Prep roundup for Wednesday, May 7

Gavin Denton led Western (15-3) with a home run, single and two RBI. Ryan Rodman had two singles and an RBI and Charlie Brewer had a double.

“Denton’s two-run HR in the first got us on the board early, but from there our offense was very sluggish,” Western coach Ryan Berryman said. “We drew nine walks and two HBPs, but timely hitting was missing. Our at-bats were quality but we didn’t get a lot of good pitches to hit. I was proud with our guys for scratching out 12 runs on just five hits.”

Levi Shoemaker pitched four innings for the win. He allowed two hits and one earned run, struck out five and walked one. Brewer and Miles Rudy provided scoreless relief.

“Shoemaker gave us a good start and pitched well to earn the win. Brewer and Rudy gave us quality relief,” Berryman said.

Western, which beat Class 2A No. 8 Eastern on Monday, hosts Taylor on Friday for its senior night.

KOKOMO 6, LAW. CTL. 4

Kokomo pitchers Brighton Harris, Miles Cunningham and Eli Roe combined to lead the Kats to the road victory over Lawrence Central.

Harris pitched the first two innings and allowed one hit and one earned run, Cunningham followed with four innings of work in which he allowed three hits and one earned run, and Roe closed with one inning of scoreless relief in which he struck out three, walked one and did not allow a hit.

Landon Gibson drove in two runs for the Kats (9-7), Jonathon Frye drove in a run and scored two runs, Cam Parks had an RBI and Harry Blake had a triple and two runs.

NW 9, NORTHFIELD 4

Karson Griggs pitched five scoreless innings to lead Northwestern to the road win in Three Rivers Conference play. Griggs held the Norsemen hitless, struck out eight, walked three and hit three batters with pitches.

“Karson was kind of effectively wild so there was some situations where he made some big pitches when he needed to,” Northwestern coach Ryan Ward said. “We have four games in four days so Karson going five innings kind of saves our bullpen a little bit.”

Up 1-0 after three innings, the Tigers (12-4 overall, 3-1 TRC) scored two runs in the fourth and six runs in the fifth to take a commanding 9-0 lead.

“We were kind of lacking some energy and then we had some guys make some good at-bats in the middle of the game,” Ward said.

Kade Dill, playing on his birthday, had two of the Tigers’ seven hits and Michael Arrick drove in two runs. Kolten Berry relieved Griggs and pitched 1.1 innings with four runs allowed. Jax Hanson recorded the final two outs.

TC 13, TAYLOR 6

Taylor went up 3-0 after two innings but Tri-Central roared to life, putting crooked numbers up in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth to pull away in a Hoosier Heartland Conference game.

Weston Enright powered the Trojans (3-7, 3-2 HHC), going 2 for 4 with a double and five RBI. Jacob Cline was 3 for 4 with two RBI and a run. Brody Arnold had a hit and plated three runs. Blake Hartman threw four innings for the win, giving up only one hit and two walks and four runs (no earned runs) while striking out six. Arnold threw three innings with two hits, no walks, two runs (no earned runs) and four strikeouts.

Zach Benning and Antonio Aiello each went 2 for 3 with an RBI and a run for the Titans (0-12, 0-5 HHC). Aiello also doubled.

SOFTBALL

NW 11, NORTHFIELD 1, 5 INN.

Northwestern pitcher Stevie-Rae Hedges threw a three-hitter and drove in three runs as the Tigers bashed Northfield in TRC play. The Tigers put the game away in just five innings with five runs in the top of the first, a run in the fourth and five more in the fifth.

In the circle, Hedges threw all five innings with no walks and an unearned run while striking out 10. At the plate, Hedges went 2 for 3 with two triples and three runs scored as Northwestern moved to 5-10, 2-2 in the TRC.

Also for the Tigers, Bailey Marcus singled, homered and drove in three runs. Addy Clark, Maci Rody and Leah Tuffs each had two hits. Rody and Grace Fischer each doubled and Fischer drove in two runs.

