Baseball Recap: Bloomington North Find Success

It was a proper cat-fight when Bloomington North duked it out with Southport on Thursday. The Cougars had just enough and edged out the Cardinals 2-0. For the Cougars, this counts as revenge for the 5-1 win the Cardinals walked away with the last time they faced one another back in May of 2024.

Luke Freel

Batters Struck Out (Career)

05/22/25 @ Southport	12
05/15/25 vs Bloomington South	7
04/15/25 vs Terre Haute South Vigo	6
04/10/25 vs Columbus North	6
05/03/25 vs Hamilton Southeastern	4

Luke Freel made a splash while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only two hits while striking out 12 over seven innings pitched. Those 12 strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, one run, and one RBI. He is becoming a predictor of Bloomington North's success: when he posts at least two stolen bases the team is undefeated (and 8-10 when he doesn't).

Freel wasn't the only one making solid contact as four players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Chris Barnett, who went 2-for-3 with one stolen base and one run.

The victory made it two in a row for Bloomington North and bumps their season record up to 12-10. The wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered a grand total of 1 runs in those games. As for Southport, they have traveled a rocky road recently, having lost four of their last five games. That's put a noticeable dent in their 12-10 record this season.

Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Bloomington North will head out to square off against Floyd Central at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. The Highlanders will roll in looking for their fifth straight victory, something the Cougars surely won't give up without a fight. As for Southport, they will head out on the road to face off against Lawrence Central at 6:00 p.m. on Friday.