The Press-Dispatch
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The Press-Dispatch Wednesday, April 27, 2022 B-3 Charger baseball falls to Patriots By Mike Sandifar Pike Central dropped its sixth straight contest of the season here Tuesday after- noon, falling to host Heri- tage Hills 10 -0 in Pocket Ath- letic Conference (PAC) high school baseball action. The Chargers managed just two hits and only three base runners in the game that was shortened to six in- nings due to the 10 -run rule. Pike Central went down 1, 2, 3 in the top of the first in- ning of the conference con- test, while Heritage Hills pushed four runs across the plate in the bottom half of the opening frame to take a quick 4-0 advantage. In the top of the second inning, junior Jagar Dent opened the inning by work- ing the Heritage Hills pitch- er for a walk, which brought hard-hitting senior Harley May to the plate for the Char- gers. May jumped on the Patriot hurler for a line-drive double to center field sending Dent to third, giving Pike Cen- tral runners at second and third,with no outs, but Her- itage Hills got the next two Chargers to strike out, and the third out was made when freshman Parker Knust flied out to end the inning. The Charger defense held the Patriots without a run in the bottom half of the sec- ond inning, and neither team scored in the third or fourth innings. Pike Central's Ken- dric Sorgius drilled a double to center to open the top of the fourth, but the next three Chargers struck out. Heritage Hills plated two runs in the bottom of the fifth, then scored four addi- tional runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to end the game on the 10 -run rule, with the score 10 -0 after six innings of baseball. May and Sorgius were the only Chargers to get hits in the outing, both of them hit- ting doubles. The only other base runner for Pike Central was Dent, who walked in the top of the second. The Patriots had nine hits, with freshman Andersen Smith going three for three in the battle and senior Evan Bowling pounding out a pair of doubles in the encounter for Heritage Hills. Four other Patriot hitters had a single. May took the loss for the Chargers, while senior J.T. Smallwood got the win for the Patriots. Smallwood struck out 10 Chargers in his six innings. He allowed just two hits and walked one. He threw only 76 pitches in the winning effort. The loss left the Char- gers at 0 -6 overall and 0 -2 in conference play on the year, while the win gave Heritage Hills a 5 -5 overall record that included a 3-2 mark in league play. Thursday Pike Central is scheduled to take on South- ridge at 6 p.m. at Pike Cen- tral. One bad inning led to loss at South Knox By Mike Sandifar It was a case of anoth- er "one bad inning" for the Charger baseball team Thursday, as they fell to host South Knox, 7-4, after lead- ing 3-2 going into the bottom of the fifth inning. The Spartans scored four runs in the bottom of the fifth frame to go up 6 -3 after five full innings. In five of the seven loss- es on the baseball diamond this year, Pike Central has had one bad inning that has cost the Chargers the game. Those innings can be at- tributed to an overall lack of experience and a very young baseball team (seven fresh- men). Neither team could push a run across the plate in the sixth inning to keep the score at 7-4, with the Char- gers coming to the plate in the top of the seventh inning. Sophomore Kannon Gar- cia took a called third strike for the first out of the inning and next hitter, senior Har- ley May hit a hard line-drive to left field that was caught by the Spartan left fielder for the second out of the inning. That brought Evan Cond- er to the plate, who already had a pair of hits off the South Knox pitching, and the Charger senior singled to put a runner on base for sopho- more Zack Miller. With Miller at the plate, the Spartan pitcher twice balked to send Conder to third base, and Miller walked on a 3-2 pitch to put runners on first and third, with two outs and both benches up cheering. Freshman Noah Meece followed Miller, and the first-year varsity perform- er worked the South Knox pitcher for a walk on a 3-1 pitch to load the bases for freshman Albert Whitehead. Whitehead worked the host hurler to a 1-1 count, then hit the next pitch to short left field, where the Spartan third baseman ran the ball down for the third PC out to end the inning and the game, with the hosts leading by the final 7-4 margin. Pike Central had eight hits in the encounter, with Conder going three for four at the plate, while juniors Isaac Burdette and Kendric Sorguis had two hits on the day, with Burdette going two