Prep roundup for Monday, May 16
May 16—Michael Pemberton pitched five sharp innings to lead Taylor's baseball team past Clinton Prairie 6-2 in a Hoosier Heartland Conference game Saturday at George Phares Field.
Pemberton held the Gophers to two hits and one run, struck out nine and walked one. The run was unearned. Hunter Williams pitched the final two innings and allowed two hits and one run with four strikeouts and one walk.
"Michael did a great job on the mound — probably his best game of the year in terms of his strike percentage. He attacked the zone," Taylor coach Kris Dill said. "We produced a little offense behind him and were able to push enough runs across. All around, it was a good team win, but Michael did excel on the mound and put us in position to be able to win that game."
Taylor (8-13-1, 5-8 HHC) had six hits. Juan Nieves went 2 for 3 with a double, Ashton McKay also had a double and Micah Irwin had a two-run single.
"Juan was thrust into the starting lineup. We had our starting third baseman out of town and our [part-time] catcher/DH [Justin Doty] broke his leg on Friday so that forced him into the lineup and he did a great job and Micah Irwin did a great job behind the plate," Dill said.
In the second game of a scheduled doubleheader, Prairie was leading 4-0 in the bottom of the second when the game was suspended because of rain.
KATS 3RD IN NCC
Kokomo fell 8-7 to Harrison in eight innings in the semifinal round of the North Central Conference tourney at Richmond, then rebounded to beat the host Red Devils 6-0 for third place.
In the semis, Harrison led 7-2 through five innings before the Kats put five on the board in the top of the sixth to knot the game. Harrison plated a run in the bottom of the eighth to win.
Chad Washburn and Evan Barker were each 2 for 4 with a run and an RBI for Kokomo against Harrison. Jackson Siefert-Barnes was 1 for 3 with two RBI and John Curl was 1 for 4 with two RBI. Cooper Hansen threw the final 2 1/3 innings and took the loss. His line showed two hits, a walk an earned run and three strikeouts.
Against Richmond, Kokomo (12-12) got three runs in the top of the fourth and three in the top of the sixth to back a shutout pitching performance from three hurlers. Dameion Deis threw five innings with just two hits and two walks with two strikeouts to earn the win. Patrick Hardimon and Andrew Guerre each threw a no-hit, no-walk inning with Hardimon notching a strikeout and Guerre fanning two.
Curl went 3 for 3 with a double and a run to lead the Kat offense against Richmond. Barker was 2 for 3 with a double, three RBI and a run.
MIAMI CO. TOURNEY
Maconaquah beat Peru 8-6 in the opening round of the Miami County Tournament, then fell 7-4 to Oak Hill in the final.
Against Peru, Maconaquah scored three runs in the top of the seventh inning to overcome a 6-5 deficit heading into the frame. Walker Hayes went 2 for 4 with a double, a run and two RBI. Trace Armstrong was 2 for 3 with a double, a run and an RBI. Mason Yoars threw the last two innings for the win with no hits, a walk, no runs and two strikeouts.
For Peru (6-11-1) in that game, Cooper Baldwin was 2 for 3 with a double and three RBI, Jackson Rogers was 2 for 2 with a run, and Matt Roettger doubled. Roettger threw six innings and took the loss.
In the final, Oak Hill led 4-0 through three innings and made the lead stick. Bennett Isenburg led the Braves with a 4-for-4 game. Brandon Smithley was 2 for 4 with an RBI and a run. Kaleb Shelton was 2 for 4 with a double. And Haydon Chance had a double and two RBI.
SHELBYVLLE 8, EASTERN 4
Tied 4-all after three innings, Shelbyville scored three runs in the top of the fourth to take control against Class 2A No. 4 Eastern in the Argyll Classic at Madison-Grant.
The Comets (20-2) outhit Shelbyville 11-7 with Levi Mavrick going 4 for 4 with a triple. Cayden Calloway and Reid Keisling each had a double. Bryson Russell took the loss in relief.
Eastern hosts Class 2A No. 1 Carroll at 5 p.m. Tuesday in a big Hoosier Heartland Conference game.
SOFTBALL
NCC TOURNEY
The Kokomo-Harrison game in the semifinal round of the North Central Conference was suspended with Kokomo batting in the top of the fourth and the score tied 5-all.
The tourney will resume today. The Kokomo-Harrison game will resume at 5:30 p.m. The winner will then face McCutcheon in the final at 7 p.m.
CP 14, TAYLOR 12
Visiting Clinton Prairie scored 10 runs in the third inning to go up 12-2 at that point and offset Taylor scoring in five of the seven frames in an HHC game.
