HIGH SCHOOL ROUNDUP: New Albany tennis places third at Jeff Invite

By GREG MENGELT
sports@newsandtribune.com

April 20, 2008 01:19 am

— The New Albany girls’ tennis team finished third and Jeffersonville fourth in Saturday’s eight-team Jeffersonville Invitational.
Both teams finished far behind champion Columbus North, which had four of the five individual champions.
New Albany had three individual runner-up finishes. In the No. 3 singles final, Haley Haws lost to North’s Grace Yonushonis, 6-4, 6-1. The Bulldogs’ No. 1 doubles tandem of Kaitlyn Tretter and Sarah Nale fell in the final, 6-1, 7-5. In the No. 2 doubles championship, New Albany’s Kaitlyn Focken and Deidre Fetz lost to Castle’s Kaitlin Hanas and Sarah Kanet, 7-6(3), 6-3.
Jeff’s Michelle Roberts placed second at No. 2 singles. She lost in the championship round to North’s Kyleigh Arnold, 7-5, 6-3.
Despite finishing fourth in the talented field, Jeff coach Mark Reilly was happy with his young team’s progress.
“I was pleased with our team,” Reilly said. “Our underclassmen are making gains each match on their doubles play.”
New Albany and Jeff will both return to action on Tuesday. The Bulldogs will visit Madison, while the Devils will host Floyd Central.
• Floyd drops two at Wabash: The Highlanders dropped a narrow 3-2 decision to Delta, then were swept 5-0 by Indianapolis Cathedral at Wabash College in Crawfordsville.
Emma LaDuke and Kayla Prusinski had the most successful day for Floyd at their No. 1 doubles position. The pair beat Delta’s Ashley Philhower and Emily Marsh 6-1, 6-1, and then took Floyd’s only set in a 6-3, 3-6, 10-8 loss to Cathedral’s Megan Adams and Liz Whisett.
At No. 1 singles, Kelsey Wisman took a 7-6, 7-5 win over Delta’s Kelly Crider. Wisman fell to Cathedral’s Paula Ussing 6-1, 6-2.

SOFTBALL
• Generals shut down Madison: Clarksville did not allow a run in sweeping a doubleheader from Madison. The host Generals picked up 9-0 and 10-0 wins to improve to 10-4.
It was junior Amanda Wingler who shut out the Cubs in the opener. She allowed four hits, struck out six and didn’t walk a batter.
Freshman Bronte Miley led the Generals by going 2-for-3 and scoring two runs. Teammate Kelly Betz also went 2-for-3 and had two RBIs.
Betz was the pitching hero in the second game, holding Madison to four hits.
Clarksville’s Erica Martin scored twice and had two RBIs. Teammate Jessica Bisinger went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored.
“We’ve been alternating between them,” Clarksville coach Tim Hauber said about his two pitchers. “We’re 14 games into the season and we’ve been seeing who’s capable of what. Now we’re going to have to start (pitching the player) according to who we’re playing.”
The Generals will travel to Brownstown on Tuesday.
• Jeff can’t capitalize in 5-1 loss: The Red Devils (6-3) fell to Jasper 5-1 after letting some early opportunities get away from them.
Jasper drew first blood in the bottom of the first inning, but the Red Devils tied the scored in the bottom of the third on an RBI double by Natalie Nikitas.
The Wildcats then scored single runs in the third and fourth innings and two more in the sixth to pull away.
“We had some chances early, but we couldn’t capitalize on them,” Jeff coach Becky Shafer said.
The Devils host Louisville Beth Haven on Monday.
• Big sixth gets Floyd over the hump: Floyd Central broke a 1-1 tie with two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to put away Jennings County, 3-1.
In the sixth, the Highlanders’ Bailey Hubert squeezed Jenna Mackin home for the game-winning RBI. The Highlanders then got an insurance run when Vanderplow scored on a passed ball.
Floyd pitcher Rena Philpot improved to 5-1 by striking out eight in six innings. Teammate Randa Harbison finished out a perfect seventh inning for her fourth save.
The Highlanders’ Cherrod Gwaltney had the game’s biggest defensive play. With the bases loaded and two outs in the fourth, Gwaltney made a diving catch in left field to end a potential Panther rally.
“It was good to see players coming off the bench and contributing right way,” Floyd coach Joe Witten said.
Libby Wright went 2-for-3 in the win. The Highlanders (9-2) will travel to Seymour on Tuesday.
• Bulldogs drop two: New Albany went on the road and came home with a pair of losses, 4-1 to Castle and 10-0 to Jasper.
Sydney Brown hit her first home run of the season in the top of the seventh inning against Castle for the Bulldogs’ only run.
“She’s always putting the ball in play,” New Albany coach Steve Belden said.
New Albany will host Orleans on Monday.
• Mustangs pound Trinity Lutheran: The New Washington offense exploded for 11 hits in Game 1 and 19 hits in Game 2 to sweep Trinity Lutheran in a doubleheader.
Katie Rager had 12 strikeouts in the Mustangs’ 14-1 victory in the opener. New Wash (5-4) scored in each of the first five innings and added six runs in the top of the seventh. Rager went 3-for-6 with two doubles and two runs.
Casey Johnson got her first win on the mound this season, leading the Mustangs to an 18-3 win in Game 2. She also went 4-for-4 with a double.
“Our girls hit the ball in the holes today,” said New Wash assistant coach Bill Broughton. “They just fell in the right spots. Hopefully, that will carry over to this week.”
Also for the Mustangs, Cheyenne Lemons went 2-for-3, Bethany Leezer went 4-for-5 and Kayla Shackelford was 3-for-4 with three runs scored.
New Wash will host Lanesville on Monday.

