TVS vs Ansonia part Duo

TVS vs Ansonia part Duo

Ansonia did a good of keeping the South defense off balance with a combination of the run and pass.  They ran a 2 back offense and even the T formation.  Their screen pass was effective as I recall they had a 33 yard touchdown and a 72 yard touchdown on that play.  They also drew South off sides in critical 4th and short situations. South for the most part had a big play offense.  They definitely could generate big chunks of yardage.  The referee's definitely earned their money as the scrambled up and down the field trying to keep up with both teams.

I think the rain delay was an advantage for Ansonia.  Almost the entire first quarter was played on Friday night.  So Saturday they played for a quarter and got a halftime to rest before finishing out the game. South had a numbers advantage - despite losing some players to injury this season,  and were able to rest players.  Ansonia had to play iron man football.  I am guessing that their numbers are in the low 20's.

At halftime South had a 30 to 22 lead, having allowed Ansonia to score just before the break.  In the second half South received.  And several times during the game, South was a team that could not stand prosperity.  And a great example was that kick off return.  It was a great return into Ansonia territory - but a hold put the ball back on the South 16. But Michael Burke, who was playing ill, took a flare pass all the way to Ansonia 8 where Wes Cole scored.

Ansonia scored on a fore mentioned 72 yard screen pass.  And on that kick off Jesse Wysong was able to return the ball all the way to the Tiger 23 yard line. It looked like South was going to extend their lead.  But on the first play from scrimmage, a hold put South back into long yardage.  A swing pass was intercepted and ran back to the 6 where Ansonia scored.  Now instead of a comfortable lead, South only had a 4 point lead - 38-34.

But on South's next drive senior Michael Burke had a 54 yard TD carry to put South back up by two scores 46-34.  Now the game entered the 4th quarter.  Ansonia drove the length of the field and on an incredible 4th down play they scored.  It was 4th and 6 on the 6 yard line.  The quarterback dropped back to pass and  South brought the heat.  As a defender began to drag him down the quarterback threw a fluttering pass.  The receiver came back to the ball and made the catch, dodged a tackle and took it in for the TD.  Again it was a one score game as Ansonia closed the gap to make it 46 to 40.

There was about 7 minutes left in the game when South got the ball.  They were able to chew some time off the clock before giving up the ball on downs - not able to get a first down on a 4th and 9 pass. Ansonia was able to get the ball to midfield before giving up the ball on a 4th and 10 at the 40 with 1:12 on the clock. South took the victory formation and took a knee to run out the clock for their first victory of the season.

Tvs 46 ansonia 40 final

tvs 46. Ans 34 third

When  i left the score was 16 - 8 in favor of South.  Ansonia scored first.  Running wise they seemed to get most of their yards on the edges, no so much in the middle. But passing was where they did the damage, one passing getting them a first down in TVS territory.  And a screen pass would go 33 yards for the first score of the night.

South did not take long to respond.  Dustin McKey returned the ensuing kickoff to the Ansonia 22.  A couple of plays later and Wes Cole knifed thru the Tiger defense to even up the score.  Weather became a factor as Ansona fumbled in the rain and Ashley recovered.  Jesse Wysong set up the next score with a carry deep into Ansonia territory.  Wes Cole scored again and again the conversion was good.  With about 40 seconds left in the quarter the game was put on hold because of lightning.  I bugged out because it seemed pretty steady.  Updates to come once I learn more.

TVS Stumbles

The Twin Valley South volleyball team has had a strong start this season.  Winning their first 3 games of the season.  They did have to go to 4 sets in their match against Carlisle. But were able to win in three sets against Stivers and Bradford.  South has traditionally been strong in volleyball, but last season the bar has set higher with Miami East winning state in Division 3. So this year expect the competition to get tougher as they go deeper into the CCC schedule.

And this year’s team is a younger team than last season with the core of the team being juniors.  There are two sophomores on the roster and a senior.   The team will have to mature in a hurry.  And they have done so for the most part in the early going. Putting up some good numbers in their early victories.  Against Stivers  the team hammered them 25-12,25-8,25-9.  Gentry Gates had a good night with 8 Aces, 4 kills, and 12 assists.  Kaylee Johnson had 7 aces and was 10 of 10 on serve receive.  Paris Gruber had 5 kills. Finally Danielle Kreitzer had 4 aces and 4 digs.

Against Bradford (25-21, 25-11, 25-13), it was another player stepping up for the victory.  Skylar Lain had 7 digs and 10 kills. Paris Gruber had 3 aces, 6 digs, and 6 kills.  Gentry Gates had 11 digs and 11 assists. Taylor Kirkpatrick had 4 digs and 5 assists.  After the game Coach Roberts commented that she was impressed with the way that both Gentry Gates and Taylor Kirkpatrick distributed the ball in this game.

