The Press-Dispatch
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The Press-Dispatch Wednesday, March 21, 2018 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 By Ed Cahill Press-Dispatch Sports Editor sports@pressdispatch.net Eighth grader Emma McK- inney placed first in diving as the Pike Central Middle School girls' swimming team finished fourth during the Pocket Athletic Conference Championship Meet held at Southridge High School on Wednesday, March 14, and Thursday, March 15. McKinney won the diving competition with a five-dive score of 111.90 points. South - ridge's Ana Hewitt was sec- ond with a score of 111.60 points while Tecumseh's Ko- ra Kaiser finished third with 111.50 points. "Her diving has been solid all year long," Lady Chargers head coach Mike Bohnert said. "It was really close, with four-tenths of a point between first and third." In addition, McKinney placed fourth in the 50 -yard breaststroke with a sea - By Ed Cahill Press-Dispatch Sports Editor sports@pressdispatch.net Major League Baseball's all-time hit king is coming to southern Indiana on Sat- urday, March 31, when the Victory Theatre in Evans- ville will host "4192: An Eve- ning With Pete Rose." The theatrical production will feature video clips of highlights from the 17-time All-Star's 24-year major league career with the Cin - cinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies and Montreal Ex- pos, culminating with "The Hit" – when Rose singled off San Diego Padres pitch- er Eric Show on Sept. 11, 1985, at Riverfront Stadium to break Ty Cobb's record of 4,191 hits. "We have a database of clips, so no matter where Pete and I take it, there's usually a clip to go with it," said promoter/producer J.T. Stewart, who also serves as the show's on-stage prompt - er. "If he's talking about Hank Aaron, we'll show a Hank Aaron clip." "It's really video-driven, along with the stories, so it makes it more of an actu- al three-dimensional show – you have the physical and then you have the visual and then you're hearing it with the stories," Stewart add- ed. "And Pete is a great sto- ryteller. He can tell stories." Stewart described the approximately 90 -minute show as "semi-scripted." "We talk about every- thing from when he was growing up as a kid and his relationship with his father, who was his hero," Stewart said. "And then we just go through his career. No two nights are ever alike." Rose, in an exclusive tele - phone interview from his home in Las Vegas, Nev., agreed. "I don't have a speech or anything like that," said Rose, who retired as a play- PATOKA VALLEY OUTDOORS By Sam Whiteleather Splitting Wood Rings a Bell By Ed Cahill Press-Dispatch Sports Editor sports@pressdispatch.net The Pike Central Middle School boys' swimming team captured its first Pocket Athletic Conference Championship title since 2014 on Thursday, March 15, at Southridge High School. The Chargers – who posted a to- tal of 11 season-best times – finished first with 214 points, while South Spencer was second with 195 points. Heritage Hills placed third with 183 points, followed by Tecumseh (171 points), Tell City (134), Southridge (123) and Forest Park (100). "I was expecting it to be really close, which it ended up being pret- ty close," Pike Central head coach Mike Bohnert said. "When I scored it off the psych sheet, we were 12-point underdogs (to South Spen- cer) because they filled everything just like we did. Heritage Hills was a few points under us. We were all three fairly close together, but we were second." "I let the boys know how close they were and that they had a shot if they came out and swam like they did, and they had some really good times," Bohnert added. "We cut a lot of time down through the meet, and they swam really well." Sixth grader Graham Mullins posted the Chargers' only first-place finish, winning the 50 -yard back- stroke with a time of 34.84 seconds. Southridge's Andrew Sander was second with a time of 38.25 seconds. Mullins also placed second in the 100 -yard individual medley with a season-best time of 1:13.41, eclips- ing his previous season-best time of 1:14.17. Southridge's Reilly Lechner was first with a time of 1:12.42. In addition, Mullins teamed up with seventh graders Isaac Burdette and Michael Burkhart and sixth grader Wyatt Luff to place second in the 200 -yard medley relay with a season-best time of 2:31.69, eclips- ing their previous season-best time of 2:32.41, and with Burdette, eighth grader Alex Edrington and seventh grader Draven Readle to place third in the 200 -yard freestyle relay with a season-best time of 