TC 9, TAYLOR 2

Addy Mackey went 2 for 3, drove in a run and scored three runs, and Layla Baldwin went 2 for 3, drove in 3 and scored once as Tri-Central overcame an early 1-0 deficit to overpower Taylor in a Hoosier Heartland Conference game.

Claire Conrad, Layla Keith and Adriana Perez each had two hits. Perez had two RBI. Conrad and Delila Fowler each doubled for TC (4-9, 2-3 HHC). Taylor fell to 0-12, 0-5 HHC.

Bella Stewart threw 4.1 innings for the Trojans with two hits, three walks, one earned run and five strikeouts, and Baldwin threw 2.2 innings with two hits, no earned runs or walks, and five more strikeouts.

BOYS GOLF

NW 162, ROCHESTER 171

Hudson Whaley fired a 2-under 34 to win medalist and lead the Tigers to the win on Green Acres’ front nine.

“Phenomenal round by Hudson,” Northwestern coach Kurt Koetter said.

Payson Heintz (40) and Logan Duncan (41) followed for the Tigers and Jack Peelle’s 47 rounded out their team score.

TC 2ND IN 4-TEAMER

Pioneer shot 180 to beat Tri-Central (185), North Judson (198) and Tri-Township (225) on the back nine at Pond View G.C.

Tanner England led Tri-Central with a 43, Jay Jankoviak shot 44 and the Trojans also counted Thomas Salsbery’s 48 and Aiden Salsbery’s 50.

GIRLS TENNIS

EASTERN 4, MARION 1

Eastern’s doubles teams both fought through three-set victories and the Comets got a pair of convincing singles victories in downing the Giants and moving to 7-1 on the season.

Julia Salkie and Reagan Princell won the No. 1 doubles match 7-6 (3), 1-6, 6-1, and Kenzie Eagle and Emma Budde won the No. 2 match 6-4, 4-6, 6-3. Gianna Beechy dominated the No. 2 singles match 6-0, 6-0, and Morgan Kaiser won the No. 3 singles match 6-2, 6-0.

“Nice win in a match where I don’t feel like we played our best tennis, and that’s a credit to Marion. They really played well,” Eastern coach Pat Rice said. “What I liked seeing was how we raised our level when it got to closing out the match. That’s the best 1 doubles competition we have seen and we played a great third set to close that match out.”

NORTHFIELD 3, NW 2

No. 3 singles player Ellie McBee and the No. 2 doubles team of Blythe Collin and Mia Shoaff won Northwestern’s points in the TRC match at Northfield.

GIRLS TRACK

CC 83, EASTERN 40

The Comets were led by three double winners. Elisabeth Bruno won the shot put and discus, and Ava Kantz won the 1,600 and 800, and Allie Hueston won the 100 and 200.

FROM MONDAY

SOFTBALL

WESTERN 5, KOKOMO 2

Lucy George led the way as the Class 3A No. 3-ranked Panthers beat the Kats 5-2 at Kokomo.

George (6-2) pitched all seven innings and held the Kats to three hits and no earned runs. She struck out nine and walked one.

George produced at the plate as well, cracking two singles and driving in two runs. Also for Western (18-3), Lexi Dollens had a double, single and RBI, Kylie Miller had a double and two runs and Brynley Erb went 0 for 0 with two walks and two RBI. She drove in a run with a sacrifice fly and another with a bases-loaded walk.

“We had seven hits and we also had seven walks so were patient at the plate,” Western coach Bart Miller said. “We put the ball in play, we just weren’t able to get the key hits when we needed them. We ended up with 12 runners left on base. Give Kokomo credit, they kept us off balance at the plate when they needed to, but it’s always good to get a win.”

Emma Lees pitched all seven innings for the Kats (9-7). Amirah Marciniak had two hits.

Western hosts Rossville at 5 p.m. today in a clash of teams that won 2024 state titles.

BASEBALL

WESTERN 6, EASTERN 4

After Class 2A No. 8-ranked Eastern scored a single run in the top of the first inning, Class 3A No. 7 Western responded with six runs in the bottom of the frame. The Panthers were not able add to their lead the rest of the way, but they held on for the win.