Next up for the Panthers was their second league foe of the season – Arcanum.  And the team stumbled for the first time this season.  The first set was a lackluster 25-14 loss where South never really got on track.  In the second set the team performed better.  But was constantly playing catch up.  Arcanum would go up by 2-3 points, South would tie. Arcanum would go up again, and South would catch up but could never pass Arcanum.  They never could get that big momentum swing to go ahead. Arcanum seemed to be able to get good set ups to spike the ball.  Meanwhile, South was weak on their returns. This set was closer though 25-23 in favor of Arcanum.

In the third match it looked like Arcanum was going to run away with it. But coach Roberts took a time out when South was behind 9-3 to stem the tide.  South battled their way back into game, but couldn’t get any closer than 3 points to Arcanum, finally losing the set and the match. It’s the first setback for the team this season, so now the team will see who the leaders are to get the team back in the win column.

Coach Roberts was asked for comment after the Arcanum game, “We didn’t have any ball control. Our issues piled up early on and just got more dismal. We never did get into sync with what we wanted to do. We had lack of execution and a multitude of errors. We couldn’t get the ball to the outside, which is where you want to get the ball. We have one senior, 2 sophomores, and the core is juniors. So we are not as young as one might think, but we are inexperienced at the varsity level of play.  We need to work on general volleyball skills. Their work effort needs to be there day in and day out at practice.”  

Odds n Ends

This week will be a little hectic.  I plan to cover volleyball on Tuesday as the paper has an early deadline for next week.  I still intend to cover football, probably the TVS - Ansonia game for this Sports Blog on Friday.

Great time to be a sports fan in SW Ohio.  Reds are in first and look to be headed to the division title. Pro football starts next Sunday (will my fantasy team be ready?).  Ohio State has its first win in the Urban Meyer era.

Dixie Dominates Valley View

The Dixie Greyhounds hadn’t defeated the Valley View Spartans in 27 years, but in a single night the drought was ended.   The Spartans had prepared well defensively and were able to rein in Ryan Jordan who had gained over 300 yards the week before.  He was held to a little over 80 yards and a single TD on the night.  But they did not find a way to stop quarterback Luke Bowling who contributed to all but one of the Dixie scores.  And on the defensive side of the ball he had 3 interceptions.  Not bad for a nights work.

He had 4 touchdown passes – 2 to Logan Watts, 1 to Matt Isaacs, 1 to Justin Funkhouser.  Ran for a touchdown on a 20 yard run.  Then had a pick 6, where he sprinted 21 yards for the score.  He would end up with over 80 yards of interception return yardage.  Ryan Jordan scored on a one yard plunge to complete the Dixie scoring. 

The game began with Dixie taking the ball and getting the ball to midfield where the ball was fumbled.  Not a good way to start the night. Valley View scored first, but Dixie promptly answered with a 66 yard TD pass to Watts to even up the score.  On Valley Views next possession, a Matt Isaacs sack put Valley View into long yardage and a Travis Wright interception ended the drive.  So after one quarter, the game was even.

The second quarter was where the game was won by Dixie. They erupted for 25 points.   And the defense smothered every effort by Valley View at a comeback.  Matt Isaacs scored on a nice 7 yard TD pass from play action. Next was a 21 yard TD pass to Logan Watts.  The next TD was set up by a Matt Isaacs carry to the Valley View 20.  Then Bowling dropped back to pass and had to scramble.  He then dodged and weaved 20 yards for the score.  Finally, late in the quarter Bowling intercepted a pass and returned it over 60 yards where he was tackled on the one yard line.  Ryan Jordan finished the job with a 1 yard TD plunge.   Dixie was up 32 to 13 at the half.

In the third quarter, Valley View went back to the running game where they had some success.  But their ground chewing drives were eating precious clock.  As the game entered the last quarter the score was 38-20 in favor of Dixie.  Last season Dixie played with Valley View for the first half, but seemed to run out of gas in the second half.  Partly because a lot of Dixie starters go both ways while Valley View was able to platoon.  This season with a deep bench, Dixie was able to spot substitute for their starters and help keep them fresh.    This paid off in the last quarter as Dixie held Valley View to a single TD and had one more touchdown drive to end the night. 

They used the victory formation and took a knee to end the game and Greyhound fans swarmed onto the field to celebrate the win.  The only blemish’s that I could see on an otherwise great game by the Hounds was the Dixie special teams and Dixie turnovers.  The kickoff team allowed Valley View to get several good returns deep into Dixie territory.  The kicks were generally long by high school standards – there was even one touchback.  But the coverage needs to better so that the other team isn’t getting a short field to work with. 

 Coach Watson was asked for comment after the game, “It was a huge game for us, shutting down their very potent offense.   The defense was stellar - they all tackled well.  Matt Isaacs and Dustin Hutchins, the leaders of the defense did a good job of handling their triple option.  Hunter Overholtz and Saloman Shepard are leaders of the offensive line they protected Luke very well and are by far our best defensive linemen – they did a good job of pressuring the quarterback.”

On next week’s game against NorthEastern, “They are very good at what they do, they have a solid team.  They run the wishbone wing-T with a triple option.  They had a running back gain 260 yards.  So we have to make certain that we are disciplined defensively.  On offense we need to make sure we are doing what we do best.  Our offense needs to be explosive.  That is Ryan Jordan running the ball and Luke Bowling getting the ball to the receivers.   If we can do that, then we will be OK.”