for four and Sorguis two dou- bles. Junior Jagar Dent was one for three at the plate with a walk. The Chargers worked the South Knox pitchers for sev- en walks, with senior Har- ley May getting a pair of free passes to first base, and Dent, along with Miller, Gar- cia and Meece each getting one walk. Burdette started on the mound for Pike Central and took the loss. He gave up just four hits and had strike-outs in his five innings of work, and of the six runs charged to him, only four were earned. Freshman Parker Knust worked the final inning for the Chargers, and the first- year Pike Central hurler al- lowed no hits. He struck out one Spartan and walked one South Knox batter. "We again played well tonight, but just not well enough to get the win," said Pike Central Coach Dustin Powell after the loss. "We were leading 3-2 going into the bottom of the fifth, and they scored four runs to take the 7-3 lead. "We, once again, did not quit, and we actually load- ed the bases in the top of the seventh, but we just could not get any runs home. "I believe we are getting better, and I told our guys, nobody likes to lose, but what matters the most is not the 1- 7 we are now, but how we do from May 5 to May 25th. "We are competing, but we have to turn these close loss- es into wins, and I think we can do that. "We are beginning to hit the ball up and down the line-up, and guys are step- ping up to make some real- ly good plays on the defen- sive side as the season pro- gresses, which I believe will get us on the winning side of the score very soon." The loss left Pike Central with a 1-7 overall record, in- cluding 0 -2 in Pocket Athlet- ic Conference (PAC) games. The Chargers were slated to play Forest Park in Ferdi- nand last evening in a con- ference match-up. a one-out walk off the Eastern Green pitcher to put a runner on first for senior Evan Cond- er. Garcia stole second on the second pitch to Conder, and on the next pitch, he hit a hard ground ball to the pitcher, who overthrew to first. Garcia scored on the play to tie the score at 2-2, but Pike Central could do no further damage in the bottom of the fourth. Sorguis continued his mas- tery over the Thunderbirds on the mound in the fifth in- ning, then the Chargers put the game away by scoring four runs to give Sorguis all the cushion he needed with a 6 -2 lead. The visitors could not solve Sorguis' mound domination in the sixth inning, and Pike Central added an insurance run to take a 7-2 advantage in- to the top of the seventh. Sorguis continued his dom- ination over the Thunderbirds in the bottom of the seventh, using just 11 pitches to put away the game and give the Chargers their first win of the season and Sorguis his first no-hitter as a Charger. Pike Centeral had six hits tand six walks, with Dent get- ting a pair of singles and fresh- man Albert Whitehead knock- ing out a single to left, to go along with Sorguis' three for three, including a double, at the plate. Pike Central had seven steals, including a double steal, with Sorguis getting three thefts, Garcia two, and Burdette and Dent one each. The Chargers committed three errors, while the Thun- derbirds "booted" the base- ball twice. "Kendric Sorguis was a master on the mound out there today," said Pike Central Coach Dustin Powell after the game in referring to Sorguis' no-hitter. "He kept their hit- ters off-balance throughout the game, and he had great placement of his pitches. "He struck out 13 of their hitters, and most of the time, they were not able to even foul off any of his pitches. He just had a great night, with his pitching effort and his three hits and a walk at the plate. "He was in total control." "We played a great game this evening," Coach Pow- ell, after the game. "We made some really good plays in the field. "Everyone is going to enjoy this game." The win gave the Chargers a 1-6 record on the season, in- cluding 0 -2 in Pocket Athletic Conference (PAC) play. The loss left Eastern Green at 2- 3 on the 2022 diamond cam- paign. Pike Central was scheduled to play at South Knox in Mon- roe City last Thursday after- noon, and yesterday, the Char- gers were scheduled to trav- el to Ferdinand to tangle with PAC opponent Forest Park (6 - 3). NO-HITTER Continued from page 1 Noah Meece scrambles to pick up a ball he knocked down. Jagar Dent scoops up a grounder at third base. Kendric Sorgius slides head first into third base. Jagar Dent strides into a pitch during the Chargers' 7-2 win over Eastern Greene. LOUIE CAMPBELL Sales Professional lcampbell@sfaulknerauto.com CALL OR TEXT 812-899-6267 @LouieYourCarGuy HWY. 64 W. PRINCETON Looking for a Great Deal On Your Next Vehicle?