The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1464422
B-4 Wednesday, April 13, 2022 The Press-Dispatch Chargers fall to Tigers in Princeton Invitational By Mike Sandifar In many scenarios, there are "common" denominators, and in the case of the Pike Central High School Baseball Team this season, it has been "one bad inning" each game— That scenario and common denominator were ever pres- ent again here last Saturday morning in the Chargers first round game in the Princeton Invitational Tournament, and the result was an 8 -4 loss to the host Tigers. With the score tied at 1-1, the hosts jumped on Pike Cen- tral for six runs in the bottom of the second inning to take a 7-1, and the Chargers could never recover. Princeton scored another run in the bottom of the third frame to make the score 8 -1, and though the Chargers nev- er allowed another run the rest of the contest, the dam- age had already been done. Pike Central could not put another run across the plate until the top of the sixth in- ning when the Chargers pushed three runs home to re- duce the Tiger lead to 8 -4, but that was as close as the Pike County squad could get in the opening round of the tourna- ment. The Chargers opened the top of the fifth inning with ju- nior Gavin Pancake hitting a ground ball to the Tiger first baseman for the first out of the inning. That brought senior Devin Carlisle to the plate for Pike Central, and Carlisle drilled a line drive single to right field on an 0 -1 pitch. Junior Isaac Burdette fol- lowed Carlisle to the batter's box, and he put solid wood on the baseball with a line drive to centerfield to move Carlisle to second. With runners now on first and second, with one out, Al- bert Whitehead stepped to the plate, and the freshman hit an 0 -1 offering to centerfield for another single to load the bas- es for junior Kendric Sorgius. Sorgius hit a line shot to left field, but the ball was right at the Princeton left fielder, who caught the hard-hit ball for the second Charger out of the in- ning, with the bases still "full". Jagar Dent followed Sor- gius to the plate, and as has "almost" become "common place" the junior was hit by a pitch. That forced in Carlisle from third base and put Dent on first to keep the bases load- ed for first baseman Harley May, and the Pike Central se- nior drilled a line drive single to left field to score both Bur- dette and Whitehead to move the Chargers to within 8 -4 of the host Tigers. Senior Evan Conder was the next Pike Central hit- ter to bat, and though he put wood on the ball, the ball was caught in short right field to end the inning, with the Char- gers trailing 8 -4. The Charger defense did not allow a Tiger run in the bottom of the fifth frame or in the bottom of the sixth in- ning, but Pike Central could not push another run across the plate against the Prince- ton defense in the top of the sixth or in the top of the sev- enth, resulting in the final 8 - 4 loss by the Chargers. Pike Central pounded out nine hits in the game, with Sorgius and Miller each get- ting two hits, while Burdette, Whitehead, Dent, May, and Carlisle all had one hit. Sorgi- us and Dent each had a double in the encounter, while Dent was hit by a pitch for the sixth time this season. Burdette started on the mound for the Chargers and pitched the first three in- nings. He struck out six Ti- gers and walk two in his three innings of work. "We hit the ball well," said Charger Coach Dustin Pow- ell, "but once again, we had one bad inning, and it cost us the game. "I still believe we are get- ting better, and our kids have their heads up—They know we are getting closer to put- ting a complete game togeth- er. "We are just a couple of fly balls away from winning, and that is going to come. "I am not happy with the loss, but I am pleased with the overall play and improve- ment of our baseball team— and their attitude. "They are giving every- thing they have, and that's all I can ask of them—We are very young, and they are gain- ing experience each time we take the field." Now 0 -4 on the year, includ- ing 0 -1 in the Pocket Athlet- ic Conference, the Chargers played North Knox in the second game of the Saturday Tournament in Princeton. Pike Central played host Princeton in a PAC encoun- ter last evening at Pike Cen- tral, and the Chargers will re- main at home on Thursday when North Posey will trav- el to Pike Central for another conference outing. South Spencer defeats Pike Central 31-7 By Mike Sandifar It was another tough loss for the young Pike Central High School Baseball Team here Thursday afternoon, as Pocket Athletic Conference (PAC) opponent South Spen- cer beat the visiting Chargers 13-7. The loss was the third in as many games for the Char- gers, now 0 -3 on the 2022 di- amond campaign, including 0 -1 in league play. Both teams scored a sin- gle run in the first inning, but after holding the Char- gers scoreless in the top of the second frame, the Rebels pushed four runs across the plate in their half of the sec- ond inning to take a 5 -1 advan- tage over Pike Central. South Spencer scored an- other three runs in the bot- tom of the third inning and came back to score anoth- er run in the bottom of the fourth to take a commanding 9 -1 lead after four complete innings of baseball. As has become "habit" in the first three outings for Pike