Prep roundup for Friday, May 21
May 21—Northwestern's girls tennis team entered the Kokomo Sectional as the favorite, and the Tigers certainly looked the part in beating Eastern 4-1 in Friday's semifinal round.
"This was a tough match, for a lot of reasons," Northwestern coach Kathie Layden said. "Obviously, Eastern is a good team so we knew we'd have to come and be ready to play. And the heat was an issue. You play the whole season in cold and wind, and then you come out at the most important time of the season and it's 80-degree weather. You could tell it was taking a toll on the girls."
Northwestern (12-0) advances to face Western (15-2) in the championship at 4 p.m. today. Western defeated Tipton 4-1 in the other semifinal. The Tigers are shooting for their fifth straight sectional title.
The Tigers swept the singles points against the Comets with McKenna Layden winning 6-3, 6-2 at No. 1, Kat Grube winning 6-1, 6-1 at No. 2 and Avery Rooze taking a 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 3.
The No. 2 doubles team of Emily Goltz and Anna Grube provided the most decisive point by winning 6-0, 6-0.
Northwestern won those same four points in beating Kokomo 4-1 in the opening round. For the season, Goltz and Anna Grube are 17-0, Kat Grube and Rooze are both 14-2 and McKenna Layden is 13-3.
"Obviously, there were a lot of unknowns coming into [the season]," Kathie Layden said, noting the Tigers had all new varsity players. "At the beginning, we really anticipated more movement in our lineup. For whatever reason, from the start the girls really clicked in their spots. Seeing the girls develop and gain confidence as the season went on was a lot of fun."
Eastern's point came at No. 1 doubles where Loralei Evans and Kate Salkie prevailed in three sets, 6-4, 5-7, 6-3. They will advance to play in the doubles sectional.
The Comets closed with a 12-6 record.
"First off, congrats to Northwestern, they played a great match," Eastern coach Pat Rice said. "It was a good season because this was the most inexperienced team I've ever had. We had two girls returning from 2019 and they were in different spots. I'm happy our [No.] 1 doubles gets to move on."
The other semifinal had Western and Tipton. The teams met Monday to close the regular season, with the Panthers winning 3-2. This time, the Panthers beat the Blue Devils 4-1.
For the Panthers, Chloe Schmidt was a 6-4, 6-1 winner at No. 2 singles, Macie Lockwood was a 6-1, 6-1 winner at No. 3 singles, Emma Moore and Sydney Jansen prevailed in a 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 battle at No. 1 doubles and Elizabeth Mercer and Sophia Moreno took a 6-3, 6-0 win at No. 2 doubles.
The Blue Devils' point came at No. 1 singles where Courtney Rich won 6-1, 6-0. Rich (17-1) advances to play in the singles sectional.
Northwestern beat Western 4-1 last week to cap its fifth straight undefeated regular season. Now, the rivals will meet again, with the sectional title at stake.
"Very similar to Kokomo and Eastern, I feel like there's a lot of spots that can go either way," Kathie Layden said. "Western is a tough team, they've had a great season, and we've played the majority of their players twice already. I anticipate a great match."
BASEBALL
NW 8, MCCUTCHEON 5
Northwestern won in thrilling fashion, with Tate Mullens cracking a three-run, walk-off homer in the bottom of the seventh inning.
"We had a bunch of guys contribute in different ways," Northwestern coach Ryan Ward said. "We had solid relief pitching and we had guys making plays defensively. In the seventh, we got some bunts down to create an opportunity for Tate to finish it off for us.
"It's our second win in a row and I feel like we're playing our best baseball the last week of the season, which regardless of what happens in the sectional, that's what we want."
Mullens also had a two-run double in the fourth inning. He finished 2 for 3.
Also for the Tigers (9-13), Cole Wise went 3 for 4. Cole Cardwell pitched the final 1 2/3 innings for the win. He did not allow a hit or a run. Koen Berry started and pitched 5 1/3 innings. He allowed six hits and five runs, although only one run was earned.
Northwestern plays Eastern on Saturday and then closes the regular season against Rossville on Monday.
SOFTBALL
NEW PAL 2, KOKOMO 1
Kokomo battled Class 4A No. 1-ranked New Palestine tough before falling 2-1.
The undefeated Dragons hit a two-run homer in the first inning. The Kats' run came in the sixth inning on Jannessa Reece's bunt — and the Kats had runners on the corners with one out after scoring the run. The Dragons escaped the jam to protect their lead.
Brooke Hughes was 2 for 3 with a double for Kokomo (15-13).
Bayli Reed threw all six innings for Kokomo with 11 hits, three walks and two earned runs. She notched one strikeout.
EASTERN 15, OLE MISS 0, 5 INN.
Cassidy Keene belted four hits and drove in six runs to lead the Class 2A No. 4-ranked Comets' rout of the Indians. Keene's hitting spree included her 14th homer of the season and two doubles.
Also for Eastern, Hope Smith clubbed two doubles and a single and drove in two runs, Laynie Ayres had two singles, Macy Coan had a triple and single and Emily Belt and Allison Delgado drove in two runs each.
Coach Steve Bratcher said Eastern's "bats really came around. We really started making solid contact for the most part and good things happen when you put the ball in play. And we did that [Thursday]."
Coan pitched three innings and Delgado pitched two innings. They combined on a two-hitter with eight strikeouts and no walks.
CASS 10, TWIN LAKES 6
Rylee Holt drove in four runs to lead the Kings to the road win. She had a three-run homer.
Also for Cass (11-13), Hannah Plauschin went 3 for 5 with two doubles, Kaylie Williams and Elly Logan both went 2 for 4 and both had a double and Paxtyn Hicks and Cana Jones both went 2 for 3. Plauschin scored two runs and drove in a run and Logan had an RBI.
Hicks pitched the first three innings and Madison Dormer pitched the final four. Dormer held the Indians to one run.
EASTBROOK 8, TAYLOR 3
Taylor coach Robert McGuire noted the play of Lilli Morgan.
"You know when you lose a player someone has to stand up and be the next woman up, and that happened [Thursday]. Lilli Morgan played a great game," he said. "We didn't quit and played until the last out."
BOYS GOLF
TIPTON WINS 3-WAY
Tipton posted a score of 157 to beat Muncie Central (196) and Anderson (218) at the Players Club in Yorktown.
The Blue Devils showed their usual balance. Maverick Conaway fired a 1-over 37, Gavin Hare shot 38, Mylan Swan also shot 38 and Nolan Swan had a 44.
"The Players Club is our regional course so it was a good nine-hole test to kind of see where we stand," Tipton coach Kenny Day said. "We'll probably be playing practice rounds there and at [sectional course] Fox Prairie to kind of dial ourselves in for tournament play.
"It was a good night. I was proud of the boys. They rose to the occasion."
PERU 182, WINAMAC 226
Peru's Kash Bellar won medalist with a 1-under 35.
The Bengal Tigers (6-3) also counted Jake Van Baalen's 43, Riley Smith's 51 and Reese Smith's 53.
