The Press-Dispatch
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The Press-Dispatch Wednesday, November 16, 2016 B-1 SPORTS Submit sports items: Call: 812-354-8500 Email: sports@pressdispatch.net or bring in a hard copy: 820 E. Poplar Street, Petersburg By Ed Cahill Press-Dispatch Sports Editor sports@pressdispatch.net Pike Central High School senior catcher Madi- son Scott signed a national letter of intent to play softball at Wabash Valley College during a cere- mony held in the school's gymnasium on Tues- day, Nov. 15. Scott, the 17-year-old daughter of Josh and Ni- cole Scott of Petersburg, batted .356 during her junior season, collecting 31 hits – including one double, one triple and one home run – in 87 at- bats while scoring 22 runs and driving in 13. Scott also drew four walks, struck out three times, and was successful on six of seven steal attempts while receiving All-Pocket Athletic Con- ference honorable mention. "I'm very excited," Scott said. "I think it's a good choice. It seems like a really good pro- gram." Wabash Valley College's softball team went 47- 11 in 2016 and is coached by Paul Schnarre, who is 1,257-293 in 33 seasons as the Warriors' head coach, ranking him first among all National Ju- nior College Athletic Association coaches in ca- reer victories. During Schnarre's tenure, Wabash Valley Col- lege has won 20 Great Rivers Athletic Conference championships, 11 NJCA A Region X XIV champi- onships and have made 10 NJCA A National Tour- nament appearances, including a seventh-place finish in 2015. Schnarre, who was inducted into the NJCA A Softball Hall of Fame in 2007, has coached 31 NJCA A All-Americans, while 49 players have achieved NJCA A Academic All-American sta- tus since 2000 – including eight in 2016. Scott said she had also considered offers from Olney (Ill.) Central College and Marian (Ind.) University before choosing Wabash Valley Col- lege. A four-time PAC All-Conference selection in girls' soccer, Scott – who will pursue an associ- ate's degree in elementary education – said that she has no plans to continue playing soccer in college. "I talked to Anderson (University) for a little bit," said Scott, who scored 74 goals and dished out 12 assists during his high school soccer ca- reer. "But I like softball a lot better." Schnarre, who attended Tuesday's signing cer- emony along with Scott's parents and her trav- el team coach, Ron Miller, said that he was im- pressed with her versatility. "I know primarily she does a lot of catching, but we've also seen her play at shortstop and in the outfield," Schnarre said. "We play doublehead- ers, occasionally we play three games in a day, so it's kind of important that if you're a catcher, you're versatile so you can play one game in one position – like catcher – and then move to anoth- er position for the second game. Otherwise, you kind of get beat up. We've got a 62-game regu- lar-season schedule in the spring scheduled right now, so you've got to be able to not just catch all those games back-to-back." "She's got speed, she's got a good arm, she's a good contact hitter, so her versatility is the main thing that attracted us," Schnarre added. "That allows us a lot of flexibility in what we need to do during the games." Schnarre said that he and his coaching staff SCOTT SIGNS NATIONAL LETTER OF INTENT WITH WABASH VALLEY COLLEGE By Ed Cahill Press-Dispatch Sports Editor sports@pressdispatch.net A fter opening the season with back-to-back losses to Fort Branch and Boonville, Pike Central Middle School eighth grade girls' basket- ball coach Eric Knight wrote down three words on his dry erase board before the La- dy Chargers hosted North Posey on Thursday, Nov. 10. Confidence. Heart. Hustle. Knight's players then went out and put those words into action, jumping out to an early 4-0 lead and never looking back while posting a 33-17 victory over the Lady Vikings. "During tonight's game, they were a totally different group of girls," Knight said. "They came out with confi- dence, and played with heart and hustle." "We attacked the basket better," Knight added. "We went after rebounds hard. And we were diving for loose balls. The girls never slowed down and never quit playing hard. This was a fun game See PCMS 8 on page 3 Lady Chargers open season with 51-44 win over Boonville PCMS 8th grade Lady Chargers roll past North Posey, 33-17 See SCOT T on page 2 Pike Central High School senior catcher Madison Scott (center) gets ready to sign a national letter of intent to play softball at Wabash Valley College during a ceremony held on Tuesday, Nov. 15. Pictured with Scott are, from left to right, Ron Miller, Scott's trav- el team coach; Wabash Valley College head coach Paul Schnarre; Scott's mother, Nicole; and Scott's father, Josh. Ed Cahill photo Pike Central High School ju- nior forward Erika Hendrixson (23) drives toward the basket during varsity girls' basketball action against visiting Boon- ville on Wednesday, Nov. 9. Er- ickson scored 10 points in the Lady Chargers' 51-44 season- opening victory. Ed Cahill photo Pike Central Mid- dle School eighth grad- er Lily Willis (1) fires up a shot during girls' basketball action on Thursday, Nov. 10. Wil- lis scored two points in the Lady Chargers' 33- 17 victory over the vis- iting Lady Vikings. Ed Cahill photo By Ed Cahill Press-Dispatch Sports Editor sports@pressdispatch.net A fter watching his team hit 11 of 23 field goal attempts – including five of eight tries from beyond the three-point arc – while taking a 32-17 halftime lead over visiting Boonville on Wednesday, Nov. 9, Pike Central High School girls' basketball coach Shawn Warner issued a word of caution to the Lady Chargers. "I told the girls at halftime there was no way we were going to be able to stay as high as we were emotionally that entire first half," Warner said. "Most- ly, during the first half, I thought the girls were just as high as they could be the entire time." "It's tough to play like that for 32 min- utes, and I told them that," Warner con- tinued. "I said, 'The second half's go- ing to come down to us bearing down, getting defensive stops, and moving the basketball.'" Although Boonville would rally to within four points with three minutes left in the game, the Lady Pioneers could get no closer as Pike Central hit five of six free throws in the final 53 seconds to hold on for a 51-44 season- opening victory. "We got a little flustered the second half," said Warner, whose Lady Char- gers turned the ball over 12 times in the final two quarters after committing just six turnovers during the first half. "But See CHARGERS on page 2 Dr. Kenneth R. Troutman, DDS, FAGD Doctor of Dental Surgery Where Experience, Quality and Personal Attention Create Exceptional Smiles! Let Our Team Serve Your Dental Needs ... • Modern, State-of-the-Art Technology • Highly Trained, Experienced Staff • Dental Implant Surgery & Restoration • CEREC Single Appointment Crowns • Low-Radiation Digital Radiographs • Laser Dentistry • Offering All Cosmetic and General Dentistry Services 202 E. 17th Street, Huntingburg, IN (812) 683-2006 Visit Our Website www.troutmanfamilydentistry.com