Central, the Chargers fought their way back into contention, this time in the top of the fifth frame. Trailing by the 9 -1 score, Isaac Burdette led off the top of the fifth for Pike Central, and the senior hit the ball hard but was thrown out at first for the first out of the in- ning. Senior Devin Carlisle was the next Charger to step into the batter's box, and he drew a walk from the South Spen- cer pitcher. That brought junior Ken- dric Sorgius to the plate for Pike Central, and though he put "good wood" on the base- ball, he hit a fly ball to short right field for the second out of the frame. With two outs, junior Jagar Dent was the next Charger to step into the batter's box, with Carlisle still standing on first base, and Dent worked the Rebel hurler for a walk on a 3- 2 count to put runners on first and second with two outs. Sophomore Zach Mill- er then loaded the bases by walking on a 3-1 one pitch to put senior Alex Smith at the plate for Pike Central, and like Dent, Smith worked the South Spencer pitcher for a free pass on a 3-2 count to force in Carlisle for the Char- gers' second run of the game to make the score 9 -2, With the bases still load- ed, freshman Parker Knust took four straight pitches that missed the plate to get anoth- er free pass from the Rebel hurler and force in Dent and make the score 9 -3. Junior Jason Stuckey worked the South Spencer pitcher to a 3-2 count before drawing another walk and forcing in Miller reduce the hosts' lead to 9 -4. Freshman Albert White- head was the next Charger to step to the plate, and he quickly hit a hard drive to right field for a single that scored Smith and Knust, re- spectively to move Pike Cen- tral to within 9 -6. Burdette took his place in the batter's box for the sec- ond time in the inning, and the junior continued to keep the Charger hopes alive with an infield single that scored Stuckey and sent Whitehead to second base. That made the score 9 -7, with Carlisle, who started the rally, coming to the plate, and like Burdette, Carlisle made good contact with the base- ball, but he was thrown out at first to end the inning and the rally. The hosts put two runs across in their half of the fifth frame to up the South Spen- cer lead to 11-7 after six in- nings of baseball. In the top of the sixth, the Chargers failed to put a run across home plate to leave the score at 11-7 going into the bottom half of the sixth inning. Once again, the eventual winners pushed a pair of runs home to take a 13-7 margin into the top of the seventh in- ning of the conference con- test. The Chargers failed to score in their half of the sev- enth inning to end the game with South Spencer holding a 13-7 advantage. "Pike Central had seven hits in the battle, with Bur- dette and Sorgius each bang- ing out a pair of hits, while Dent, Whitehead, and Smith all had a single. The Chargers worked the Rebel pitching for eight walks, and Dent was hit by a pitch to give PCHS 14 REDUCED TEMPERATURE SWINGS ENHANCED PERFORMANCE IMPROVED DEHUMIDIFICATION Variable-speed technology means invariable comfort. The Infinity ® 20 air conditioner combines the energy efficiency of Greenspeed ® intelligence with the convenience and precision of the Infinity System Control. With reduced temperature swings, improved dehumidification and ultra-quiet operation, the Infinity 20 air conditioner will have you more comfortable than ever before. Energy Efficiency That's Right in Your Comfort Zone. ©Carrier Corporation 4/2018. carrier.com REDUCED TEMPERATURE SWINGS means invariable comfort. combines the energy efficiency of Greenspeed ® intelligence with the Infinity System Control. 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Morgan Anderson claimed the other win for the Char- gers in the 100 hurdles with her personal best of 17.93. She also placed second in the 300 hurdles with a time of 1:01.97 and was just a second out of first place and rounded out her night with a fourth place finish in the 100. Tessa Vinnedge added two second places to the Charger totals in the shot put and dis- cus. She threw 29'7.25" in the shot and 81'7" in the discus. South Knox won the meet with 83 points, Pike Central was second with 33 and Sulli- van was third with 30 points. Other personal bests for the girls included: Makynna Sat- terfield with a 17.37 in the 100 and 10'5 in the long jump. Em- ma Hunt threw 19'8.5" in the shot and 56' in the discus. Brelynn Myers in the discus had her best at 60'6". For the boys, Peyton Chan- ley won the 3200 for Pike Cen- tral as he continues to trim his time. He ran a 10 :43.84 for his personal best. Carter Blackwell was fourth in the event with his personal best in 13:10.9. Wyatt Frasure placed sec- ond in the 100 with his person- al best time of 11.67. He also placed third in the long jump with a leap of 17'4.5" Braden Howald was third in the 110 hurdles with his per- sonal best of 18.81. Adan Sanchez placed third in the discus with a toss of 95'6" and Konner Simmons was fourth at 93'5.5". South Knox won the meet with 104 points. Sullivan was second with 39 and Pike Cen- tral third with 20. Other personal bests for the Chargers were Carter Black- well at 6:01.91 in the 1600, Izik Jackson in the 100 at 13.82 and long jump of 14'2". Also, the 4x400 relay of Gabe Hin- ton, Ethan Mann, Jackson and Aidan Collins ran a 4:27.22. See SPENCER on 5