The Dixie season is off to a great start.  But with an emotional victory over the Spartans, combined with their first road game - could there be a let up against NorthEastern?  Dixie was fired up at a fever pitch before the Valley View game.  Will they have enough gas in their tanks for next Friday? 

Upset dixie forty five view twenty seven

Dixie 32 valley view 13 at halftime

Dixie dominated South in all facets of the game on opening night of the high school football season.  The host team had home field advantage and every other advantage as they cruised to a 48-0 win.  The amazing thing is that all of the damage was done in the first half.  The team scored 14 points in the first quarter and an astounding 34 points in the second quarter .   That was plenty enough offense for the night.  And the defense was stifling – not allowing South to sniff midfield in the first half.   South did manage to get into the redzone thanks to a botched punt attempt by Dixie in the second half.  But the defense kept them out of the endzone to maintain the shutout.

Ryan Jordan had a stellar night breaking not one, but two school records.  He broke his own single game rushing record with 306 yards.  Even more remarkable when you find that he was pulled out of the offense for the entire second half.  He also set a single game scoring record with 6 touchdowns.  Again all done in 2 quarters of work.  South just could not find an answer for his combination of speed and strength.   

Defensively Matt Isaacs, who only played linebacker for one half, lead the way with 5 tackles with 2 of those for loss.  Travis Wright had an interception.  Chuck Lockheart had a fumble recovery.  Those two turnovers put Dixie up plus 2 in the turnover department as Dixie did not have any turnovers on the night. 

And what a way for coach Tom Watson to begin his career as a head coach.  Anytime there is a change at the top, you have to wonder how the team will react and there will always be differences in technique,  philosophy of offense/defense, and just the style of coaching.  The Dixie players obviously adapted well.  Coach Watson was asked how it felt to get the first game out of the way. “I am happy and excited – it could not have happened without those kids.  They played hard and busted their butts – I am very proud of all of my players.”

On the game, “Ryan Jordan had a monster day. The offensive line did an awesome job blocking for Ryan Jordan, he could not have set those records without them.  Even our wide receivers did an awesome job blocking for him.  We only threw the ball twice – Luke Bowling was 2 for 2. The receivers know that they wouldn’t touch the ball very much with Ryan running like that, but they did an excellent job of being team players and blocking to open a hole for him.  It was overall a great first game for us as a team. We are sacrificing ourselves for each other and I couldn’t be any more prouder.  Our defense was outstanding, anytime you get a shutout it is a good game.“

On hosting Valley View next Friday night, “They have a great team and a great tradition – I know what they are about.  Coach Ketron is an excellent coach with experience and they are going back to their old ways with the run and shoot.  They are very good team and I think it is going to be a dog fight.  But we are renewing that old rivalry that went back into the 80’s and 90’s.  And we are trying to snap a 27 year losing streak.  But I am telling my team it only takes one game to erase that 27 years.”

One good thing about Dixie being able to dominate on the ground, they did not have to open up their playbook very much.  So there is not much of the Dixie offense that Valley View was able to scout.  Meanwhile, Valley View had a much tougher opening game in their loss to Dunbar and so they had to open up and show a lot more to the Dixie scouts.

There were some bright spots for South.  Jesse Wysong had an average of 28 yards per return and was second on the team in tackles.  James Cottingim was the team leader in tackles.  Jarad Kirkpatrick, a freshman, lead the team in rushing with 10 rushes for 52 yards.  But unfortunately Kirkpatrick was injured and will not play in next week’s game.

Coach Engleka from TVS was asked to comment after the game: “They were bigger, faster, stronger, and tougher than what we were and 10 times out of 10 tries they are going to win the game.  We knew going in that they were a good team. “

On next week’s game against National Trail, “They are a mirror image of us with the exact same offense and the exact same defense.  The team that goes out and executes the best,0 that is the team that is going to win.  They played against Ponitz Tech and got a win, so they are feeling good about themselves.  Our team has to come back from playing a good team and got manhandled by Dixie. So their kids are on a high and our kids we need to pick up and get ready to go for next week.  They know what we are doing, we know what they are doing – whoever executes wins.

Dixie: Senior laden team

First year coach Sam Watson will be leading the Dixie Greyhound football team this fall. But since he has been an assistant coach at Dixie the past couple of seasons – he is not new to the players.  The team will still be running a spread offense as they have done in the past and a hard-nosed, tough defense.  And the team returns key starters at the skill positions on offense.  That makes things easier for a first year head coach – a familiar system and experienced players.

The team has a decent crop of seniors - and a total of 8 on offense. 4 year starter senior Luke Bowling will be the quarterback. Coach Watson, ”Luke is a very good talent for us, he is definitely a big asset”.   Travis Wright, another senior, will play receiver and defensive back. Fellow senior Ryan Jordan, who set the single game rushing record at Dixie last season will be back as well on offense. Coach Watson, “Ryan is a big plus for us he is a big play maker on both offense and defense”.  On defense,  Matt Isaacs yet another senior is back, he got post season accolades last year as linebacker.  Coach Watson, “Isaacs was second in the area in tackles last year – he is definitely the leader on defense”.