2:16.19, eclips- ing their previous season-best time of 2:16.90. "He came in last year and swam for us as a fifth grader, and decid- PCMS BOYS' SWIM TEAM WINS FIRST PAC TITLE SINCE 2014 Pike Central Middle School sixth grader Graham Mullins swims the butterfly leg of the boys' 100-yard individual medley during the 2018 Pocket Athletic Conference Championship Meet at Southridge High School on Thursday, March 15. Mullins placed second with a season-best time of 1:13.41. Ed Cahill photo Pike Central Middle School eighth grader Emma McKinney pos- es with her blue rib- bon after placing first in diving during the Pocket Athletic Con- ference Champion- ship Meet at South- ridge High School on Wednesday, March 14. Submitted Photo Pike Central Middle School sixth grader Cobey McKinney com- petes in the boys' 200-yard freestyle during the 2018 Pock- et Athletic Conference Championship Meet at Southridge High School on Thursday, March 15. McKinney placed eighth with a season-best time of 3:15.58. Ed Cahill photo Cincinnati Reds great Pete Rose points to the crowd after getting his 4,192nd hit on Sept. 11, 1985, breaking Ty Cobb's record of 4,191. Rose, who ended his career with 4,256 career hits, is scheduled to appear in Evansville on Saturday, March 31, when "4192: An Evening With Pete Rose" is held at the Victory Theatre. When we're finished eat- ing, I take all of the dirty plates and stack them at the end of the table for the server to come pick up. The plates are scattered with the re- mains of taco salads, shrimp tacos and tiny pieces of rice. The kids are starting to get restless and are soon out of their chairs circling around the table like a pack of fid- gety sharks. On the sidewalk that runs past our table, people walk to the local festival that is taking place a couple blocks away. There are groups of teenage boys, with droopy pants and braided hair car- rying on lively conversa- tion sprinkled with exple- tives and spiked with hints of aggression. There are al- so parents herding their chil- dren down the sidewalk like cowboys herding cattle. And there are couples, too, clad in t-shirts and shorts, strolling hand in hand, conversing in low subtle tones. The waiter comes back to the table, and while the bill is being paid, I take the chil- dren and head for the side- walk. We goof around for a minute until Rena, Uncle Tommy and Aunt Lisa (Re- na's sister and her husband) join us. We walk down a block and then turn the corner towards the festival as day slowly fades to night. A large Ferris wheel comes into view with neon lights running along its spokes. The lights illumi- nate the night sky with wild shades of pink, purple and blue. The children look up at the glowing light wheel and stare with mouths agape. The Florida air is pleasant tonight. It feels comfortable in shorts and a t-shirt, and the breeze from the gulf stirs the leaves of the palm trees that dot the festival site. We pass a large barbeque smok- er that pours blue smoke from small stacks sticking from the top of its rusty black body. Men tend the smoky fires as women handle corn still in the husks, getting it ready for hungry customers. We draw near a stage where a large crowd watch- es a rock band performing. Drum beats and the sounds of guitars are deafening near the stage, but as we contin- ue walking they fade into the background. In the carnival area, work- ers stand duty beside games and rides. Everything ex- ists in a constant swarm of motion, light and noise. We come across a high striker game manned by two car- nies who heckle men as they pass, challenging them to put their manliness on dis- play by striking a small pad with a big hammer and mak- ing the bell perched at the top ring. I've always wanted to try this game and, on the spur of the moment, I decide to- night is the night. I hand one of the men my money and take the hammer. A small crowd, mostly made of our group, gathers. I walk up to the line and get ready. I have been preparing for this moment for a very long time. Ever since I was old enough to swing a splitting maul, I have spent many a cold Indiana winter day split- ting fire wood. I started with a wood-handled maul that my Dad used. He put a piece of radiator hose on the han- dle to keep a mis-swung blow from breaking it. Over sever- al years of practice, I learned that a good swing is an act of precision more than power. It's best to pick a point on See MCKINNEY on pg 4 See KING on pg 2 See SPLIT TING on pg 4 See PAC on pg 3 McKinney wins PAC diving title as PCMS girls' swim team finishes fourth MLB's Hit King coming to Evansville March 31