Chris Tilton Sports

Twin Valley South struck early with a big 2nd inning where they scored 7 runs. Dayton Christian switched pitchers and brought in Sam Worley midway through the inning, but Wes Cole hit a monster triple off of him and cleared the bases. However, Worley stopped TVS from scoring from the next inning on. But pitcher Jacob Bassler held Dayton Christian to three runs for South's first sectional win in years.

Dayton Christian actually scored first in the game, getting 2 runs in the home half of the first inning. While South had left 2 runners stranded in their first at bat. But South took advantage in the second inning and batted around. The Dayton Christian pitcher got a shaky start – hitting the first batter, then walking the next. Now South hitters had him figured out and the runs began to pile up. The Dayton Christian coach had to go to Worley to stop the bleeding.

But after the second inning Worley got into a groove and held South scoreless. Cody Roell got a hit off of him in the 6^th inning, but the other innings were all 3 up and 3 down for South. So South’s defense needed to step up and keep the Warriors from scoring. South’s defense was of the bend but do not break variety. The Warriors were able to get on base, but for the most part South kept them off the plate.

There were several great defensive plays during this stretch, but Wes Cole at shortstop had a notable play climbing a ladder to snag a screaming line drive that would have dropped for a base hit. Jacob Bassler defended his position on another double play. Catching a short hit in the air back to the mound and whipping the ball to first to catch the base runner off the base to complete the double play. Great plays like this limited Dayton Christian to just 1 additional run in the 5^th as TVS would win 7-3 and get the sectional title.

“Getting that big lead early worked for us,” remarked Coach Bassler, “in the 1^st inning we could see that they were starting to figure our pitcher out. But after they got behind and starting pressing to get a hit, then it worked better for us. They got very aggressive at the plate and then his pitches started to work again. Scoring those runs changed their outlook and what they had to do.“

“Our defense was great today,” he continued, “the way he pitches, they don’t always make solid contact. So that gives us a greater chance of making a play, and we can play defensively well enough. Wes Cole made a great play when they roped a line drive right over him. Offensively we did well in that big inning and when they brought Worley in both Cole and Gunther Lautensleger got RBI hits off of him.”

South next played for the district title against Cinncinati Summit Country Day. South could not keep their momentum and fell 12-2. Still it was a successful season for South and although they lose a deep senior class, they have a number of starters returning for next season.

Tri-County North’s baseball team lost their bid for a sectional title of their own losing to Versailles 3-0. They had defeated the Tigers earlier this spring in a regular season game, but the Tigers turned the tables on them in the tournament.

Spring time has been a successful time for South - switching to track, the South boys and girls teams both won district championships at Welcome Stadium this past Saturday. The boys won by a whisker – beating second place Dixie by one point. Good luck to the local athletes that will be competing at Troy in the South West Regionals!

