PREP ROUNDUP: Pioneer softball wins Twin Lakes Invitational

May 11—The Pioneer softball team once again showed it can compete with anybody in the state.

The Lady Panthers won the power-packed, 12-team Twin Lakes Invitational for the first time in program history this weekend.

The impressive showing has bumped the Panthers (19-2) up to a No. 2 ranking in Class 2A this week. They are ranked only behind Tecumseh.

The Panthers opened the TL Invite with a 6-1 win over Class 4A No. 12 Munster on Friday. They defeated Class 2A No. 18 Lewis Cass 6-1 Saturday morning. They defeated Class 2A No. 12 Delphi 6-0 to conclude pool play. They topped Class 3A No. 5 Northwestern 17-0 in a semifinal game. They defeated Class 3A No. 4 Benton Central 4-1 in the championship game.

"We had a great weekend," Pioneer coach Gabby Thomas said. "We hit the ball hard, had great pitching and great defense behind our pitchers.

"We had a very competitive pool and then played two ranked Class 3A teams after that. Just playing those teams will get us prepared for tournament time."

Pioneer last lost to Class 4A Harrison the previous weekend. Thomas said it helped to have Madison Blickenstaff back from her back injury this weekend to help shore up the defense. The offense also made adjustments when facing top-flight pitching.

"Just making those adjustments. We finally have Blickenstaff back on defense. She was cleared on Friday so that was huge," Thomas said.

Hailey Gotshall got the win against Munster, holding the Mustangs to one run on five hits while striking out 14. She helped herself with two singles, a double and three RBIs. Mackenzie Walker had a single, double and two RBIs. Kylie Farris added two singles. Hailey Cripe, Belle Blickenstaff and Emma Novaski each added a single.

Cripe got the win in the circle against Cass, allowing four hits while striking out 10. Gotshall had a single, double, triple and two RBIs. Walker and Cripe each added a single and RBI. Madison Blickenstaff added a sac fly RBI. Farris added two singles and a double. Brooklyn Borges and Belle Blickenstaff each added a single.

Gotshall pitched a one-hit shutout and fanned 16 as Pioneer avenged a season opening loss against Delphi. Gotshall and Cripe each had a single, double, triple and two RBIs. Walker and Novaski each added a single and RBI a piece. Borges added two singles. Farris, Mackenzie Robinson and Belle Blickenstaff each added a single.

Cripe pitched a two-hit shutout against Northwestern with eight strikeouts. Gotshall had two home runs and four RBIs. Walker had a single, two doubles and two RBIs. Madison Blickenstaff had two singles, a double and RBI. Robinson and Borges each added two singles and an RBI. Belle Blickenstaff added a single and RBI. Novaski added an RBI. Farris added two singles.

Gotshall pitched a three-hitter against Benton Central with eight strikeouts. Cripe had a home run and two RBIs. Gotshall and Robinson each added a single and an RBI apiece. Madison Blickenstaff added three singles. Novaski added a double. Farris and Walker each added a single.

Pioneer travels to Western today.

CASTON 23, ARGOS 5

Caston, ranked No. 1 in Class A this week, defeated visiting Argos in five innings for their Pink Out game on Monday.

The Comets (20-1) won their 15th game in a row.

Kinzie Mollenkopf allowed five runs (four earned) on five hits and five walks, striking out nine. She also led at the plate with a triple, double, single and four RBIs.

Addison Zimpleman went 3-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs. Annie Harsh went 3-for-4. Maddi Smith and Eillie Deming each had a double and single. Rebekah Milburn had two singles. Raven Ernie, Bailey Harness, Layne Oliver and Isabel Scales all added a single.

Caston travels to Winamac today for a league game that gets underway at 5 p.m.

LOGANSPORT 11, RICHMOND 0

Claire Kitchel pitched a one-hit shutout with nine strikeouts in a five-inning win at Richmond in the Berries' NCC Tournament opener on Saturday.

Abby Henderson hit a home run for the Berries (12-8). Kinzie Byrd, Addison Guire, Chloe Kelly and Justyce Rohrabaugh all drove in runs. Henderson, Kitchel and Rohrabaugh each had multiple hits for the Berries, who tore up the base paths as three players stole at least two bases.

The Berries advance in the winner's bracket and will face McCutcheon at 10 a.m. Saturday at Harrison. They next host Huntington North today.

BREMEN 15, WINAMAC 7

Bremen jumped out to a 13-2 lead after three and a half innings and the Class 2A No. 12 Warriors couldn't come all the way back.

McKenzie Hinz had a home run and three RBIs for Winamac (16-6). Aubrey Gearhart had a home run and two RBIs. Ella Gearhart and Maggie Smith each had a double and single.

The Warriors went 2-1 at the Twin Lakes Invite on Saturday. They beat North Newton 11-6, beat Twin Lakes 5-1 and lost to No. 4 Eastern 14-5.

OAK HILL 10, CASS 5

Cass fell to visiting Oak Hill on Monday.

Rylee Holt went 2-for-4 with two RBIs for the Kings. Emmalee Zoubul went 3-for-3 with a double and run scored.

BASEBALL

CASTON SWEEPS KNOX

Caston recorded a sweep at Knox on Saturday by scores of 4-3 and 10-0.

In the tightly contested opener, the Comets had to hold off a Redskins' rally in the bottom of the seventh. The Redskins plated two runs before the Comets held on.

