a day ago
Arm soreness couldn't keep North Central's Tristan Wilson from making one last start
MOORESVILLE – A recent MRI of North Central senior pitcher Tristan Wilson's arm revealed swelling and fluid in his elbow and a strain of the radial nerve in his shoulder.
Every pitch sent shooting pain through his arm, but the right-handed starter took the mound for Saturday's Class 4A semistate semifinal against Evansville North anyway. Wilson fought through warmups, but after two pitches that failed to top 70 mph, coach Andy McClain pulled Wilson from the game.
"You've known these guys for so long. You just want to give it your best and contribute somehow. I just felt like I owed it to them," Wilson said.
"It meant everything," Wilson's brother, senior catcher Tanner added. "Obviously, we'd love for him to go. He's our guy. He's been a pitcher on this team for four years on varsity. I feel like when he's out there he gives us the best shot to win."
Evansville North scored three runs off reliever Jack Carr in the first, providing more than enough run support for starter Conner Watson, sending the Huskies to a 6-0 win. Evansville North advances to face the winner of Franklin vs. Center Grove.
Carson Conley hit a three-run home run. Mason Renfro and Aiden Vaught added RBI singles.
"He has been fighting arm soreness all season," McClain said of Wilson. "He just goes out, guts it out and gives us as much as he can. ... Coach (Andrew) Dutkanych said his arm is really bothering him. We're going to go out and see what it feels like, but he just couldn't do it.
"I feel bad for him because he's been a bulldog and gutted it out all year when his arm has been sore. ... He could've said, 'I'm going to play in college. I don't want to hurt my arm.' But the entire season he won some big games for us by gutting it out."
Evansville North scored all six of its runs in the first three innings. Shortstop Jackson Dinnsen took the mound with two outs in the third. Dinnsen allowed an inherited runner to score before forcing a fly out to end the inning. Dinnsen used a lively slider to keep the Huskies off the scoreboard. The sophomore finished with six strikeouts over 4⅓ scoreless innings.
Dinnsen's strong outing was only topped by Watson's. Watson faced the minimum through 6⅔ innings. The senior took a no-hitter into the sixth inning. Watson finished with seven strikeouts over seven scoreless innings.