Saturday, May 16, 2015

May 16th Miami Valley Sports Update

Celinas Luebke Lonsway 1 hit Shawnee

Coldwater eliminates LCC in sectional final

Wapak tops Celina for softball district berth

Fruitful birding adventures in Ohio

Lady Bolts homers topple Troy

Versailles softball loses to Triad

Arcanum baseball defeats Russia

MV softball wins tournament game

Railroaders win 1st playoff game

Ansonia softball wins tournament opener

Versailles shuts out Miami East in playoffs

Tri Village beats Bethel in playoffs

Comets 2d to Aviators

Comets Perfect in GMC

Tree on Baseball Field

Blind Pole Vaulter

Bolts beat Fairborn in tournament

Devil No Hitter

Newton Bradford get tourney wins

Lady Buccs get some Justice

Lehman rolls to win

Piqua loses wild one

Making it worth trip

Lady Eagles lose four

TVS boys take 2nd at Frank Chew Invite

South girls win Frank Chew

Rockets wrap up County baseball championship

Loramie downs Russia in sectional

Viking girls Bucc boys 2nd in CCC

Family thing

Anger management

Postseason action heats up

In grand fashion

A berry good tournament

Shepherds walkoff hit helps Devils top Urbana

District bound Bulldogs

Worth waiting

Morton Lady Aviators win GWOC Silver crown

Hal McCoy to visit local libraries

Tipps Peura opens with win at state

Tipp falls to top ranked Alter

Northwest knocks off Wilmington 8 2

Panthers hold off Hurricane for SCOL title

WHS season ends at Elder 3 0

Brady appeals suspension in Deflategate

Tedder mows down Vikings

Golden Eagles shut down rival

Lakota West ends season for Beavercreek

Newton pounces on Bulldog miscues

Local Sports Briefs XENIA

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

North's Big Inning Puts Them Over South

Local baseball and softball teams wrapped up their regular seasons this past week. It was also rivals week for North and South as these two teams squared off on the diamond. Both baseball teams have had successful seasons and entered the game with winning records. Although South scored first in this close game, North had a big inning that put the game away.

Both teams were scoreless through the first 3 innings. Jacob Bassler pitched for South, while Austin Elmore took the mound for the hosts. South scored their 2 runs in the 4^th inning. Wes Cole reached on a walk and scored on a double by Brandon Simpson. Simpson advanced to 3^rd on a wild pitch where he scored off of a hit by Gunter Lautensleger. This put South up 2-0 and in their half of the 4^th, North was 3 and out.

South seemed poised to score again in the 5^th when they loaded up the bases with one out. But Elmore struck out the next batter and the next popped out to leave 3 stranded. North also loaded the bases in their at bat in the 5^th, but were able to drive the runners home. Logan Elmore, Steve Miller, Austin Elmore, and Nick Gray all got hits in the inning. South finally had to switch pitchers and went with Austin Roell. He ended the inning by fielding a hit ball and completing a double play which sent North back to the dugout. But South was down 4-2 with 2 innings left.

North made a pitching change the next inning with Zach Edgin taking the mound after Elmore walked 2 batters. He did his job, closing out the side and South left the 2 runners stranded. Neither team would score the rest of the way and so North would earn the 4-2 win. North also had a comeback win earlier in the week against Milton Union 11-8. Bo Hendrickson was the pitcher of record.

Finally, North played spoiler to Arcanum later in the week – beating them 3-1 behind the pitching of Nick Gray. Arcanum had locked up the conference crown but was trying to end their season undefeated in the CCC, but North took that away with the victory and will be carrying momentum into the post season.

“We just had one bad inning,” stated South’s coach Bassler after the game.”we got that early lead and in the 5^th inning they got on Jacob Bassler, they had him figured out. I might have been 1 or 2 batters late getting him out of there. We hit decently today, they had a nice pitcher, but we also left a lot of runners on base.

The tournament, “We play Preble Shawnee and someone has to come ready to play. We played each other in the regular season and we know each other.”

South did have two wins earlier in the week. They beat Bradford 7-5 behind winning pitcher Code Roell. The team celebrated Senior night at McBride stadium (where the Richmond Roosters played) in Richmond. Their opponent was Seton Catholic which they beat 7-5. Winning pitcher was Gunter Lautensleger – who was selected as a starter by the South Seniors who got to select the opening lineup on Senior night. The night was highlighted by a Wes Cole home run that was hit out of the stadium.

North’s coach Tucker commented after the game, “I think we battled really well. We saw Jacob Bassler – the same pitcher we saw last year. He has some off speed stuff and he really made us work until we figured it out. It took a couple of times through the lineup, but as a good hitting team we should be able to figure out a pitcher on the 3^rd time through. Elmore had a good game pitching, I think he is going to be a big factor in the tournament for us.

Coach Tucker was asked about the tournament, “We face Northridge and they have played some good teams this year. They have a couple of good pitchers – they have played close with some good teams and beat some teams that you would have thought they wouldn’t. We have to be ready for whoever they put on the mound and we have to battle with them.”

South Garners 2 wins in Last Week of Season

South had another week where they started off slow, but finished strong. They lost their first two games against Bradford and North, but finished the regular season with wins against league foe Miami East and the SWBL’s Eaton Eagles. So the team achieved some measure of momentum going into their last 2 games of the season - a double header against Dixie.