“Our approaches were excellent and we sent all nine to the plate without recording an out [in the first inning], but then it all changed,” Western coach Ryan Berryman said. “Credit to [Eastern relief pitcher Trey] Beachy executing his game plan. We never made adjustments and had some mistakes on the bases that proved costly.”

Levi Shoemaker and Charlie Brewer had two-run singles for the Panthers and Ryan Rodman had an RBI single. Brady Comer finished with two singles.

Jaiden McNulty (4-0) started and worked four innings for the win. He allowed five hits and two earned runs, struck out four and walked five. Gavin Denton pitched the final three innings for the save. He allowed three hits and one run and struck out four.

“Denton did a nice job of attacking their hitters and both he and McNulty pitched better than their stat lines showed,” Berryman said. “I was proud of them for continuing to keep their heads up and execute their pitches. We had to hold on in the end as Eastern battled back, so we did a good job of protecting the lead. We just need to perform better in the middle innings and we’ll be OK.”

Kaleb Hurt had two hits for Eastern (14-5) and Alister Shrock had a triple. Beachy worked six innings and held the Panthers to five hits and one unearned run.

Western was scheduled to host the game, but it was moved to Eastern’s turf field when rain made Western’s field unplayable.

“I appreciate Coach [Erik] Hisner making that happen,” Berryman said.

PERU 6, MANCH. 2

Lucas Musser went 1 for 2 with a home run and three RBI to lead Peru past Manchester in a TRC game.

Isaac Braley pitched 4.1 innings for the win. Jackson Boswell collected the save.

The Tigers improved to 8-5 overall and 2-2 in the TRC.

BOYS GOLF

TIPTON 157, KOKOMO 168, LAF. JEFF 195

Medalist Calvin Condict fired a 1-over 36 and Preston Lancaster backed him with a 37 to lead Tipton to the win in a three-team meet at Kokomo C.C. Ethan Courtney and Pablo Paredes-Lopez shot 42s to round of the Blue Devils’ score.

Ashtyn Goff led Kokomo with 39, Mitch McClelland shot 40, Canaan Horner 44 and Nathan Lay 45.

EASTERN 179, TAYLOR 208

Gabe Gomez led Eastern’s effort, shooting a 43 to win medalist in the match at Chippendale. Sam Torivo was a shot behind at 44, Kailin Cook shot 45 and Cohen Johnson 47 as the Comets bunched their scores only four shots apart.

For Taylor, which had its season-best score, Ben Wyncoop led the way with a 44. Isaiah Stryker shot 50, Dakota Diaz shot a personal-best 53 and Jalyn Wooten shot 61.

TL 160, CASS 175, DELPHI 190

Cole Rush led Cass with a 42 at the Tippecanoe Country Club, followed by Michael Myers with 43, Nolan Hines with 44 and Harrison Clark at 46.

Twin Lakes standout Leo Dellinger was medalist with a 36.

BOYS TRACK

TIPTON 76, TC 59, ELWOOD 13

Augie Miller set a Tri-Central record when he won the 400 dash in :51.31, and also won the 100 in the three-team meet. Tate Strebin won the shot put and discus, and Luis Jimenez-Vasquez won the 800 and ran a leg of the wining 4x800 relay.

GIRLS TRACK

TC 55, TIPTON 34, ELWOOD 34

Three double winners led Tri-Central’s winning effort. Olivia Dempsey won the 100 hurdles (:18.32) and 300 hurdles (:54.1). Jackie Trujillo won the 200 and 400. And Lillian Stewart swept the throws.

GIRLS TENNIS

CASS 4, ROCHESTER 1

The Kings beat the Zebras in a clash of Three Rivers Conference rivals. Guadalupe Gonzalez made quick work of the No. 2 singles match, winning 6-0, 6-0 for the Kings. Eliana Cicalo won the No. 3 singles match 6-3, 6-0. Maryn Zeck and Kennedy McLaughlin won the No. 1 doubles match 6-0, 6-2. And Ruby Villanueva and Mia Hall won the No. 2 doubles match 6-1, 6-3.