The Press-Dispatch
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The Press-Dispatch Wednesday, June 17, 2020 A-7 SPORTS Submit sports items: Call: 812-354-8500 Email: sports@pressdispatch.net or bring in a hard copy: 820 E. Poplar Street, Petersburg SPORTS BRIEFS Lions 7th annual Run for Sight The Petersburg Lions sev- enth annual "Run for Sight" is set for 9 a.m. Saturday, June 20 at Hornady Park. Race head- quarters will be in front of the Peter Brenton Cabin. The run/walk is a Hokem Karem, where partners take turns running or walking a mile un- til the team of two has com- pleted six miles. It is an excit- ing and easily watched race/ walk, which is equally fun for the runners and the fans. Age groups are females un- der 30, males under 30, male/ female under 30, females 31- 60, males 31-60. male/female 31-60 and females 61-90, males 61-90 and male/female 61-90. The entry fees will not only support the race, but will also help the Petersburg Lions pro- vide eye screening for all Pike County children through the elementary schools, provide exams and eye care for chil- dren and adults who cannot afford it, collect and recycle eye glasses for worldwide dis- tribution and reuse for those in need, and support the Indiana Eye Bank. Entrants are encour- aged to bring used glasses. 1990 Charger softball state runners-up Tactical training available to the public was brought to Petersburg this past weekend by Fred Mastison, owner of Force Options out of Arizona. The training is available about once a year from Mastison, with assistance from Pe- tersburg's Jim Corn and Pike County Sher- iff Deputy Mike Willis, of Cato. The two-day training consists of practical pistol on day one and carbine on day two. Vehicles, as well as barriers, are involved in the training. Cen- ter fire pistols are the main stay on the first day and M-4, AR style rifles are much of day two. Myers Towing, LLC has supplied the ve- hicles utilized in the training, according to Willis. About 20 local and out-of-state shoot- ers attended the training, which involves fir- ing about 300 rounds per day. Mastison, on the left, trains military and police around the world, and also writes for several fire- arms magazines. He authored seven articles for the "Glock Annual" publication recently. Jim Corn is also an international trainer in firearms and marshal arts, spending much of the year as a trainer throughout Europe. James Capozella photos TIPTON'S 7-RUN INNING STOPS GIRLS' WIN STREAK June 14, 1990 – Jumping out to take a 3-0 lead over Tipton af- ter one and one-half innings, the Pike Central Chargers looked like they had things under control in the championship game of the state softball tournament Satur- day night. But something happened that is uncharacteristic of the Charger softball team. Errors were commit- ted and, along with hits by Tipton, the Chargers found themselves on the short end of the score and were unable to overcome the deficit. Two errors combined with five Tipton hits led to seven runs be- ing scored in the second inning, the most the Chargers had allowed this season. "That one inning did it," said Charger coach Dwayne Austin. "We weren't ready for this, we wanted one more win. You may only get a chance like this once, you have to take advantage of it," he added. The Chargers finished the sea- son with a 22-1 record, and was the first Pike Central team to advance to a state tourney. Pike Central fans who filled the bleachers and spilled out around the fence were proud of the team's effort. Many stayed on their feet cheering the girls as they attempt- ed a comeback in the seventh in- ning, only to fall short. Trailing 10 -5 entering the final inning, the Chargers put togeth- er a walk, a Tipton error, a double by catcher Rachelle Johns which scored one run and a single by first baseman Tara McAllister scoring two more to cut the deficit to two runs. But with two outs and runners on first and third Jessica Schmitt grounded out to the first baseman to end the game. Austin praised the team saying "We didn't quit. We could have folded, but these kids didn't. I'm proud of them." Shea Smith opened the cham- pionship game by drawing a walk from Tipton pitcher Leslee Hoover. Smith took second on a sacrifice bunt by Stacey Ferguson. A sec- ond walk was issued to Johns and Boyd doubled, scoring the first two runs. A third run was added in the sec- ond inning when Schmitt hit a one- out single which was followed by an RBI double by Michele Martin. Attempting to close the gap in the fourth inning McAllister led off with a single, took second on a passed ball and scored on Mar- tin's second double of the game. Martin then came in home on a single by Smith, making the score, 8 -5. But the Tipton Blue Devils add- ed single runs in the third, fourth and sixth innings to preserve the win. Ferguson gave up 12 hits, but on- ly six of Tipton's runs were earned. Boyd and Martin each had two hits and two RBIs to lead the Char- gers. Pike Central ended the season 22-1 while Tipton closed out at 23- 1. It was also Tipton's first appear- ance in the state finals. The Charger fans continued to cheer for the team as state run- ner-up medals were presented to players, student managers and coaches. Another cheer went up when the runner-up trophy was presented to the team. A fter the championship trophy was presented to Tipton, the Pike Central crowd erupted again when Stacey Ferguson was named win- ner of the mental attitude award. Both teams contributed to re- cords for state finals competi- tion. Amy Potter's six RBI's tied a state record and her three dou- bles broke at state finals records. Tipton set a state record by scor- ing 17 runs against East Central in the semifinals. The finals drew a record crowd of 2,500, breaking the 1987 atten- dance mark of 1,632. CHARGERS DOWN EASTBROOK FOR TITLE GAME BERTH June 14, 1990 – The Pike Central Lady Chargers jumped on Eastbrook pitcher Melodie