The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1364176
B-2 Wednesday, April 21, 2021 The Press-Dispatch INVITE Continued from page 1 Chargers fall short at Princeton despite Sorgius' efforts By Mike Sandifar Pike Central sophomore Kendric Sorgius gave up just one earned run and went the distance on the mound last Tuesday, but the hard-luck hurler came out on the short end of a 4-3 Pocket Athlet- ic Conference (PAC) base- ball encounter with the host Princeton Tigers. Pike Central's Isaac Bur- dette led off the game with a single and advanced to sec- ond on a sacrifice bunt by Peyton Howald, giving the Chargers a man in scoring position, with just one out. Sorgius was the next batter for the visitors, and he made the best of his at bat, working the Tiger pitcher for several pitches, and Burdette went to third base on one of those pitches. Sorgius then hit a fly ball to right field and Burdette scored on the sacrifice fly to give the Chargers an early 1-0 lead; however, the hosts came right back with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the first frame to give the even- tual winners a narrow 2-1 ad- vantage. Neither team could score in the second inning, and in the top of the third inning, the visitors came up with an- other run to knot the score at 2-2, when with two outs in the Charger half of the in- ning, Burdette again singled and took second on an error by the Tiger shortstop, once again giving the visitors a runner in scoring position. Howald again came to the plate with Burdette on base, and he stroked a single to left field, sending Burdette home on the base knock to knot the score at 2-2. Sorgius was the next hit- ter for PCHS, and though he hit the ball with authority, he lined out to the left fielder to end the inning, with the score 2-2. Princeton could not score in the bottom of the third, and the two league oppo- nents went into the fourth in- ning tied a 2-2. The Chargers could not push a run across in their half of the fourth inning, but they did continue to put the baseball in play, as Jagar Dent lined a one-out double to left field, but Harley May ground- ed out for the second out of the inning, then Alex Clark popped up to second to end the inning. The Tigers scored two runs in their half of the fourth to take a 4-2 lead into the fifth inning. Once again, both teams tightened up on the defen- sive side of the baseball in the fifth, keeping the score at 4-2 heading into the sixth inning. Pike Central touched Princeton for a run in the top of the sixth, when Dent reached first base on an er- ror, and then May singled to left, sending Dent to second with no outs. The next hitter, Nolan Rice put down a perfect sacrifice bunt to advance Dent to third base and May to second base, putting runners at second and third, with one out. That brought Alex Clark, one of just two lettermen on the PCHS squad, to the plate, and he immediately hit a shot toward the Tiger third base- man, who fielded the ball and threw to first for the second out; however, on the hard-hit ball, Dent scampered home, while May raced to third, nar- rowing the gap to just 4-3. Another hard-hit ball to- ward third ended the top half of the sixth inning, when the Princeton third sacker fielded the ball and threw to first for the third Charger out. Sorgius "shut the door" on the hosts in the bottom of the sixth inning, leaving the score at 4-3, as the visitors came to bat in the top of the seventh inning. The Chargers could not mount another offensive at- tack in their half of the sev- enth inning, and the game ended by the final 4-3 margin. Sorgius allowed just seven hits and struck out eight Ti- gers over his seven innings of work on the mound. He walked just one. Pike Central outhit Princ- eton 8 -7, and the Tigers were charged with four errors, while the Chargers commit- ted just two mistakes in the field. Burdette, Howald and Dent all banged out two hits on the day, while Sorgius and May each had a base knock for Pike Central. "We played really well against a very good team," said Pike Central Coach Ja- cob Western after the game, "We had them on the ropes the entire game, but we could just not get over the hump. "Sorgius did a great job on the mound for us. "He went the distance for us and only gave up one earned run. "We are getting better, and remember, we do not have a senior on the team, and in all fairness to this team, we real- ly do not have any juniors— We did not play last year, so we are really playing with sophomores and freshmen. "We have not quit, and I am proud of our team." The loss left Pike Central with an 0 -5 mark on the year, including 0 -2 in the confer- ence, while the win gave Princeton a 4-6 overall re- cord, including 2-2 in the PAC. and played at least nine more holes that afternoon. "I went out and talked to them and told them that is what it is going to take if they want to be good. I'm just really proud of them," said Gideon. He said most of them are freshmen and hadn't picked up a golf club until the last year or two and had only played with their friends. "Playing varsity golf is a lot different than just playing with your friends." He added most of them, until this season, had never played any course other than Prides Creek, so when they go to an- other course, it is usually the first time they have seen or played the course. Charger Tyler Craig splashes a shot out of the sand trap beside the ninth green of the Oakland City Country Club. Craig had Pike Central's lowest score with a 102 during the Wood Memorial Invitational on Saturday. Senior Charger golfer Hunter Traylor hits his tee shot on the par three sixth hole over water. Traylor had a 107 for the Chargers in the Wood Memorial Invitational. Arri McDonald follows through on his approach shot to hole five at the Oakland City Country Club, where Pike Central competed in the Wood Memorial Invitational on Saturday. SPORTS CALENDAR WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21 ❚ Middle School Coed Track and Field — Sports Pictures — 3 p.m. at Pike Central ❚ Middle School Girls' Softball — Northeast Dubois — 6 p.m. at Pike Central ❚ Girls' Varsity Tennis —Southridge — 4:30 p.m. at Pike Central ❚ Boys' Varsity Baseball — Eastern Greene — 5:30 p.m. at Eastern Greene THURSDAY, APRIL 22 ❚ Boys' Varsity Golf — North Knox — 4:30 p.m. at North Knox ❚ Girls' Varsity Tennis — South Knox — 5 p.m. — Pike Central ❚ Boys' Varsity Baseball — South Knox — 5:30 p.m. at Pike Central ❚ Girls' Varsity Softball —Wood Memorial — 6 p.m. at Pike Central ❚ Girls' Varsity Track and Field —Southridge Invitational — 6:30 p.m. at Southridge FRIDAY, APRIL 23 ❚ High School Sports Photos — TBA at Pike Central ❚ Middle School Girls' Softball — North Knox — 6 p.m. at North Knox SATURDAY, APRIL 24 ❚ Middle School Coed Varsity Track and Field —Princeton Middle School Invitational — 10 a.m. at Princeton Middle School MONDAY, APRIL 26 ❚ Coed Varsity Track and Field —Tri- Meet (Washington and Barr-Reeve) — 5 p.m. at Pike Central ❚ Boys' Varsity Golf — South Spencer — 5:30 p.m. at Prides Creek Golf Course ❚ Girls' Varsity Softball —Boonville — 6 p.m. at Pike Central ❚ Girls' JV Softball —Boonville — 7:30 p.m. at Pike Central TUESDAY, APRIL 27 ❚ Boys' Varsity Baseball — Forest Park — 5:30 p.m. at Pike Central ❚ Middle School Coed Varsity Track and Field —Tri- Meet (Washington and Washington Catholic) — 5:30 p.m. at Pike Central ❚ Middle School Girls' Softball — Vincennes — 6 p.m. at Pike Central WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28 ❚ Girls' Varsity Tennis — Washington Catholic — 4:30 p.m. — Pike Central ❚ Boys' Varsity Baseball — Evansville Bosse — 5:30 p.m. at Bosse Field (23 N Main St, Evansville) ❚ Boys' Varsity Track and Field —Princeton Invitational — 6 p.m. at Princeton ❚ Girls' Varsity and JV Softball —Washington — 6 p.m. at Pike Central