Baseball to face No. 2 Westfield on Jackie Robinson Day

By Drew Sandifer

The Brownsburg Baseball team kicks off their three-game weekend with a home game versus an HCC foe in No. 2 Westfield before playing the return game at the Shamrocks on Friday and traveling to face Pike on Saturday.

The Bulldogs (3-0, 2-0 HCC) received votes in this week's IHSBCA poll after a sweep of HSE in their opening series and an extra-innings win over New Castle on April 10. Jackson Fought has gotten off to a hot start to the season, batting 5-for-7 in his first two games, including 3 RBIs in the opener against HSE and two doubles in the return game. In that opener, Brownsburg came back from a 5-1 deficit and won 8-5 off of a Steven Walsh walkoff grandslam. With Walsh as the hero in game one, senior Dominic Skinner was the hero on Saturday against New Castle. Skinner ripped the game-winning RBIs in the top of the ninth inning and drove in three of Brownsburg's four runs overall. 

Westfield (6-0, 0-0 HCC) comes in as the No. 2 ranked team in 4A by the IHSBCA poll. The Shamrocks have played up to the high ranking to this point, outscoring their first six opponents by a combined score of 53-9. Butler commit Quentin Markle has led the way for Westfield so far, notching 10 hits through his first 27 plate appearances, knocking in eight runs in the process. Ohio State commit Keaton Mahan is right there with Markle, knocking in 8 RBIs through six games including two doubles. On the mound, Cincinnati commit Gage Stanifer will likely get the nod on Thursday, while Anderson commit Logan Nickel is likely to follow on Friday.

Pike (0-9, 0-2 MIC) welcomes the Bulldogs on Saturday. These teams last met in April of 2019, a 7-4 win for the Bulldogs. 

On Thursday, Brownsburg will celebrate Jackie Robinson Day by wearing replica jerseys of the Indianapolis Clowns, a member of the Negro American League from 1943-1955. Every year on April 15, baseball teams at every level celebrate Jackie's life, values and accomplishments. In the MLB, players across all 30 teams wear the number 42 to remember Robinson, who broke the color barrier in baseball on April 15, 1947.

First pitch is scheduled from Mary Beth Rose Park in Brownsburg at 6:00 p.m. The return game at Westfield on Friday is scheduled for the same time, while Saturday's game at Pike is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.