The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1111651
The Press-Dispatch Wednesday, May 1, 2019 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 A two-run double by Brennon Benton in the bottom of the fifth broke an 8 -8 tie for good after Tell City jammed six runs across in the top of the fifth. The 11 to 8 Charger advantage was cut by one run in the sixth and two in the seventh, but held after the Chargers broke the 11-all seventh inning tie. Race Brit- ton singled to drive in Joey Church for the 12-11 Charger win. Britton finished the game as the leading hitter, going four for five with three RBIs and two doubles. The Chargers had rallied for four runs in the fourth when Race Brit- ton doubled, scoring two. Braxton Rice's RBI double in the first got the early edge for the Chargers. A dozen hits included the pair of doubles courtesy Britton and one each by Brennon Benton and Braxton Rice. Troy Richard went four and a third innings, allowing six hits, five earned runs, walking two and striking out four. Race Brit- ton stepped in and finished the fifth with two runs on two hits and one strikeout. Joey Church went the fi- nal two innings with two hits, three runs, three walks and three strike- PATOKA VALLEY OUTDOORS By Sam Whiteleather By Andy Heuring Press-Dispatch Sports sports@pressdispatch.net Pike Central's boys' golf team shot a 162 and lost to host Wood Memorial, who shot 160 on Monday night. "I really liked our consis- tency. I don't think Wood has lost a match yet this year and we could have easily beat them," said Charger Coach Jarrod Gideon. Pike Central's Cutter Reed shot his best score of the season with a 38 to lead the Chargers. Noah Onyett and Austin Holder both had 40s, and Haydon Kabrick had a 44 to round out the Char- gers 162. Coach Gideon said it has been a long time said Pike Central has shot a 162 and lost a dual match. He added if a couple of guys shot their normal scores, they would have easily won the match. It is a testament to just how good senior Noah Onyett is, when shooting a 40 is consid- ered a disappointment. Wood Memorial's Car- ter Creeden was the medal- ist for the day as he ripped off a one over 36 for the low round of the day. He was two strokes better than any Char- ger, which was Wood's win- ning margin. Paxton Schwomeyer had a 40, while Justin Stricklin shot a 44 and Travis Bottoms had a 45. The difference in the "Daddy, where are we go- ing" my youngest daughter asks. "Just follow me and try to stay in the beam of the flash light" I respond. As we walk, a high-pitched chorus of "peeping" nois- es grows louder and loud- er. We pause at the edge of a shallow wetland. Large trees crowd around the edges like dark pillars holding up the night sky. "Keep your voices low and try not to move much," I say. "What are we doing…" "shh," I quickly respond to the question from my son, Eli. Both kids crouch down beside me as I troll my flashlight slowly across the water surface. Our breath steams lightly in the night air. "There, you see that, that's one." We watch as a small creature, about as round as a quarter, floats to the surface. With rap- id kicks of its tiny legs, it swims towards us. "Take the flashlight and shine the beam right into its eyes," I tell Eli. Eli makes its eyes shine green and I get poised for my grab. I position my body and extend my hand. Ever so slowly I reach toward the critter. I call this my "blue heron" pose, as it reminds me of the way a blue her- on moves its neck down to- wards the water just before striking for a fish. Esther stares on with wide eyes. And then I strike. I plunge my hand into the water with a splash, eyes focused on my target. "Did you get it Daddy? " Esther asks. Eli shines the light in- to my closed hand as I slow- ly open my wet fingers. In the white light of the flash- light, a small frog lies still, its legs tucked tightly against its body. "You see that x on its back," I ask the kids, "that means this is a spring peeper, and he is the one that has been making all that loud peeping noise." Spring peepers are found commonly in southern In- diana. Males begin calling to attract mates on warm nights in February and March. They produce a sin- gle "peep" note that is re- peated roughly every sec- ond. Their peep is a sharp and loud note, and the noise from a group of peepers calling is almost ear deaf- ening. We look at the spring