Another key player who has not played with Dixie for the last few years is Solomon Shepard.  He is back at Dixie for his senior year.  Coach Watson, “We are happy to have him back – he is a good lineman, we are expecting him to contribute both on offense and defense. He is a good asset to have. And I expect all my kids to be ready on Friday nights , we are a small school and they need to be ready if I need to put them in.”

Coach Watson first commented on the North scrimmage: ‘Some of the things I liked about it were the we played as a unit and we played together, the team camaraderie,  it was a positive experience.  We do need to get better at running our stuff, and there is a lot of fine tuning we need to do.  But I think we will accomplish that in short order. “

 On expectations: “They know what we expect and they actually have high expectations for themselves.  The expectations are that we will be competitive game in and game out every single week.  We are going to play hard nonstop and give everything we have every Friday night. “

On TVS: “I expect South to be a very competitive program. Their coach has done a very good job of getting kids out and getting the program up and running. I expect very tough completion between them and us.  We have similar style offenses and both schools have tough hard-nosed defenses that are very aggressive.  But it will be tough for the defenses to stop the offenses because they both execute very well.  I can’t praise South enough, they are doing a great job with that program  - getting it back on its feet and moving the right direction.

Last season the team was 4-6, but depending on how the team gels behind Watson the team should be better. The Greyhounds will host TVS on Friday August 24. 

TVS - Reaching for Perfection

Twin Valley South is preparing for their second year under head coach Lance Engleka.  They are looking forward to improving on last season’s 3-7 record.   South will be leaning on the following players to lead their effort: Senior Michael Burke at linebacker and wide out.  Wes Cole sophomore quarterback and defensive back, who started last year as a freshman as a receiver and defensive back. Junior linemen MJ Randolph and Cody Clayton.  And Darren Brown, junior receiver and defensive back will be a prominent contributor.

For the second season in a row, the team has over 40 players on their roster – so enthusiasm for the program stays high.  This pays dividends in that the players have to compete for positions and so they have to work harder to earn a starting slot.  Additionally, this means the school can field a reserve team and give the underclassmen playing time.  Coach Engleka hinted that he was hoping to be able to platoon more players and have less players going both ways.

I was able to catch up to coach Engleka this past week and talk to him about the first scrimmage of the preseason.  “Well we only do 2 scrimmages and so this was New Miami’s second scrimmage – our first.  We came out kind of flat – I didn’t think that we were as physical as what we needed to be.  And they were more physical than what we were.  Then we took a break after doing some series of ten.  We got on them, told them that needed to respond and pick it up.  So after the break, we responded and picked it up against them.   We were now the more physical team and did what we wanted to do.  The offense was able to execute, and the defense flew to the ball.”

After speaking to coach Engleka about the scrimmage, I found out the starting quarter back, Wes Cole was out with a finger injury that happened before the scrimmage and that they had to play the  entire scrimmage with the freshman back up calling the signals.

On the second year as head coach, “Last season we laid down the foundation for the expectations for this team.  And so now it has been a year- long progression where every day, every drill we are reinforcing those expectations.  The kids are now familiar with us and know what we expect.  They know our offense and know our defense.  So it is now just another step on the ladder.  We do things the right way and do it perfect every time.  And if we don’t, we go over it and over it until it is perfect. “

On Dixie – South’s first game, “There first scrimmage was against North.  It was a 14-14 tie.  I know that North has a solid program and that tells me that Dixie has a solid team.  We know that they have a number of good players coming back – their quarterback, Luke Bowling.  They a have a good wide receiver and running back coming back.  Those are three really good players.  And I know they will have big kids in the interior line.  So it will be a challenge for us – they are a bigger school and the last couple of years they have had their way with South.  But our kids believe in what we are doing and I think it will be one heck of a match up.

Rounding out Souths staff are the following  assistant coaches: Clint Shepard who will handle the offensive and defensive lines.  Pat Shockey will coach the receivers and defensive backs.  Dave Maddox will be the defensive coordinator.  South opens their season on Friday, August 24 at Dixie. 

Getting ramped up for the start of the high school football season.  First game covered with be TVS vs. Dixie.  Both teams will have similar spread offenses.  Dixie returns experience at the skill positions.  Jordan will be back at running back and they will have a 4 year starter at quarterback. Luke Bowling has done a great job at the helm and this year should be no exception. On defense, Matt Isaacs, who earned post season honors as linebacker, will be on the hunt.  First year coach Sam Watson will be leading the team this season.

South will have a first year starter, Wes Cole a sophomore running their offense. Senior Mike Burke will be back at linebacker and wide reciever. They also return an experienced line. Lance Englaka will be back for his second year at head coach. The game should be a good one with both teams ready to air the ball.

