April 28, 2016 Bulldog Sports Round-up
- Published: April 28, 2016
Baseball
Despite what baseball coach Ben Cooper called a “devastating 13–7 loss” against Xenia Christian on Monday, the team is really enjoying the season and enjoying working hard at mastering the intricacies of the game. It’s Cooper’s fourth year as the Bulldog’s coach, and with new pitching coach Brandon Bresler, the team is “developing to a higher level of play.”
While the team earlier lost back-to-back games against Dayton Christian (10–0 and 13–0), they bounced back to pick up two consecutive wins against Thurgood Marshall (15–5) and Belmont (14–4).
Cooper said the team started slow with their batting practices, but in the last week and a half, the team has “really been hitting the ball.” A good string of hits really makes the dugout come to life, he said. It gives confidence to kids due for a hit, and to the team overall when they are facing a tough pitcher.
That’s why the loss against Xenia Christian was so devastating, he said. The Bulldogs scored in almost every inning, but it was a “rough string of errors” in the sixth inning that really hurt.
“Batting is one of the team’s strengths,” he said, “but it’s errors in the field that are losing games.”
But that’s the nature of the game, he said, and it drives the team to work harder.
“Baseball is a very challenging game,” he said.
Softball
This past week was a busy one for the members of the Yellow Springs softball team. After dropping their first game of the week against Tri-Village, they rebounded with two wins thanks to the solid pitching of Hannah Morrison and a potent offense that scored 29 runs in their next two games.
The Bulldogs played Dayton Christian and came back from an early 0–1 deficit to win with a final score of 11–1. The evening’s honors belonged to Morrison, who went 3 for 4 with two triples and three runs scored while also pitching a complete game victory on the mound. Morrison tossed a two-hitter and struck out 11 in five innings.
“This was a sweet victory,” said Coach Jimmy Delong. “Dayton Christian is a team we have not come close to beating since I started coaching here five years ago.”
The game was a gauge to show how much the team has improved this year, he said. Morrison is swinging a hot bat on offense and again dominated her opponent on the pitching mound. Other contributors on offense were sophomore Elly Kumbusky who was 3 for 3 with two runs scored and three stolen bases, and fellow sophomore Kadie Lafferty who was 3 for 4 with two runs scored and three stolen bases.
The Bulldogs then finished their week with an easy 18–1 win over Jefferson, with the Bulldogs scoring at least one run every inning. Lead-off hitter Kallyn Buckenmyer set the tone for the game, as she used her speed to steal second and third before racing across home plate on a wild pitch, giving the Bulldogs a quick 1–0 lead. After that, the number 4 turned out to be the Bulldog’s lucky number, as they scored four runs in the first, second, third and fifth innings, and two in the fourth. Hitting stars were Gracie Price, Morrison and Kumbusky. Price and Morrison went 5 for 5 with five runs scored, while Kumbusky was 2 for 2 with two runs scored and four stolen bases. Morrison overpowered Jefferson on the mound, tossing a one-hitter and striking out 13 batters in five innings.
The wins improved the Bulldogs record for the season to 5–3.
Track and Field
Both the boys and girls track and field squads performed admirably at the inaugural Greene County Invitational that took place at Fairborn HS last week. All eight high schools in Greene County participated in the revival of this event. The girls’ squad finished in third place, barely missing out on a runner-up trophy.
First place finishers included Julie Roberts, with a time of 48.08 in the 300-hurdles, and Jasmine Davidson, with a shot put of 32´3˝. Amani Wagner took second place with a shot put of 30´9˝, and Charlotte Walkey sped through the 800-meters in 2:32.18, likewise winning second place. The relay team of Walkey, Dyemeisha Banks, Olivia Brintlinger-Conn and Julie Roberts took third place in the 1600-meter relay in 4:24.3, as did Christian Banks, Dyemeisha Banks, Brintlinger-Conn and Roberts in the 400-meter relay with a time of 1:03.14. Dyemeisha Banks got third in the 100-meter and 200-meter events, finishing in 13.08 and 27.2, respectively. Payden Kegley’s 13´10˝ long jump took fourth, as did Wagner’s 83´1.5˝ discus throw and Brintlinger-Conn’s 52.7 finish in the 30-hurdles.
The boys finished in seventh place overall. Kaner Butler was once again victorious in both the 110- and 300-hurdles, with respective first place times of 15.46 and 40.68. Oluka Okia’s 5´10˝ high jump also took first. Hayden Orme came in third with a 18´5.5˝ long jump, and Aaron Sherwood took fourth in the 100-meters in 11.62.
Overall, the team competed quite well against their larger Greene County opponents and achieved personal bests in many of their events. This week, several of the athletes will compete at the prestigious Wayne Invitational, and the team will go to Mechanicsburg on Friday.
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