BASEBALL
• Sturgeon continues red-hot weekend in CAI win: Christian Academy of Indiana evened its record at 4-4 by belting 12 hits in a 9-3 road win at Orleans.
One day after tossing his first-ever perfect game against New Wash, CAI’s Justin Sturgeon crushed two home runs as the Warriors built a 5-0 lead in support of pitcher Trey Haendiges.
Evan Strong added a three-run shot in the top of the seventh for CAI. Haendigus (3-1) went the distance by striking out 11 with no walks. He also went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases.
“It was a good win for us based on where we are in the season,” said CAI coach Ryan Wheeler. “When I was handing out game balls to Evan for his first home run, and to Justin for his two home runs, I realized that I didn’t have one for Trey. Trey is unbelievable and I take it for granted sometimes and just expect him to shut teams down, which is wrong.”
The Warriors will travel to West Washington on Tuesday.
• Bulldogs pick up big win: The host Bulldogs shut out a strong Evansville Reitz team 10-0 in the first game of a doubleheader.
“I felt pretty good about beating a good team,” New Albany coach Chris McIntyre said of the Panthers.
New Albany had plenty of hitting heroes in the win. Travis Sands went 2-for-4 with two doubles and four RBIs. Jason Cruse also went 2-for-4 and knocked in three runs. Graham Brown was 3-for-4 at the plate and Taylor Klein was 2-for-3. Sands also pitched a complete-game four-hitter, striking out two Panthers.
New Albany dropped a 10-6 decision in the nightcap. The Bulldogs led 3-2 after four innings, but their poor defense led to eight Reitz runs in the final three frames.
“We did some bad things defensively in the second game,” McIntyre said. “On the bright side, we did have 22 hits (11 in each game).”
Sands went 3-for-4 and had a two-run home run. Cruse and teammates Nathan Poff each went 2-for-3.
New Albany (7-4) will host Pleasure Ridge Park on Monday.
• Jeff rallies to beat BNL: Jeff outhit Bedford North Lawrence 12-3, but had to come from behind to beat the Stars 8-7 due to five errors committed by the defense.
Jeff trailed 7-4 heading into the bottom of the sixth, but scored four times to take an 8-7 lead.
The Red Devils’ Jeremy Chesher led the comeback. He finished with three doubles. Aaron Hargett was the winning pitcher.
Jeff (9-2) will visit North Harrison on Tuesday.
• Borden sweeps rival Lanesville: A rally in Game 1 and a strong pitching performance by Dylan Martin and Kyle Craig in Game 2 gave Borden a sweep over Southern Athletic Conference rival Lanesville. The Braves (7-4, 2-0 SAC) took 4-3 and 5-2 decisions from the Eagles.
In the first game, Borden trailed 3-2 before a two-run seventh gave the Braves the victory. Daniel Humphrey opened the inning with a hit, then scored on a hit from Trevor Wagoner, who had hit a solo home run earlier in the game. Wagoner scored the winning run on a passed ball.
Craig picked up the win on the mound, improving to 3-0.
In Game 2, Martin held the Eagles to just two fourth-inning runs and Craig came in late to hold off the Eagles and get the save.
“It was a big-time performance by Kyle,” Borden coach Brian Agnew said of Craig. “That’s a big outing for a freshman.”
The Braves gave Martin a big lead, scoring two runs in each of the first two innings, despite not getting an extra-base hit.
Borden will host Portland Christian on Monday.
• Pirates split with Pacers: Charlestown hit big all day, but ultimately split a doubleheader at Switzerland County.
Bryan Williams led the Pirates to victory in Game 1, pitching the distance while allowing three earned runs with four strikeouts in a 7-4 win. He got plenty of support from his teammates, as Chad Brady delivered a two-run homer in the top of the seventh after the Pacers had come back to tie the score. Cameron Metzger had two doubles in the win.
The Pirates (5-4) were rocked in Game 2, giving up eight walks and 11 hits in a 12-8 loss. Switzerland County scored six runs in the bottom of the third to build a 10-3 lead. Metzger had two more doubles.
“It simply came down to pitching,” said Charlestown coach Ricky Romans. “We couldn’t find the strike zone.”
Charlestown will host Madison at the Charlestown Little League Park on Tuesday.
• Schuppert pitches Floyd to victory: Highlander starter Jordan Schuppert rang up 14 strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings in a 5-4 home victory over Evansville Harrison.
Floyd reliever Cory Wade came in for the save after Harrison had rallied for two runs in the top of the seventh.
It was a big night for Floyd’s Dustin Vincent, who went 2-for-2 with two runs scored and an RBI. Teammate Nick Peters also had two hits and an RBI.
“It was a good win for us,” said Highlander coach Casey LaDuke. “They scored two in the top of the first, and we came right back with two of our own, so that was nice to see.”
Floyd (7-5) will travel to Heritage Hills on Monday.
• Pioneers get late win over North: On Friday, Providence rallied from a 5-1 deficit in the third inning to beat Columbus North 6-5 at home.
The rally started with a home run by Josh Smith in the bottom of the third. His third home run of the week cut the Bulldogs’ lead to 5-2.
The Pioneers tied the score in the bottom of the fifth when a two-RBI single by Johnelle Hardin was followed Charlie Schueler’s RBI single.
In the seventh and decisive inning, Providence’s Matt Leist scored when Hardin doubled him home for the winning run.
Scott Montgomery picked up his first win of the season, throwing 4 2/3 scoreless innings in relief.
The Pioneers will South Central on Tuesday.

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