Sunsite Racers and Fans, (Radio Controlled Race Boats)
  June 24, 2012 was a great day for racing, although it was very HOT the wind was calm and we had zero rain. Our newest competitor is Andy Denka. Andy took 1st place in his very first heat of racing! Good job Andy and crew member Alex.  Mike Stuchell has a real neat gadget for maintaining proper carb jetting by attaching to the carb fuel inlet and reading the airflow and air density with a gage mounted on the flow box. Kevin Dowty won the main event in F hydro. Kevin lost his cowling in the first heat in the deepest part of the pond, he then resorted to using duct tape to close off the engine bay. I had a good day racing by taking 1st in both heats of all three classes that I raced in, SK, F, and  K, but when it came to the finals things just went sour for me. In SK I couldn't get my boat started because it was flooded, in F hydro a large stick lodged in my rudder and slowed the Miss Bardahl down to a crawl then swamped the engine from water spray.

Daily results--

SK heat one-- 16- 1st, 45-2nd, 777-dnf

SK heat two---16-1st, 777-2nd, 45-3rd

SK main------45-1st, 777-2nd, 16-dns

 

E heat one--44-1st, 1-2nd, 48, 41, 45---dns

E heat two---41-1st, 1-2nd, 45-dnf, 44, 48-dns

E main-------41-1st, 1- 2nd, 48-3rd, 44-dnf, 45-dns

 

K heat one--50-1st, 1-2nd, 32-3rd

K heat two--50-1st, 1-2nd, 32-3rd,

K main------32-1st, 50-2nd, 1-dnf

 

F heat one---40-1st, 1-2nd, 710-3rd, 45-dnf

F heat two---40-1st, 45-2nd, 1-3rd, 710-dns

F main--------710-1st, 45-2nd, 40, 1--dnf

 

Season point standings--

1080--SK-45--Miss Blossom-- Margaret

1035--SK-16--Old yeller--Jon

790---SK-777--Jumpin Jack Flash- Phil

190---SK-1--Miss Joselyn--Matt

 

945--E-41--High Winder--Phil

845--E-1---Shamrock---John

720--E-45--Bluemoon II--Margaret

605--E-48--Stooch--Mike

370--E-31--------------Matt

235--E-71------Mark

190--E-44-----Andy

 

970--K-32---Hoof Hearted--John Jenkins

795--K-1---Hopper---Margaret

730--K-50--Coldfire--Jon

 

1040--F-45--Sunshine Baby--Margaret

930---F-1---King Bee--Phil

895--F-40--Miss Bardahl--Jon

800--F-710----------Kevin

335--F-15-----------John

80----F-32-------Matt

           That's where it stands in season points after today's race. Thanks to Andy and crew for the donuts, fruit tray and hotdogs. Thanks again to Grace for operating the starting clock and keeping score. Our next race is July 15. There will be a water ski competition on the main lake both saturday and sunday. Margaret and Julia will be competing in the slalom event both days, fortunately the ski competition is over by 11:00am, that should not keep Margaret from racing on sunday. I will be camping back in the pit area on saturday night on the 14th.

Baseball Post Season Results

The school year is drawing to an end and the post season for baseball and fastpitch is upon us.  South’s boys team lost a close game 3-1 against NorthEastern.  TCN boys lost a close game against Troy Christian 2-0. Dixie’s fastpitch team lost their first round game 10-0 in a rain delayed game against Miami East.

Dixie’s baseball team lost a heartbreaker in their opening round game. 

Dixie went up 1-0  in the top of the fifth inning and Blanchester tied the game in the bottom of the sixth.  Dixie scored a run in their half of the last running to go up again.  But in the last at bat for home team Blanchester, a muffed play by Dixie at first got a runner on base, then a batter reached on a walk.  Finally a deep fly ball scored both baserunners to seal the win for Blanchester.  This gave the Greyhounds a 12-14 overall record. Coach Johnson noted that the team is only losing one senior, “so expectations will be high for the 2013 season. The only question to be answered is how much work they do in the summer and the rest of the offseason to get better to be prepared to win league and go deeper in the tournament next season.”

Luke Bowling was 2-2; Josh VanBuhren was 2-4; while Travis Wright and Seth Angel each had a hit. Seth Angel was the starting pitcher and had 6 strikeouts. 

TVS fastpitch ended their regular season on  a down note being on the receiving end of back to back shutouts.   But in the three games the team played this week the offense erupted.  TVS blanked Franklin Monroe in their first round state tournament game 9-0.  Emily Froment was 2-4 with a triple that hit the fence. Katie Strazheim was 2-2 as was Kayla Hartley.  Shelby Spaeth has been unable to play catcher, so it is up to Leanne Johnson to finish the season behind the plate. “ I am so pleased with the job that LeAnne Johnson is doing behind the plate.  Since taking over for Shelby Spaeth, she's looking like she's been back there her whole career.  Having Shelby out in right field now, gives us some increased speed and experience in the outfield.  Shelby is a good leader, no matter where she's playing on the field.” Stated coach Robinson.

