way, way outside. And I was like, ‘Oh man, I’ve got to get this down.
“I just kind of threw the bat out there.”
The bunt was perfect, bouncing in front of the plate. By the time North pitcher Brogan Hanna fielded it, Walker was already across the plate.
“I was very surprised (at the call),” Walker said. “I knew Max could do that and I’ve got a lot of faith in him. He’s done it before this year. It worked out perfectly.”
As it often does with the never-say-die Panthers.
“I think it’s just because of the leadership,” Kluesner said. “We’ve got good leadership. They’re really connected. They really love each other. They play for each other. If I say anything else, I’m going to start crying because it’s so personal.”
Another tough out for North
The last seven games between the two have been decided by a combined 12 runs and two of them have gone extra innings.
“They brought it,” Kluesner said. “They had every right to win that game, too.”
The Cougars used ace Luke Freel to put away a tough Terre Haute North squad in the semis and turned the ball over to sophomore Bohdi Pulley, who shut out the Panthers for five innings while giving up just three hits.
“We challenged him and he went out there and he threw strikes,” North coach Richard Hurt said. “Mixed his pitches well. He’s thrown pretty well throughout the year. For a sophomore, he has a bright future.”
North had nine hits, making much better contact than they did in the 2-0 loss to South starter Xavier Hemingway in the regular season. Elio Miller had two hits, including an RBI single in the third.
Back-to-back singles by Harrison Lloyd and Jack Williams with one out in the fourth forced Kluesner to pull Hemingway and Tyler Morris threw one pitch and got a key double play.
Rudy Burton had an RBI single in the fifth to make it 2-0.
“Very, very proud of our team,” Hurt said. “I thought our team showed tremendous toughness all the way through. We played a tough game earlier and to come back and battle like that, extremely proud of our team.
“Our seniors, very proud of them, they did a nice job all through the year. Fun team to coach. Too bad it had to end. But I can’t say enough about our ballclub.”
Semifinals
South 10, Martinsville 0
Couch tossed a two-hitter with nine strikeouts and helped himself with a grand slam way over the fence in left in the five-inning rout.
South scratched out single runs in the first, second and third innings off Notre Dame bound hurler Rhys Wolf, who committed two balks, walked five and hit a batter in 4⅓ innings.
The Panthers broke it open with a seven-run bottom of the fifth. Reid Walker’s one-out single was followed by two walks before Couch slugged his homer. The Artesians (2-24) went to the bullpen, but after a flyout, Jake McCammon singled, Boston Held was walked and Jonathan Winstead hit a three-run shot to end it.
North 5, Terre Haute North 0
Luke Freel beat the Patriots for a second time this year, scattering four hits and fanning 10. He tossed first-pitch strikes to 15 of the first 21 batters he faced before stranding two base runners in the sixth.
The Cougar bats made plenty of contact, piling up nine hits, but it was a bases loaded walk drawn by Conor Steele in the fourth that scored the first run of the game. Zach Sipes’ RBI single scored Freel in the fifth for a 2-0 lead.
The Patriots fell apart with three errors in the sixth. Pinch-hitter Gabe Cohen came through with a high-hopper to third that was fielded cleanly, but the throw went past the first baseman, allowing Rudy Burton (3-for-4) and Steele to scoot around the bases for a 4-0 lead.
Cohen then scored with two outs after a the Patriots fumbled a throw on a grounder to first.
BLOOMINGTON SOUTH 10, MARTINSVILLE 0
Martinsville (2-24) 000 | 00 — 0 | 2 | 1
Bloomington South (1011 | 07 — 10 7 0
Rhys Wolf, Gavin Long (4) and Isaac Gillum. Connor Couch and Jake McCammon. W: Couch. L: Wolf. HR: Couch (S), Jonathan Winstead (S).
BLOOMINGTON NORTH 5, TERRE HAUTE NORTH 0
Bloomington North 000 | 113 | 0 — 5 | 9 | 0
Terre Haute North (20-6) 000 | 000 | 0 — 0 | 4 | 3
Luke Freel and Briar Anderson. Jacob Norton, Nate Millington (6) and Brayden Dean. W: Freel. L: Norton.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Connor Couch, Bloomington South baseball squeeze out sectional title
Reporting by Jim Gordillo, The Herald-Times / The Herald-Times
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