First game for the Panthers was against Bradford. South struggled against Bradfords pitching. Although they did get 4 runs on the night, they allowed 10 in the loss. Next up for South was their rivals down 503 – North. The teams were closely matched, but South did not help their cause with mistakes on the base paths on offense and fielding errors on defense. Coach Robinson would later state that this was one game that got away from them.

South got a decent lead early, but seemed to relax and that let North back in the game. North kept chipping away at South’s lead and on defense, they shut out South the last 5 innings of the game. North scored the tying and winning runs in their bottom half of the last inning – so it was a dramatic come from behind win. Kelsie Shafer and Lacey Emerick both had 2 hits and 2 RBI’s for South.

“I was highly disappointed that we couldn't close this game out.” Remarked coach Robinson after the game. “We came out strong in the first two innings, scoring 3 runs in each inning, then our base running errors and mental mistakes seemed to take over, and we never scored again the rest of the way. I have to say, our mistakes on the base paths were the worst I've seen in a while, and they basically cost us at least 3-4 runs. Add in our four defensive errors, which caused us to give up 5 runs, and we could have come away with a big win over our rivals. I do give TCN some credit; they hung tough and never gave up hope. “

But South made up for the loss with a win over Miami East. And the team put together a better performance – only one error on defense and their offense exploded for 14 runs. Pitcher Ali Robertson got the win and Hailee Bright earned a save. Robertson aided her cause with 3 hits at the plate. The team got the lead early and did not look back as they scored 7 runs in the first 3 innings and then solidified the lead with 6 runs in the 4^th. The team only allowed 2 runs in the 14-2 rout.

An elated coach Robinson was asked about this game, “I thought we were much smarter at the plate, as well as on the bases. Several players hit the ball well. Ali Robertson pitched her third game in 3 days; she has definitely done her job on the mound all week. I did decide to bring Hailee Bright in to get the final 5 outs of the game. She got the first 4 batters out before walking one, then got the final out to pop up to the infield. Lacey Emrick deserves credit for the work she's done this week behind the plate as well.”

South had one of those games against Eaton that gives coaches ulcers. They were scoreless in the early going and spotted the Eagles 5 runs. But in a reversal of their roles from the North game, South now played the comeback kids – scoring 13 runs in the last 3 innings to gain the lead and then hold off a last inning rally by Eaton for the 13-10 win.

Coach Robinson was happy with the comeback win, “I give a lot of credit to our girls for having the determination and heart to battle through the adversity of this game. In pretty much every other game of the season where we got down early, we never were able to make a comeback to win the ball game. I'm very grateful for today's win. It's not very often that we can record 6 errors and still come away with a victory. Eaton has improved tremendously in the past couple of years, so we knew we had our work cut out for us, going into the game.”

Alas, South was not able to carry forward the momentum they gained against the Eagles as they closed out the week against Dixie – one of the better teams in the area. They would end up losing a closely contested opening game 4-1, and couldn’t seem to manage a challenge in the second game, losing 12-1.

Sports Update May 12th

Lady Bolts fall to Centerville

Lady Bolts scalp Mohawks

Bolts fall to Burg but win central

Northmont athletes sign Letters of Intent

Lady Bolts whip Skyhawks

Lebanon Senior Headed to Ohio Un.

Franklin Monroe sweeps Russia

Free youth football camp scheduled

Ansonia baseball defeats Fairlawn

Versailles baseball beats Bellefontaine

Wilson throws a perfect game

Versailles beats Northridge 21 1

Ansonia loses tournament opener

Sunday, May 03, 2015

South Bats Sleep During Week, Wake Up for Weekend

The TVS softball team had a tough week against CCC opponents. Coach Robinson lamented that the team was hitting well earlier “...and our defense was lacking. Now everything has switched around. If we can get our bats to pick back up, I think we could start making a lot of noise.” The team did earn wins against Mississinewa Valley and Oakwood, but took their lumps along the way.

The first team up was Miami East where the team played with the Vikings –they were only up 1-0 until the 6^th inning. But the team faltered late in the game and gave up 4 runs in the 6^th inning. The Panthers could not recover from this deficit and would eventually lose 6-0. They had their chance at a comeback in the 7^th inning where they loaded the bases, but couldn’t score anyone.