Jadyn Underwood led the Titans (4-2, 3-3 HHC) with a 4-for-5 game that included a double, triple, two runs and five RBIs. Mallory Saldana was 2 for 5 with two RBIs, and Joe Glaze and Kate Glaze were each 2 for 5.
"We did fight our way back to pull within two, but we had bases loaded, no outs, and we had two go down looking at strikes and that put us in a rough spot," Taylor coach Robert McGuire said. "I have been telling [the players] that you must take advantage of opportunities when they arise because if you don't you might not have another opportunity and that's what happened to us."
BOYS GOLF
HOOSIER C. MEET
The Hoosier Conference meet at the West Lafayette Golf and Country Club was suspended. Play will resume at 10 a.m. today with a shotgun start.
TRC MEET
Maconaquah's Mason Taylor shot a 72 at Warsaw's Rozella Ford G.C. to take medalist in the Three Rivers Conference meet and lead the Braves to a second-place team finish.
Northfield took the championship of the 10-team meet by emerging first from a cluster of four squads just 11 shots apart. Northfield won by five strokes with a score of 332. Maconaquah was second at 337, Manchester was third, just two shots further back at 339, and Rochester was fourth at 343. Peru was ninth with 491.
Taylor and teammate Hayden Williamson qualified for all-TRC honors by taking spots in the top 10. Williamson was fifth with a 76. Also for the Braves, Drake Guyer shot 94 and Ayden Jernagan shot 95.
HHC MEET
Delphi won the Hoosier Heartland Conference title in a rain-shortened tournament at Deer Track G.C. Carroll was second, Tri-Central was fifth and Eastern was eighth in the eight-team field. Taylor was incomplete.
Carroll's Porter Dick was runner-up. Dick and teammate Garrett Miller both made the all-conference team. TC's Jake Chapman also made the all-HHC team.
GIRLS TENNIS
NW 5, SOUTHWOOD 0
Northwestern won all five spots by 6-0, 6-0 scorelines to move to 14-1 on the season. In doubles play, Emily Goltz and Anna Grube won the No. 1 match and Berkely Wray and Megan Shank won the No. 2 match. In singles, McKenna Layden won at No. 1, Kat Grube at No. 2 and Lauren Lesko at No. 3.
LAPEL INVITE
Eastern (13-3) took third place at the invitational, falling 3-2 to Jay County in the opening round, then topping Lapel 4-1 in the consolation match.
No. 1 singles player Maria Oliveira won 6-2, 6-0, and No. 2 singles player Kennedy Horner won 6-2, 6-2 for Eastern's points in the Jay County match.
In the Lapel match, Oliviera won 6-0, 6-0, Horner won 6-3, 6-3, the No. 1 doubles team of Kate Salkie and Molly Farkas won 6-0, 2-6, 13-11 in a super tiebreaker third set, and the No. 2 doubles team of Alivia Salkie and Adalyn Downing won 6-1, 6-0.
"I really like how we rebounded from a tough loss in round one," Eastern coach Pat Rice said. "We felt like we had the match at 2 doubles against Jay County but lost a supertebreak 10-8 that decided the match.
"It was great to see our 2 doubles team of Alivia and Adalyn bounce back and be the third point in the consolation match. Also, great day for Kennedy Horner at 2 singles going undefeated. She beat some tough competition. And Maria continues her undefeated season with two more wins."
KOKOMO SPLITS
Kokomo split its matches at the Culver Academies Invite. The Wildkats fell 3-2 to the host school and then beat Fort Wayne Bishop Luers 5-0. Wildkat singles players Ellen Callane and Vivian Ferrusca each went 2-0 on the day.
MARION 3, PERU 2
The Bengal Tigers swept the doubles action in straight sets. Cate Wolfe and Emma Eldridge won the No. 1 match and Libby Rogers and Casidy Bartel won the No. 2 match. Peru takes a 14-2 record into Peru Sectional play on Wednesday.
CASS 4, MAC 1
Kiera Rosenow won Maconaquah's point, taking the No. 2 singles match 7-5, 3-6, 6-4.
BOYS TRACK
HN MEET
The Comets took seventh in the Huntington North freshman-sophomore meet. Jayden Eagle led Eastern with a first-place finish in the long jump. He was also second in the 200 and third in the 100.
Ian Hewitt was eighth in the 110 hurdles, Levi Ramer was eighth in the 300 hurdles. The Comet team of Ty Kremer, Ramer, Obi Greene and Kyan Hannah was fifth in the 4x400, and the team of Greene, Kremer, Jase Forgrave and Adam Webster was sixth in the 4x800.
"I was really impressed by how we competed against 15 solid teams," Eastern coach Blake Donson said. "We had lots of PRs through the day, we also had lots of guys that don't always get to compete, get some running in. It was a great tuneup for our young team in getting ready for sectionals."