She continued, “Good solid win to start tournament play.  Emily was one walk away from a perfect game.  I think she's come close 4 times now this year.  Still it was a no-hit, no-error game, so I was really pleased with our defense.  Offensively, I was happy to see both Emily and Katie Straszheim hit so well.  They've both been in a bit of a slump here lately.” Froment ended the game with 15 strikeouts.

 

Catholic Central was the second round game for TVS.  Again it was a shutout win for the Panthers 11-0 as they continued to dominate in the early rounds of the state tournament.  And it was a memorable game for Emily Froment who recorded her 1000^th career strikeout on the next to the last batter.  Shelby Spaeth was 4-4 with 2 singles, 2 doubles and 2 RBI’s – one of her best days of the season.  Katie Strazheim was 3-4 with 2 RBI’s. 

Coach Robinson on the game, “We hit the ball really well tonight, finally adjusting to the slower pitcher.  This was probably the slowest pitcher we've seen all season, so I was pleased that we were able to score in every inning.  Shelby Spaeth had a really good night at the plate.  She's been struggling for consistency lately, so I was glad to see her have a break-out game.  Katie Straszheim has hit well all season, hovering around the .500 mark all year long.”

Finally TVS had a makeup  game against Arcanum.  They won this game 7-1 to avenge a loss to Arcanum earlier in the season and completed a perfect week.  Coach Robinson was positive after the win, “Tonight was a test to see how much we've improved from the beginning of the season.  Arcanum beat us 3-0 in the first week of the season, and we only managed 3 hits off of their pitcher, while committing 3 errors.  Today, we had 12 hits and no errors.  Our bunt defense has improved tremendously over the course of the season, and we've got a much more balanced hitting attack.  Six of our 9 starters are hitting above .300.  Emily is throwing as hard as she has all year, and LeAnne Johnson is doing an amazing job behind the plate.  It just seems like all of the pieces are coming together just at the right time.  We're building confidence with every game too.”

South will play in the sectional finals on Tuesday against Southeastern at Brookville highschool at 5pm. Preble Shawnee fastpitch has also advanced in the state tournament with wins against familiar foes National Trail (6-3) and TCN (3-0).  They play Miami East in their sectional final. 

Dixie Track Hungry for District Meet

Both Dixie Track teams have been successful this season and are hoping to finish

 strong in the league and district meets.  Coach Via is in charge of the girls team

 which is young, but athletic. Case in point is pole vaulter Jesselyn Shade who

 is a freshman but has regularly been vaulting over 9’ this season and won league.

 And despite this being only the second time that she ran 400 meters, freshman

 Chelsea Evans won the league in this event. Kristin Hauser is just coming back

 from injury but still managed to be league champ in the 100m hurdles. 

“The freshmen being athletic has really helped us a lot,” stated coach Via,

 “Evans is close to a school record in the 400m dash and last Friday was the

 first time she ran that race. She is real competitive and hates to lose. Junior

 Kristin Hauser is close to record, but then she got injured. And sophomore 

Kylie Hundley has had some success in the long jump, hopefully she can finish 

strong for us. And they pull together as a team, we lost our senior high jumper 

and we had a couple of girls step up to become high jumpers - Sheri Myers has 

done well for us.”  The Dixie girls track would make a good showing in the SWBL 

league meet finishing third.

The Dixie boys track team has been hauling in the hardware this season, winning 

several invitationals this spring. TVS’s Fred Durkle, Preble Shawnee Invitational,

Northridge Invitational, and Dean Schultz Invitational to name a few. “We have won

 every major invitational that we have been in this spring,” stated coach Hughes,

”the team has been real strong this year. Mike Smiley has been our main thrower. 

He threw 45’ today which won the shotput, and that is his best this year. And in 

the disc he is throwing over 140’. 

He continued, “John Isaacs has gone over 6’5” this year. Our long jumper, Ryan 

Jordan, has been over 21’ this year. John Noonan in the pole vault broke the 

school record this year. He went 12’ 10.5” at the Northridge Invitational to 

get the school record, then went 12’11” at the next meet. He’s a junior so 

he has another year to keep breaking it. Ryan Jordan in the 100m got the 

school record, he ran 11.12 at Shawnee; at Northridge he beat it again with 

a 11:07. So he’s been moving.”

Also, “Doogie Hauser, Andrew Barnet, Ryan Jordan, and John Isaacs have 

been getting real close to our school record in the 4X100m relay. That 

team has not been beat all year long. Our 2 miler, William Stapleton, is 

looking real strong. His personal best this year is better than his regional 

time from last year. Dustin Funkhauser,a freshman, has ran in the 53’s this year 

in the 400m, so we are real happy with that. One of the fastest times I have 

ever seen for a freshman. The 4X200m team beat the school record. We were 

district runners up last year, so our goal this year is to win districts and 

to win league. Then you never know what is going to happen at regionals.”

The Dixie boys would be runners up at the league meet. Losing to Milton Union by just one point. Next week the team will be participating in the district meet at Welcome stadium on May 17^th and 19^th. 

South's Emily Froment gets 1000th career strikeout this week.