Covington has been playing great baseball this season and seem poised to make another strong run in the state tournament. South gave Covington all they had but it wasn’t enough as Covington would win 10-0. Still Coach Robinson found some bright spots in the game, “If there's a positive I can take from this game, it's that it took them until the 5th inning to run-rule us (10 runs). I've been seeing some of their box scores against better teams than us, and they've had that many runs in the first inning. So I give Hailee Bright credit for being just a freshman, and going out on the mound and doing a pretty good job. One other really bright spot on the night was the play of Lacey Emrick behind the plate. She picked off 4 of their runners, either on a straight steal or picking them off at the base they were at. Covington is very aggressive on the base paths, and Lacey proved that she could keep up with them.”

South Softball has had charity games in season’s past and this season the theme was “Swing for the Swing” – to gather money for a new handicap access slide at TVS. The team was successful in raising over $800 for a good cause, but not so successful on the field. Ali Robertson had a tough outing and was finally pulled and freshman Hailee Bright took over. She slowed the onslaught but South had dug too deep a hole and lost 9-1.

After the game coach Robinson commented, “Looking back, I probably should have switched them out sooner. Hailee's pitching speed is just slower enough, that it sometimes keeps good hitters off balance. A slower pitcher is not necessarily a bad thing, especially when she throws strikes like Hailee does. Honestly, we played a great game. We had no errors and had 7 hits. We just couldn't seem to drive home the base runners. We made good contact all night at the plate, but National Trail kept coming up with great plays, defensively. They are a far better team than their record indicates.”

South finally got rewarded for their efforts with a win against Mississinewa Valley. But they had to play from behind to get the win. Spotting the Blackhawks a 3 run lead in the early going. But in the last half of the game, South found their groove at the plate and caught up, then passed the Blackhawks. Sophie Cottingim had a big triple to get South’s scoring started. The Blackhawks attempted a rally late, but South held the rally to just one run to shut them down for a 6-4 win. Lacy Emerick came back to the game after missing the first portion of the game to take over catching duties and she and Ali Robertson had to work out a critical 7^th inning with runners in scoring position. The duo got the last outs of the night to close the door on the Blackhawks.

Coach Robinson was elated with the victory, “This was a pretty exciting game for us, and it was good to finally come away from one with a win. This was the second game in a row that we played errorless defense. Everyone seems to be stepping up at their position right now. Our outfielders (Shelby Denlinger, Ashley Robertson, Hailee Bright) are seeing a lot of action lately, so they're getting a lot more confidence in their ability to go hard after a ball. We started the game with back-up catcher, Kelsie Shafer, behind the plate. She did a great job until Lacey Emrick was able to get to the game”

She continued, “I'm so happy for our entire team with this victory, but especially for Ali. She pitched the best game of her career on Tuesday, against Miami East, but couldn't come away with a victory. Tonight, she stepped up huge in that last inning to help ensure the win. I also give a lot of credit to our hitters tonight. I know they would have all liked to have swung the bat more when they came to the plate, but they stayed focused and disciplined, and stayed with our strategy for the game. All the girls have been working so hard to get better in every area of the game; I'm just glad they some of their hard work is beginning to pay off.”

South ended their busy week Saturday with a game against Oakwood a member of the big school division of the SWBL. Coach Robinson admitted later that she was a bit nervous going into the game – they had just won and seemed really pumped up. But South seemed to have channeled the 1927 New York Yankee’s for at least one game as they erupted for 25 runs and sent the Lumber Jills home early.

Freshman Kelsie Shafer almost hit for the cycle with a double, triple, and home run. But the home run was a grand slam! Ashley Robertson had 4 RBI’s as did Sarah Bingham. Ali Robertson was also the pitcher of record for the win.

