The Press-Dispatch
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B-2 Sports Wednesday, April 13, 2016 The Press-Dispatch could get, he made." Evansville Bosse took a 1- 0 lead in the second inning when sophomore pitcher Jus- tin Wilson reached on an er- ror by Britton, advanced to second on a grounder to White by freshman third baseman Ryan Langford and – two outs later – scored on a throwing error by Benton. However, Pike Central quickly tied the score at 1- 1 as Pike Central junior cen- terfielder Colton O'Neal led off the top of the third inning with a single, stole second and – after advancing to third on a single by White – scored on an error by Bulldogs junior catcher Dakota Devine. A fter junior catcher Chase Davis was hit by a pitch, Ben- ton singled to centerfield to drive in White – giving the Chargers a 2-1 lead – as Da- vis advanced to third base. The next batter, junior first baseman Kane Osgatharp, was retired on a grounder to Evansville Bosse sophomore shortstop Zach Curtis as Da- vis scored to extend Pike Cen- tral's lead to 3-1. However, when Benton – who had stolen second base – attempted to score, he was thrown out at the plate. "I was standing there with my arm up for 'stop' and he just ran right through me," McDonald said. "He's a fresh- man. He hit the ball well. He was on base. But you can't make those kind of base run- ning mistakes." Evansville Bosse rallied in the bottom of the third, scor- ing three runs – only one of which was earned – to take a 4-3 lead. Two innings lat- er, Pike Central knotted the score at 4-4 when White, who had led off with a sin- gle, scored on a bases-loaded ground-out by junior right- fielder Jacob Marchino. A fter retiring the side in order in the fourth inning, White surrendered back- to-back one-out hits to Cur- tis and Wilson in the fifth in- ning, putting runners at first and second. However, Langford hit a grounder to Britton, who stepped on first for the force out on Wilson and threw to first to retire Langford for an inning-ending double play. White then made the defen- sive play of the game, making a diving, tumbling catch on a foul pop-up by Devine in front of the Evansville Bosse dug- out to start the sixth inning. "I saw that it was up there and I kind of took off on a jog," White said. "I thought may- be (senior third baseman Ca- leb) Miller would get to it, and then I saw that he was a little slow, so I just took off. I called for it and just dove and made the catch." White said that while his knee hit the ground hard during his tumble, he wasn't shook up after making the play. "Adrenaline was going a lit- tle bit," White said. "It might hurt later." Pike Central loaded the bases with one out in the sev- enth inning but were unable to score as Wilson struck out senior left fielder Sam Stone and senior Alex Tredway – who was pinch-hitting for Britton – to end the inning. Nearing a pitch limit set by McDonald, White went back out to the mound in the sev- enth inning and struck out the first two batters he faced before walking junior center- fielder Nigel Buchanan. "He set a pitch count about 80 or so, and I said, 'All right, that's good.' But if I was feel- ing good when I got there, I would just keep going. And that's what happened." "We had him at 73, but whenever I set limits on my guys, I give them the option, if they get close to it, to tell me how they feel," McDon- ald said. "So if they feel like throwing, that's it. He gets in any trouble, he's out of the game. I won't let him go much more than one runner on base." However, White was able to get Curtis to hit a grounder to Miller, who threw Curtis out at first base to send the game into extra innings. Langford, pitching in relief for Wilson, retired O'Neal for the first out of the eighth in- ning before giving up a dou- ble to White. "I thought it was hit a lot farther than it actually went, over the left fielder's head," McDonald said. "I think he thought it might have been out of here. He didn't go af- ter it and it ended up short of the fence." Davis followed with a sin- gle, scoring White to give Pike Central a 5 -4 