Prep roundup for Saturday, May 15
May 15—Western's softball team fell behind early and could not recover in dropping a 9-6 decision to Class 3A No. 4-ranked Benton Central in the Hoosier Conference title game Friday night on the Panthers' diamond.
"We gave them six runs early, but battled back in the fourth and fifth innings. We were a hit away in each inning to make it a game," Western coach Chris Tuberty said.
Sadie Harding led the Panthers with four hits, including a double. Izzy Johnson had a double and single and Madden Wells had a double.
Morgan Ousley pitched all seven innings for Western. She struck out six.
NW 9, TWIN LAKES 1
Ellie Boyer led the way as the Class 3A No. 5-ranked Tigers beat the visiting Indians in the Hoosier Conference's third-place game. The Butler recruit belted a home run, two triples and a double for 12 total bases.
Also for the Tigers, Jaylyn Harrison, Jamie Graves and Ady Altman had two hits apiece. Harrison and Graves each had a triple and Altman had a double. Kate Graves also had a double.
Harrison pitched all seven innings. She allowed eight hits and struck out four.
CASS 6, W. LAF. 5, 9 INNINGS
Kaylie Williams raced home on an error in the bottom of the ninth to lift the Kings past the Red Devils in the Hoosier Conference's fifth-place game.
Williams hit a leadoff double. With Rylee Holt at the plate, Williams took third on a wild pitch. On the same play, West Lafayette had an error on the throw to third and Williams broke for home. She beat the throw for the walk-off win.
Williams finished 3 for 5 with two runs. Also for Cass (11-11), Madison Dormer was 2 for 5 with a double and three RBI and Hannah Plauschin was 2 for 4 with an RBI and two runs.
Dormer earned the win in relief. She pitched the final 7 1/3 innings and struck out eight.
BASEBALL
NW 4, TWIN LAKES 2
Cole Wise fired a three-hitter to lead the visiting Tigers past the Indians in the Hoosier Conference's fifth-place game. The Tiger junior and Ball State recruit struck out 15 and walked two. He had 72 strikes in his 112-pitch outing.
The Tigers (7-11) scored two runs in the second inning and two more in the third to build a 4-0 lead. Wise and Eastin Whaley both finished 2 for 3 and both had an RBI.
"Cole did what Cole's been doing all year," Northwestern coach Ryan Ward said. "I'm really proud of our younger guys. Cam Davis, who was our starting catcher [Friday], is a freshman. I really wasn't planning on using him as a varsity catcher this year, but with both of our older catchers injured and out right now, he's really stepped up this week. He caught a great game off of Cole, which is not easy to do.
"Eastin Whaley is another freshman and he had two hits. So just really proud of our younger guys. They've picked some teammates up and contributed heavily."
W. LAF. 4, WESTERN 3
The Class 3A No. 4-ranked Panthers fell on the road to the Red Devils in the Hoosier Conference's third-place game.
Both teams had four hits. Western led 1-0 after the first inning, but West Lafayette scored two runs in the third and a single run in the fourth to take a 3-1 lead. Western pushed across single runs in the fifth and sixth innings to draw even, but the Red Devils answered with the go-ahead run in the bottom of the sixth.
Dylan Bryant started and pitched 5 1/3 innings. He allowed four hits and one earned run, struck out seven and walked four. Parker Dean recorded the other two outs. Alex Watkins provided one of the Panthers' few offensive highlights with an RBI double.
"This is the fourth one-run loss this season, second in a row," Western coach Ryan Berryman lamented. "Bottom line, we need grit, a refuse-to-lose attitude, and someone to step up. The heart of our lineup was 0 for 10 [Friday] and we stranded 10 runners. We've got to be better. They scored two runs on wild pitches, that's a formula for being on the wrong side of the scoreboard.
"We have the tools to be an excellent team and we have five games remaining to respond. We have to dig deep and find a way to get better."
For Western, it was the second disappointing trip to Tippecanoe County in three days. Lafayette Jeff beat Western 8-7 Wednesday at Loeb Stadium. In that game, the Panthers had a 4-0 lead with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, but could not put the Bronchos away. In that game, Mitchell Dean pitched 6 2/3 innings, allowed five hits and one earned run, struck out 11 and walked two.
BOYS GOLF
LOGAN 158, KOKOMO 163
The Berries topped the No. 19-ranked Wildkats at Dykeman Park, ending Kokomo's undefeated start in duals.
Brandon Hansen led the Kats with a 36. Ty Lauderbaugh and Jackson Richards had 42s and Karson Parrott shot 43.