Coach Robinson commented afterwards, “It was a great game to get everyone on the team a lot of playing time. Ali and Lacey did another great job, shutting down their offense. This was Ali's first shutout of her career. Offensively, Kelsie Shafer had the hottest bat. This was our third game in a row with no errors. Everyone, both infield and outfield are really starting to click. Jayla Taylor has been doing a great job at first base; Sophie Cottingim continues to play solid at second; Sarah Bingham has made tremendous improvement at shortstop, and Kelsie Shafer is starting to settle in as our third baseman when Ali is on the mound.”

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Miami Valley Sport Update April 22nd

Wilmington whips Washington in boys track

Trace nips East Clinton 3 2

Teams encouraged by Invite finishes

Xenia wins first match in nearly four years

Redskins Raiders both win 10 0

Loramie girls notch 11th win

Browns return to Monday Night Football for first time since 99

Sidney takes two from Trotwood

Mechanicsburg baseball reloads for 2015 season

Quick work

Piqua teams compete at Vandalia

Keller finds new home

Piqua splits with Wave

Marauders defense shines

Timely hits earn Bellbrook a win

Tipp falls to top ranked Alter

Elder Burgbacher steps down

Tipps Rittenhouse wins state bowling title

The next level

Tipps Peura opens with win at state

Trojans top Bulldogs 10 2

Back for more

Devils take 9th at Tipp Relays

TVS sweeps Blazer Relays

Eaton softball wins two games on the week

Local robotics team headed to national championships

Kerns comes home to take over NT football

North stays unbeaten in CCC

Eaton 2nd 3rd at Eagle Relays

South struggles at plate

North softball wins four of six

South baseball in groove wins three

Arrows face daunting schedule now 2 5

Arrows finish busy week 1 3

Trail split pair on week

From rivals to best friends

From has six RBI in Columbus Grove victory

Baths offense ignites

Boys volleyball team opens with pair of wins

Northmont Track teams look solid

Softball team routs Fairmont

Baseball team drops two

Boys fall to Fairmont

Baseball Bolts hand Fairmont its 1st loss

Lady Bolts sweep Wayne

Thunderbolts beat C J Springboro

Young Comets Have Potential

Monroe over Wildcats

Mason Sweeps

Warriers/Comets Strong Start

2 in state

Ansonia baseball defeats Houston

Arcanum baseball falls to Fort Recovery

Ansonia baseball swept by Marion

Versailles wins 2 games at Zac Richard Classic

Versailles softball wins league game

Arcanum beats FM at Fifth Third Field

Tri Village defeats Bradford in a slugfest

Arcanum baseball shuts out Ansonia

Bradford softball beats Tri Village

TV junior high volleyball players violate regulations

Sunday, April 19, 2015

South Sweeps

Spring weather can be a roll of the dice, but this weekend’s TVS Invitational had wonderful weather. The fans responded by packing the stands, and the athletes performed well - making for a successful meet. South swept 1^st place among the 16 team field with both the boys and girls teams winning. Other local teams finished as follows: Girls – Eaton 9^th; Brookville 11^th, TCN 12^th, Dixie 13^th, Shawnee 14^th, Trail 15^th. Boys – Dixie 2^nd; Eaton 3^rd; Brookville 4^th; TCN 9^th, Trail and Shawnee tie 14^th.

Top finishers: 4X800 TVS girls 1^st (Madison Wright, Megan Wright, Grace Stewart, Abby Creech) 10:08.75 – meet record. 4X800 TVS boys 1^st (JJ Utz, Sammy Shockey,Ethan Wells, Matt Hemmelgarn) 8:33.57. 100m hurdles 1^st Hailey Thies TCN 16.84. 110m hurdles 1^st Seth Reynolds 15.15. 100m dash 1^st Mylan Crews 13.08. 100m dash Clayton Washington 1^st 11.51; Isaiah Pritchard 2^nd. 4X200m relay 1^st TVS (Abby Beneke, Delany Adams, Grace Stewart, Mylan Crews). 4X200m relay 1^st TCN (Garrett Woodyard, Austin Johnson, Billy Daughterty, Trey Summers).