peeper some more before I place him back in the wa- ter and Eli follows him with the flash light as he swims away. As we walk away, the peepers start calling again. Above us, the sky is aglow with thousands of stars. "Look at those stars in a line," I say to the kids as I point out Orion's belt. Back at the house, Rena and I put the kids to bed. When all is quiet in the house, I notice a window that has been left open. The cool spring air drifts through it, rustling a faded curtain and bringing the sound of peeping in the darkness. Asked about playing for Oakland City University, Hailey Marchino said, "My impression about Oak- land City University is that it seems like a good environment, everyone was really nice, and I'm excited to start school there in the fall. I'm es- pecially ecstatic for this coming sea- son. I played in a basketball game up in Indy, and that was supposed to be my last time playing ever. A fter that game, I just really decided that I didn't want to be done playing. So I decided to play at OCU." Marchino was All-Pocket Athlet- ic Conference honorable mention and was one of the Lady Chargers' leading scorers all year. Marchino is intending to study human biolo- gy at OCU. Pike Central Lady Charger Varsi- ty head coach Kyle McCutchan com- mented, "Hailey had a good year for us and was one of our top shooters. She was usually the last kid to leave practice and the hard work has paid off. I am proud of her and look for- ward to seeing her play in the fu- ture." At the beginning of the 2018 -19 season, McCutchan said, "Like Bec- ca (Crow), she's got experience and she can shoot. Hailey's a strong kid. We're going to rebound and hit open shots for us and bang for us wheth- er we're in man-to-man or playing zone. We need her to utilize her size and strength. She's as good a shot as we have got from all over the floor. As long as he stays confident, she's a good player. We're going to be counting on her this year." Charger golf falls to Wood Memorial Spring Nights DIAMOND MEN SAVE TELL CITY WIN IN THE SEVENTH INNING Noah Onyett pitched onto the green after over shooting the hole at Oakland City. On- yett shot a 40 in the 160-162 loss to Wood Memorial. Cutter Reed carded a 38 for low man, while Austin Holder was at 40 and Hayden Kabrick 44. James Capozella photo See FALL on 2 See SAVE on 2 See UNDEFEATED on 2 WE ARE PROFFESIONAL GRADE uebelhorgm.com 1-800-937-8721 Jasper, IN By Ed Cahill Press-Dispatch Sports Editor sports@pressdispatch.net The Pike Central High School girls' tennis team re- mained undefeated in Pock- et Athletic Conference play with a 4-1 victory over host Heritage Hills on Tuesday, April 23. With the win, the La- dy Chargers improved to 8 -2 overall, including 5 -0 against PAC foes. The five PAC victories are the most in a single season by Pike Central since 2014, when the Lady Chargers were 12-5 overall, while plac- ing third in the PAC with a 5 - 3 conference record. "When I took over a cou- ple of years ago, I was quite naive as to how good the quality of play was around the area," said Pike Central head coach Brent Beck, who succeeded Lisa Hohler prior to the start of the 2017 sea- son, during which the La- dy Chargers went 1-16 over- all and 0 -8 in the PAC, fin- Girls' Tennis Undefeated in PAC Marchino to play ball for Oakland City University Hailey Marchino has signed her letter of intent to play basketball for Oakland City University. Pictured are, (l to r): Pike Central coach Kyle McCutchan, Lori Marchino, Hailey Marchino, Tim Marchino and Pike Central Athletic Director Dustin Powell. James Capozella photo Charger third baseman Joey Church goes down on one knee to catch a hot grounder. Pike Central beat Tell City 12-11 in a barn burner Monday night. Barrett signs to play soccer at OCU Kelsey Barrett formally signed to play soccer at Oakland City University last Friday. Barrett, a senior standout for the Chargers, will play for Katie Harrison's squad. She plans to major in biolo- gy while studying at OCU. "Alot of my family have gone there," said Barrett. She said she felt com- fortable with OCU and liked being able to stay in the area. She is the daughter of Jackie and Ann Barrett. Above are, front row (l to r): Jackie Barrett, Kelsey Barrett, Ann Barrett and Matthew Barrett; back row: Pike Central Coach Chad Western, Assistant Coach Eric McCord and Athletic Director Dustin Powell.