Preble Shawnee won this years Preble County fastpitch tournament. But it was not easy for the team as their first game was against Twin Valley South. It was a classic pitchers duel as the game featured the two best pitchers in the county, Hannah Belvo of Preble Shawnee and Emily Froment of Twin Valley South. Both pitchers are seniors and have had great careers at their respective schools.

Both pitchers were interviewed before the game. And both pitchers are planning to play at the next level “I am going to Anderson,” stated Belvo, “they were league champs this year, so I am excited to be going to play for them. I did look at Muskingum because they both had nursing programs.” “But its been awesome here at Shawnee, she added, I've been blessed. Coach Lynch this year has been great, he has really pushed us this year.”

Next up was Emily Froment who commented on the season, “Its been good overall, but it has been kind of up and down,” she said, “however over the last few weeks we have come along strong.” About Belvo, “She's a really nice pitcher, we have met many times in high school and in summer select teams.” When asked about her overall record against her, she thought that she had the overall advantage. Belvo has a fellow senior, Katie Woodward, as a catcher while Froment is pitching to a freshman. “It was tough at first, but Shelby has really come on – we have adjusted to each other.” Like Belvo, she looked at other schools but the University of Dayton seemed like the best fit. “I liked their coaches a lot, plus my pitching coach was over at UD. And it is close enough that my parents can come watch me play.”

But back to the game, it was scoreless until late in the game when Shawnee got a batter on first, who stole second, got to third and scored on a pass ball. South able to get runners on first and second in their last at bat, but a double play sealed the 1-0 win for Shawnee.

That put Shawnee into the championship game against National Trail who had run ruled Eaton earlier in the afternoon 14-0 to earn their chance at the title. Again the game was a close one. Shawnee scored a run first, but Trail rallied and scored a couple of runs to go up. Belvo had started the game, but went to first base to rest her arm. A teammate took over the mound for a couple of innings, but after the runs were scored, Belvo returned to finish out the game. Not long after she returned, she was able to record a record setting strikeout – number 198 that gave her the most career strikeouts at Shawnee. A school record that had stood for 20 years. Behind her the team scored 3 more runs and earned the title with a 4-2 victory. Belvo helped her cause with a double; Courtney Lakes was 3-3 at the plate.

“Emily Froment is such a great pitcher.”, stated Shawnee's Coach Lynch afterward, “Probably the best pitcher we face this year. You have to scratch and claw and do everything you have to do to get a run in. We were fortunate to come away with that win.” Against Trail, “Our enthusiasm went from skyhigh against South, to rock bottom against Trail. Plus we didn't hit the ball very well. We were lucky to eek out a 4-2 win. On the season, “It has been phenomenal, we had one loss to Madison. But like I told the girls we played a 100 plus perfect innings, and one bad inning – how can you gripe about that. And it wasn't really that bad of an inning, just a couple of fluke things.”

“What a great fastpitch softball game,” stated South's coach Robinson about their game against Shawnee,”  2 great pitchers going at it.  We continue to chase balls that are not strikes.  It's easy to do though, against a pitcher like Belvo who hits her spots so well.  As much as I hated to lose that game, I thought we played them much stronger this game than when we saw them early in the season.  They did get a couple of hits off of bunts, but other than that, we fielded their short game really well.  I give Shawnee credit:  their defense was perfect behind Belvo's pitching.  There's a reason that they've only lost one game this year.”

It was a tough day for South bats as Tri-County North won the consolation game 4-0 over TVS. The team did not cross the plate all day. “Definitely not the game we were hoping to play after the great Shawnee game.  It's hard to know that we out-hit them 7-4, but they out-scored us 4-0, especially knowing that we didn't have any errors.  We just couldn't string any hits together to produce runs.” spoke Coach Robinson afterwards.

Dixie Readies for Post Season

Both Dixie baseball and fastpitch are wrapping up their regular season this week and readying themselves for state tournament play. Dixie fastpitch dropped a game against Monroe 4-2 and then lost a game against Oakwood 6-5. Against Monroe, Dixie spotted the visitors a lead and tried a late 7^th inning rally that fell short. Courtney Hawk was 2 for 4; Abbey Owens and Stacy Rader had singles. In the Oakwood game which was senior night, the damage was done in the 5^th inning when Oakwood jumped ahead with a 3 run inning. This game was cut short by rain. Katie Honeywell had a double and an RBI for Dixie. Still the team won 8 regular season games this season a huge improvement after winning only one game last year.

“We played really well, but had just a few errors,” declared Coach Perry after the Monroe game, “This season we have done a great job at working hard and have improved greatly. We won 8 games this year as opposed to 1 game last year. The seniors did a great job leading this team. Courtney Hawk is true leader that lead this team for the past two years. She will be continuing her career at Lake Erie College. She is always pushing the girls. Madison Buxton has done a great job for us behind the plate. Stacey Rader has played a great center field for us. She made multiple diving catches this season.” In the tournament, Dixie plays Miami East, “We know they are a number 4 seed. We think that if we play our best like we did against Madison and Waynesville last week, that we should have a chance to beat them.”