4X100m relay Dixie 1^st (Zach Roberts, Clayton Washington, Ethan Arnett, Isaiah Pritchard), 300m hurdles 1^st Seth Reynolds Eaton 42.48. 800m run Madison Wright 1^st 2:26.25. 800m run TVS JJ Utz 1^st 2:06.76; Sammy Shockey TVS 2^nd. 200m dash Dixie Clayton Washington 23.54. 3200m run Taylor Broermann 1^st Eaton 12:04.42. Discus TVS Aaron Deaton 1^st 139’9”. High jump TCN Hailey Theis 1^st 5’4”. High jump Eaton Seth Reynolds 1st 6’. Long jump TVS Jared Kirkpatrick 1^st 21’4”. Shotput TVS Aaron Deaton 1^st 49’5”; Tristen Sizemore TVS 2^nd.

Coach Livingston of Dixie had a few of dinged up athletes when I was able to catch up to her. One had taken a tumble on the track and had a skinned up shoulder, one had to drop out of the mile due to a stress injury, and yet another was icing a sore knee. So not quite a mash unit, but the coach felt that all would be ready for the next meet. “It has been a good meet for us, Madison Swigart came within a second of the school record in the 400m dash.

“We don’t have a very large team this year, and we are young but still talented. We just got back from spring break, and are just getting back into the swing of things. We have relay teams that can improve as well as some individual performers. Cassidy Shell scored points for us in the discus and shotput. Sydnee Reynolds had a personal best in the discus. Madison Swigart also placed in the 100, so she is having a good meet. Unfortunately our pole vaulter, Adrianna Parker, is out for the year.”

“It’s been a good season for us so far,” stated coach Hughes, the New Lebanon boys track coach, “we took first place in the Franklin Monroe relays. We graduated some distance kids last year, but other than that we have pretty much everyone back from last season. We were also at the Anna meet against some tough MAC completion and got 5^th place there – but that’s the best we ever finished. We had a good meet at the Eaton relays – finishing behind Dunbar, which always has a really good team by 5 points. We have some kids that I think can compete at regionals and maybe even state.

Nick Adams is having a good year, he is the school record holder in the pole vault. Clayton Washington and Isiah Pritchard finished 1-2 in the 100 meter dash and Pritchard was also 2^nd in the long jump with Washington 3^rd. So both of them are having a good meet. Dakota Grise is only a freshman but he has been clearing 5’ 9” and today he cleared 5’10” for 3^rd place.

The TVS girls won the Fred Durkle Invitational for the first time since it was started in 2002. Coach Mabry had this to say about the meet, “It started with the 4X800m relay team – they set the tone for the meet right off the bat. They broke the meet record and once we got started, we gathered momentum from there. Mylan Crews had a good night, winning the 100 meter and just getting beat out in the 200 meter, she was also on the 4X200m relay which won, and lead off the 4X100m relay which got 4th. So it was a good performance by a freshman in her first really big meet. She stepped up and handled the pressure well.”

He continued, “Abbey Beneke placed well in both hurdle events. Madison Wright placed in both the 400m and 800m runs. Megan Wright scored in both the 1600m and the 3200m runs. All 4 of our relays placed. Abbey Creech did nice the high jump. We also got some points from the discus (Haily Keener) and the pole vault (Emily Hutchings, Delany Adams). It may have been just a few points here and there, but last year the district meet came down to the last event – every point that we can get matters.”

Next he was asked how the season has gone from the beginning to now, “We won a quad meet at Dixie, we next went to the National Trail relay meet and won that. We next had a dual meet against North which allowed everyone to get on the track and to see what we have. But overall I have been pleased with what all we have done and their work ethic. We have some depth – every event this last weekend, we had someone in the top 5. There have been years where we have been strong in sprints or strong in distance, but this year we seem to have it all.”

South’s coach Faber was the last coach up, “I thought things went fairly well, this was one of our goals this year – to win our invitational. Our 4X800m relay team set a personal best for the season. Both our hurdlers (Luke Stoner, Josh Chapman) ran well – Chapman had a personal best in the 300m hurdles. Jared Kirkpatrick had a personal best in the long jump – 21’4”. Aaron Deaton and Tristen Sizemore were 1^st and 2^nd in the shot put and had personal bests. JJ Utz finished 1^st in the 800m and was on the 4X800m team that won.