Kade Zeider got the complete-game win. Coming off a perfect game earlier in the week against Culver, Zeider held Knox to three runs on nine hits and no walks, striking out four.

Cam Kline had a single and two RBIs for the Comets. Jessie Rock-Wolf had a double, RBI and run scored. Zeider and Jackson Rentschler each added a hit. Carter See scored a pair of runs.

Caston won game two in five innings. Joey Spin pitched a one-hit shutout. He struck out five and walked one.

Sam Smith had two hits, an RBI and two runs scored. Zeider, Rock-Wolf and Kline each added a hit. The Comets took advantage of 14 Redskin walks and five wild pitches.

"Kade and Joey were really good on the mound in the sweep today," Caston coach Blake Mollenkopf said. "Proud of the way they competed and challenged hitters in the zone. We were solid defensively again which allows our pitchers to keep pitch counts down and pitch to contact. Offensively we were excellent on the base paths and had some timely hits."

—The Comets (10-7, 7-3 HNAC) defeated West Central 11-0 on Monday for their sixth straight win.

Freshman Pete DuVall pitched a two-hit shutout with nine strikeouts in the five-inning game.

Rentschler had a double, single and three runs scored. Zeider had two hits and an RBI. Spin, Rush, DuVall and Kline each added a hit.

LOGAN 4, MARION 3

Logansport survived and advanced in NCC Tournament play with a win over visiting Marion on Saturday.

Calryan Parmeter got a complete-game win, allowing one earned run on seven hits while striking out seven.

A two-out error in the seventh allowed two runs to score and put the tying run at second, but Parmeter got a ground out to second to end the game.

Grayson Long had two hits and a run scored for the Berries (16-6). Ethan Denny had a double. Parmeter, Kaiden Lucero and Caleb Miller each added a hit. John Scott added a run scored.

The Berries got the win but didn't play to the standard that coach Dan Frye expects.

"That's going to come back on me because I didn't have my kids ready to play," he told WSAL in a postgame interview. "We were just going through the motions and it's unacceptable today. Cal threw the ball really well. It doesn't feel like a win today. We get outhit. Their pitcher threw the ball well, but we weren't mentally ready to play. We weren't mentally ready to play, we weren't physically ready to play, we were flat all the way around. We walked on and off. But that's my responsibility to get my kids ready to go and I failed today."

The Berries advanced in the winner's bracket of the tournament. They will face Lafayette Jeff at 10 a.m. Saturday at McCutcheon. They next travel to Wabash today.

BOYS GOLF

PIONEER INVITE

Cass won the 10-team event at Pond View.

Mason Hahn led the Kings with an 83, followed by Jensen Burrous (86), Jaden Younts (92), Rowdy Frey (94) and Blake Brown (95).

Cass won with a 355, followed by Knox (370), Covenant Christian (DeMotte) (388), Caston (431), Pioneer (434), Tri-County (471), North Miami (476), West Central (494), Delphi (Inc.) and Carroll (Inc.).

Caston was led by AJ Dague's 95, followed by Dominic Herseman (105), Colby Pugh (111) and Dean Sylvain (120).

—Caston finished third in a triangular meet with Tippecanoe Valley and Whitko at Round Barn Golf Course on Monday. Whitko won with a 180, followed by Tippy Valley (190) and Caston (215).

Dague led the Comets with a 46, followed by Herseman (50), Pugh (59), Marshall Finke (60), Sylvain (61) and Brayden Duff (61).

LAFAYETTE JEFF INVITE

Logansport was led by Ty Vietti who placed tied for third overall with a 5-over 77 at Ackerman Golf Course on Saturday. Joe Peter of Faith Christian was the medalist with a 75.

Vietti was followed by Trevor Vietti (81), Noah Lange (90) and Malachi Pearson (96).

Logan placed fifth out of 12 teams. Brebeuf won with a 318, followed by Faith Christian (326), Chesterton (339), Harrison (341), Logan (344), Franklin Central (351), West Lafayette (357), Lebanon (359), Crown Point (371), Mooresville (374), McCutcheon (375) and Lafayette Jeff (391).

—In the first home match of the season Logansport shot a season-low 152 to defeat Lafayette Central Catholic (187) on Monday at Dykeman Park.

Logansport was led by a 1-over par 35 from Ty Vietti. Lange carded a PR 38, Trevor Vietti had a 39, Brant Higgins had a PR 40 and Brady Bair had a PR 42.

Other scores for Logansport were David Wooten (46), Seth Garretson (53), Pearson (54) and Mitchell Albright (55).

GIRLS TENNIS

NCC TOURNEY

Logansport placed eighth out of 10 teams at the event held at Muncie Central on Saturday,

The Berries defeated Muncie Central 3-2 and lost to McCutcheon 5-0 and Lafayette Jeff 4-1.

Lexi Brown had a 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 2 singes against Muncie. Trista Russow and Tishadequea Ogle had a 6-1, 6-2 at No. 1 doubles and Rachel Calisto and Mayce McClure had a 6-2, 6-4 win at No. 2 doubles.

Lydia Goad had a 2-6, 6-2, 10-8 win at No. 1 singles against Lafayette Jeff.

NORTHWESTERN 4, CASS 1

The Lady Kings came out and had a hard time finding their groove Monday against a strong Northwestern team.

Carley McCloskey and Jordyn Hensley came back for a 4-6, 6-1, 10-7 win at No. 2 doubles for the Kings.