Although Dixie graduates the middle of their defense: catcher, short stop and centerfield – they will have back their sophomore pitcher and most of their team. So that will give them a solid core to build upon. Dixie plays their first round game Monday, May 7^th at Miami East.

Dixie baseball kicked off their week with a resounding win over Franklin Monroe. They dominated the game from the first inning on – scoring 7 runs on route to a 14-2 victory. The pitchers mound was a bit of merry go round for the Greyhounds. Seth Angel, Luke Bowling, and Josh VonBehren all shared pitchers duties.

Greg Leonard, Josh VonBehren, Travis Wright, and Anthony Schaffer all had two hits. Christian Evans had 3 RBI's to go along with his home run. Christian Evans had 2 stolen bases. Defensively Greg Leonard had 4 putouts.

Dixie split a double header against Milton Union. In the first game Milton prevailed 5-2; Jacob Campbell was 3 for 4 in this game. Dixie turned the tables on Milton in the second game winning decisively 9-1. Seth Angel was the winning pictcher. Christian Evans was 3 for 3; Jacob Campbell's bat was hot in this game too as he was 2 for 3. Josh VonBehren was 2 for 3 as well.

Dixie vanquished Newton 14-4. Josh VonBehren was the pitcher of record. Anthony Schaffer was 2 for 2 on day. This win put Dixie's record at 12-13, a hair under .500 for the season. Dixie will be playing at Blanchester on May 7 in the state tournament. If they win the opening round, they will play a familiar foe – Middletown Madison.

Strike Out Cancer a Success

Strike Out Cancer a Success

The 'Strike Out Cancer' game hosted by TVS was a huge success. The game was well attended and the crowd was enthusiastic. The game raised about $1400 for the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Coach Robinson wanted to thank all who helped make this is a success: “Thanks to the fans of both teams for donating so generously.  I'd also like to thank my players' parents for putting together some of the most awesome theme baskets that we've ever raffled off.  Finally, I'd like to thank Joe Ferriell, of Power Play Productions, for providing his announcing and DJ skills, as well as all of his equipment at no cost.  His generosity allowed us to be able to reach and exceed our donation goals.”

Oh yeah, and there was a game too! South got back in the win column against rival TCN with a 6-1 win. After losing 3 games in a row last week, South was determined to get this week off to a strong start. South was able to dominate offensively and defensively. They got some big hits early to get the lead and didn't look back. Although South had a couple of errors, they did not cause much damage. North's strategy was to use the bunt to get on base, but the South infield did a good job of scooping up the ball and making plays.

Pitcher Emily Froment recorded the win and helped her cause with a home run. Kaelee Rivers also touched all the bases when she went yard. Cayla Hartley put the game out of reach with a 2 run double in the 6^th inning. Coach Robinson commented afterwards that, “The adjustments we've made with our hitting seems to have helped us cut down on our team's strikeouts.” That sure seems to be true as the team was definitely putting the ball into play.

Coach Robinson had plenty of kudo's afterwards, “It sure is nice getting back to winning!  We had a couple of errors on defense, but luckily they didn't cost us the game, as they did last week.  Outside of those 2 errors, I thought we played a great game.  Our outfield play was much better, and I thought we defended the bunt well too.  I thought Emily pitched a really strong game, especially having to pitch against such a strong wind.  I actually think it caused her breaking pitches to break even more dramatically.  Shelby did a really nice job behind the plate, catching her.”

South's next game was against a quality opponent – Versailles. This would prove to be a tough game for South and they did not help themselves as the team would cough up 5 errors. Making the mountain even tougher to climb. Froment did an admirable job on the mound. She struck out 17 batters and pitched her way out of the 3^rd inning where the bases were loaded – but did not allow a run to cross the plate.

Offensively the team was able to maintain its trend of scoring early. Shelby Spaeth was hit by a pitch and Katie Strazheim hit a sacrifice fly to score her. Midway thru the game South had a big 3^rd inning - Froment walked, then Strazheim doubled and Kaelee Rivers successfully bunted. Leanne Johnson stepped up with a big double to score two runs. This rattled the Versailles pitcher, and next Ali Robertson was hit by a pitch. The next batter grounded out, but advanced the runners. Alyssa Kube hit a single to score 2 more runs. The last South run was scored by Ashley Robertson who hit a single then scored off of a Kaelee Rivers double.

Although South had 5 errors, they only gave up 4 runs - giving South their second victory of the week. Coach Robinson commented after the game, “This game reminded me of the opening line to A Tale of Two Cities: 'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.'  The best of times was Emily Froment striking out 17 batters, our offense scoring 6 runs against a good Versailles defense, and holding Versailles scoreless in the 3rd inning with one out and bases loaded.  The worst of times involved 3 unearned runs while committing 5 errors.  I'm proud of our team, that they didn't totally shut down after having the bad inning in the 5th that allowed two runs to score.  We also had some players come through with solid hits with runners in scoring position.  Emily had her best outing of the season tonight on the mound.  As I've said before, she's getting stronger and stronger with each outing...hopefully right in time for tournament play.”