lead. Davis, who took second base on the throw home, ad- vanced to third on a wild pitch. Then, after Benton drew a walk, Osgatharp laid down a suicide squeeze bunt, scoring Davis while Benton took second base. Benton then came home on a single by Marchino, giv- ing the Chargers a 7-4 lead. Marchino, who advanced to second on the throw home, scored on a single by Miller to cap the four-run inning. Davis, pitching the eighth inning for Pike Central, gave up a hit to Wilson, who ad- vanced to second on an error by Stone. A fter Langford was retired on a fly ball to Marchino and Devine struck out, senior right fielder Raymond Gar- nett singled to center field, putting runners on the cor- ners. Then, with freshman Bren- nen Tompkins at the plate, Wilson attempted to score on a wild pitch but was thrown out to end the game. For the Chargers, O'Neal went 3-for-5 at the plate, scored one run and stole one base, while Benton went 3-for-4 with one walk, scored on run and drove in one. Marchino had one hit in four at-bats with one walk, scored one run, drove in two and stole two bases. Princeton 12, Pike Central 1 Princeton sent 12 batters to the plate during a seven-run first inning as the Tigers run- ruled Pike Central 12-1 in the championship game. O'Neal started on the mound for the Chargers and faced four batters, giving up two hits and back-to-back walks – the second one forc- ing in a run with the bases loaded – before giving way to Marchino. Marchino fared little bet- ter, facing four batters, giv- ing up two hits – including a three-run home run by senior shortstop Nathan Watkins – while walking one. The Tigers would add two more runs in the second in- ning, including one on a dou- ble by Watkins, to take a 9 -0 lead. Pike Central plated its only run in the third inning, when White singled with two outs and scored on a double by Da- vis. White went 2-for-3 and scored one run to pace the Chargers. Davis and Tredway both had doubles as Pike Cen- tral was held to just four hits. "They hit it and we didn't field it badly," said McDon- ald, whose team committed just two errors, including a dropped foul pop-up just be- fore Watkins' three-run blast. "We're going to get run-ruled some because I'm trying to find a third and fourth pitch- er. I have a one and a two, and when they're not available, I need to find that third and fourth." Pike Central, which played at North Daviess on Tuesday, April 12, will host Jasper on Wednesday, April 13, at 5:30 p.m. The Chargers will then host Shoals on Monday, April 18, at 5 p.m., when the two teams will continue a game that was halted because of rain on Thursday, April 7, with Pike Central leading 10 - 0 with two outs in the top of the fourth inning. WHITE Continued from page 1 SPORTS SCHEDULE WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13 High School Baseball: Jasper at Pike Central, 5:30 p.m. High School Girls' Tennis: North Posey at Pike Central, 5:30 p.m. Middle School Softball: Pike Central at Washing- ton, 6 p.m. THURSDAY, APRIL 14 High School Softball: Pike Central at Castle, Ju- nior Varsity, 6 p.m.; Varsity, 8 p.m. High School Girls' and Boys' Track and Field: Pike Central in Dubois-Pike Invitational at Jasper, 4:30 p.m. High School Girls' Tennis: Vincennes Lincoln at Pike Central, 5 p.m. Middle School Girls' and Boys' Track and Field: Southridge at Pike Central, 5 p.m. Middle School Girls' Tennis: Pike Central at Southridge, 5:30 p.m. FRIDAY, APRIL 15 High School Softball: North Knox at Pike Cen- tral, 5 p.m. MONDAY, APRIL 18 High School Baseball: Shoals at Pike Central, 5 p.m. High School Softball: Pike Central at Heritage Hills, Varsity, 6 p.m.; Junior Varsity, 7:30 p.m. High School Girls' Tennis: Pike Central at For- est Park, 5 p.m. High School Girls' and Boys' Track and Field: South Spencer and Wood Memorial at Pike Central, 6:30 p.m. High School Junior Varsity Baseball: Pike Cen- tral at Heritage Hills, 6 p.m. Middle School Softball: Pike Central at Forest Park, 6 p.m. Middle School Girls' Tennis: Vincennes Clark at Pike Central, 4:30 p.m. TUESDAY, APRIL 19 High School Baseball: Pike Central at Heritage Hills, 6 p.m. High School Softball: Pike Central at Princeton, Junior Varsity, 6 p.m.; Varsity, 7:30 p.m. High School Boys' Golf: Southridge at Pike Cen- tral, 4:30 p.m. High School Boys' Track and Field: Pike Cen- tral in Freshman/Sophomore Meet at Northeast Du- bois, 6 p.m. Middle School Girls' and Boys' Track and Field: South Knox and Gibson Southern at Pike Central, 6 p.m. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20 High School Girls' Tennis: Pike Central at South- ridge, 4:30 p.m. Middle School Softball: South Knox at Pike Cen- tral, 6 p.m. Middle School Girls' Tennis: Pike Central at Washington, 5 p.m. THURSDAY, APRIL 21 High School Baseball: Pike Central at South Knox, Varsity, 5:30 p.m.; Junior Varsity, 7 p.m. High School Softball: Pike Central at Wood Me- morial, Varsity, 6 p.m.; Junior Varsity, 7:30 p.m. High School Girls' Tennis: North Knox at Pike Central, 4:30 p.m. High School Boys' Golf: North Knox at Pike Cen- tral, 4:30 p.m. High School Boys' Track and Field: Pike Cen- tral in Southridge Invitational, 6 p.m. High School Girls' Track and Field: Pike Cen- tral in Pike Central Invitational, 6 p.m. SATURDAY, APRIL 23 High School Baseball: Pike Central at Tell City, 11 a.m. High School Girls' Tennis: Pike Central in Loo- gootee Invitational, 9 a.m. Middle School Girls' and Boys' Track and Field: Pike Central at Princeton, 10 a.m. Otwell alumni basketball game set for April 23 A series of basketball games featuring Otwell alumni will be held on Sat- urday, April 23, starting at 7 p.m., at the Otwell Com- munity Center. The event, which is be- ing staged by Friends of Otwell Elementary, will feature three short games consisting of a Rookie Di- vision (14-19 years old), a Graduate Division (20 -50 years old) and a Senior Division (51 years old and up). Approximately 50 for- mer players are expect- ed to participate. Sever- al members of Otwell's 1969 sectional champion- ship team will be present, including Rick Weisman, Jim Demott, Mike Vaughn, Tim Garland, Neil Pauw and Steve Barrett. Admission will be $5. Children ages 10 and un- der will be admitted free of charge. In addition, the Jeffer- son Township Ruritan Club will be holding a chicken dinner at the Ot- well Community Center, starting at 5 p.m. Pike Central High School freshman Race Brit- ton lays down a bunt during game action against Evansville Bosse in the Wood Bats Invitational hosted by Princeton at Gil Hodges Field on Satur- day, April 9. The Chargers defeated the Bulldogs 8-4 in eight innings to advance to the champion- ship game. Ed Cahill photo Pike Central High School freshman Brennon Benton takes a swing at a pitch during game ac- tion against Evansville Bosse in the Wood Bats Invitational hosted by Princeton at Gil Hodges Field on Saturday, April 9. Benton went 3-for-4, walked once, scored one run and drove in one run in the Chargers' 8-4 victory in eight innings. Ed Cahill photo Pike Central High School freshman Race Britton (left) prepares to tag out Evansville Bosse's Brennen Tompkins (3) on a steal attempt during the Wood Bats Invitational hosted by Princeton at Gil Hodges Field on Saturday, April 9. The Chargers defeated the Bulldogs 8-4 in eight innings to advance to the championship game. Ed Cahill photo Pike Central High School senior Caleb Mill- er tries to catch a foul pop-up during champion- ship game action against Princeton in the Wood Bats Invitational hosted by Princeton at Gil Hodg- es Field on Saturday, April 9. The Tigers defeated the Chargers 12-1. Ed Cahill photo Pike Central High School junior Jacob Marchi- no makes a catch while playing right field during championship game action against Princeton in the Wood Bats Invitational hosted by Princeton at Gil Hodges Field on Saturday, April 9. The Tigers defeated the Chargers 12-1. Ed Cahill photo Pike Central High School freshman Troy Rickard pre- pares to make a catch while playing right field during cham- pionship game ac- tion against Prince- ton in the Wood Bats Invitational hosted by Princeton at Gil Hodges Field on Sat- urday, April 9. The Tigers defeated the Chargers 12-1. Ed Ca- hill photo