Rin- genberg for two runs in the first in- ning and never looked back, win- ning the first semi-final game of the state tourney, 8 -2. The Saturday game was delayed from 11 a.m. until 12:30 p.m., due to Friday night rains that stopped quarter-final action between East- brook and Ben Davis as well as that of Tipton and Griffith. The Chargers took advantage of early control problems of East- brook's pitcher. Shea Smith drew a walk to open the game and was sacrificed to second by Stacey Ferguson. Ra- chelle Johns also walked, putting runners at first and second. Fol- lowing a pop up to third base by Jenny Boyd, Amy Potter's double drove in the two runs. The Chargers were unable to score in the second inning de- spite a double by Michele Martin, but came back with three runs in the third. Back-to-back walks to Johns and Boyd led to a pitching change by Eastbrook. Niki Caudill came in to relieve Ringenberg with two on and no outs. She gave up a double to Potter, her second of the tour- ney. Tara McAllister singled in two runs. She the took second on a passed ball, but Potter was caught in a run-down between third and home. Amber Shoultz walked and went to second as Jessica Schmitt grounded out to the second base- man. A single by Martin scored McAl- lister for the third run of the in- ning. The Chargers added anoth- er run in the fourth when Fergu- son singled and took second on a passed ball. Johns flied out to deep center, but Boyd and Potter walked to load the bases. Eastbrook then brought in Aamie Leffler, the winning pitch- er in the game with Ben Davis. She got McAllister to fly out to left field, but Amber Shoultz walked to score Ferguson. Then Schmitt grounded out to second base to end the Charger half of the inning leaving the bases loaded. The Chargers went down in or- der in the fifth, but came back with two runs in the sixth. Boyd opened the inning with her third walk of the day and went to second on Potter's single. Both runners advanced on a passed ball. Boyd scored on McCallister's sin- gle and Potter scored on a passed ball. McCallister tried to score on an Eastbrook error but was thrown out of the plate. Lead-off batter, Amy Duncan scored both runs for the Eastbrook Panthers. A single in the first inning, along with a stolen base put her in scor- ing position. She came home on a single by Chris Dicken. Duncan was safe on an er- ror to open the fifth inning and scored following a sacrifice bunt, a ground-out and a single, again by Dicken. The Panthers threatened in the bottom of the seventh inning when the lead-off batter Susan Briles singled, but Martin was able to get her at second on a fielder's choice by Duncan. However the throw to first was wide and Duncan ad- vanced to second base. But Ferguson got the next two batters to ground out and pop up to third base to preserve the win and advance to the championship game. The Chargers' eight runs came on nine hits and they stranded nine baserunners. Eastbrook bowed out a 21-4 af- ter thumping Ben Davis, 12-2, in a game suspended by rain Friday night and completed Saturday pri- or to the semi-final match. Stacey Ferguson was named the winner of the mental at- titude award following the championship game of the state softball tourney. Making the presentation was Lanny Park- er, of Wapahani, a member of ISHA A Executive Committee. With Ferguson are her parents, Richard and Carol Ferguson, of Petersburg. It soon became a family affair as her sister, Heather, and grandparents, Orace (Red) and Bea Ferguson, of Oakland City, and Kitty and Charlie Bend, of Fort Branch, gathered together for a family picture. Members of the Pike Central High School softball team gather around the runner-up trophy following the championship game. Kneeling with the trophy are senior players Kristy Knight, Amy Potter and Stacey Ferguson, along with managers Sondra Miley and Charity Bartley. Standing are Coach Dwayne Austin, Jenny Boyd, Michele Martin, Tara McAllister, Jamie Wil- hite, Roci Willis, Rachelle Johns, Lou Ann Brown, Jessica Schmitt, Lee Ann Coplen, Amber Shoultz, Melanie Stidd, Coach Rick Weisman, Principal Dan Schroeder and athletic director Gary Lemond. Hidden in the back are Shea Smith, Twyla Weisman and Randi Pauw. By James Capozella Press-Dispatch Sports sports@pressdispatch.net It was the week after the devastating 1990 tornado that a group of very special la- dies from Pike Central, led by Dwayne Austin and Rick Weis- man, got to the very brink of perfection with a runner-up fin- ish in the one class IHSA A soft- ball championship. The Lady Chargers finished their season at 22-1, after fall- ing to Tipton 10 -8 in the finals. Jenny (Boyd) Knepp scored a two-RBI double to pull the Char- gers to within two runs, but it fell short by 10 -8 at the close of the ninth. The girls had edged Elkhart Central 6 -5 in the first game and then notched East- brook 8 -2 in the semi-finals. Stacey Ferguson was present- ed the Indiana High School Ath- letic Association Mental Atti- tude Award following the team's 22-1 post season finish. Jenny (Boyd) Knepp, pro- prietor at Lakewood Home As- sisted Living, commented, "I smiled as I recall that hope we all had at that point (the two- RBI double), the excitement in the air and anticipation, but it's not the highlight of that game. What I remember most is my teammates and how close we were, and how we all had a com- mon goal. I remember the fans, our families, the coaches and all the hard work everyone put forth for our team." Jenny added, "Those days were the best times I had. We had a special team and spe- cial coaches, and we were all so close. We had a drive to win that I just cannot explain. I wouldn't say we were the most talented group that ever played, but I can say there are very few teams that had as much heart and love for the game as we did. 1990 was a tough year for our town and our ball team was sort of a ray of light I felt." FORCE OPTIONS BACK IN PETERSBURG