The middle school baseball team, new to the program this year, had its first win on Friday, April 7, taking down the Emmanuel Christian Academy Lions. Pictured in back, from left: Edwin Harrah, Bryce Fleming, Finn Turnmire, Coach Scott Fleming, Chris Goebel, Austin Thomas, Neirin Barker, Oskar Dennis and Head Coach Sam Jacobs; in front, from left: Chase Moore, Graham Turnmire, Collin Goebel and Ashby Lyons; not pictured: Kaiden McFarlane. (Submitted photo)
Bulldog Sports Round-Up | April 14, 2023
- Published: April 14, 2023
Baseball
Week three of the young season was historic for the Yellow Springs baseball program. For the first time in school history, the baseball program consists of varsity, junior varsity and middle school teams.
The first-ever middle school contest was held at Gaunt Park on Tuesday, April 4. The support from the many community members, parents and students was amazing. They were treated to a good game, which saw the Bulldogs take on the nearby Cedarville Indians. The young squad put up a good fight, but came up short in their inaugural outing.
Wednesday, April 5, saw the middle school’s first encounter with Mother Nature. Of course, she is undefeated, so that game was a wash. Coach Sam Jacobs hopes to get the contest against Catholic Central rescheduled for later in the year.
Thursday, April 6, the middle school batsmen headed to Division II powerhouse Greenon. This encounter was a good learning experience for Coach Jacobs’ team, as they saw what they aspire to be soon.
The boys did not let Thursday’s game get them down. In fact, they came out on fire the very next night against conference opponent Emmanuel Christian Academy. The Bulldogs took down the Lions in a hard-fought contest that saw them earn their first-ever win. Coach Jacobs was thrilled with the win and with the quality of play his team displayed in front of a very good crowd at Gaunt Park.
The first week of games is in the book, and the players look forward to preparing for their remaining games. In fact, two more games have been added to the slate to make it an even 10 games for the season. The Bulldogs are now scheduled to play Beavercreek’s Creek Black at noon, April 29, at Ankeney Middle School, and Creek Orange at Coy Middle School at 5 p.m., May 3.
The high school varsity team made the trek to Botkins on Tuesday, April 4, and were able to get the game in on the soggy field under dark clouds and blustery conditions. The energy seemed to be lacking, no doubt due to the hour-long bus ride after the first day back to school from a long spring break. Senior Krishan Miller made his second start of the season and gave up only one hit. However, seven walks and five errors were too much to overcome as the Trojans plated 11 runs. The Bulldogs scored their only run on a blast by junior Shawn VanHoose that scored Miller. Hits were also added by sophomore Hazen VanMeter, freshman Caleb Derrickson and junior Sam Miller.
The Bulldogs were not so lucky with the weather on Wednesday, April 5, as their only other scheduled game for the week, against Catholic Central, had to be rescheduled for Thursday, April 6. The weather held off on Thursday and our own Coach Bryan Rogusky logged many hours preparing Central’s field, also known as The Annex. It just so happens that “Rogo’s” job entails field maintenance for the city of Springfield, and he did an amazing job of getting it ready for play.
Senior Josh Clark made his second start of the season and logged a gem of an outing. He scattered seven hits in his complete game, which led to three earned and three unearned runs. His five strikeouts and two walks were a testament to his pinpoint control. The Bulldogs had seven hits of their own, but were only able to plate two of those as they left 10 men on base. Brothers Sam and Krishan Miller each had two hits, while Clark, Isaac Grushon and Derrickson each added one of their own. Sam Miller added a play to his highlight reel when he threw out a runner from center field to his brother waiting at home plate.
This was yet another competitive game against a team that has consistently run-ruled the Bulldogs in their previous years’ meetings. The Bulldogs are headed in the right direction and are anxious to get to Gaunt Park so they can show the hometown fans what they can do.
—Mitch Clark, coach
Softball
The Yellow Springs Bulldog varsity softball team traveled to Botkins over the weekend to take on the Botkins High School softball team. After trailing 0–2 and 3–6 and only leading by a 9–8 score in the third inning, Botkins took advantage of walks to pull away for a 21–11 victory over the Bulldogs. In spite of the loss, Coach DeLong was pleased with the defense and hitting.
“We made several nice plays on defense, and we outhit Botkins. We have a very athletic, young team that’s capable of scoring lots of runs,” he said.
The team had their moments as they quickly took the lead by scoring two runs in the first inning when lead-off hitters Autumn Sorenson and Adeline Zinger got on base to start the game and then scored on a single by catcher Ella Laws to grab the 2–0 lead. The Bulldogs then surrendered three runs in the bottom of the first inning before rallying for four runs in their next at-bat to take a 6–3 lead as Ayla Current, Sorenson and Zinger all got on base and scored on hits by Violet Babb and Laws, the latter of whom came around to score to give them the 6–3 lead.
On this day, the Bulldogs could not hold their lead as Botkins went ahead by a 9–6 score, but once again the Bulldog offense responded by scoring two more runs to pull within one run at 9–8 before Botkins pulled away for the win.
The Bulldogs had several stars on offense and defense. Laws had two hits and two RBIs; Gabby Florence had a hit and two RBIs; Babb had one hit and two RBIs; Zinger had a hit and scored three runs; Sorenson scored two runs and had an RBI; and Lily Fritsch had two walks and scored two runs. Freshman Metsu Barnett, in her career debut, got on base and scored a run for the Bulldogs.
On defense, shortstop Florence made the play of the day when a soft pop-up landed just past her on the outfield grass and she alertly chased it down and quickly fired to Lily Fritsch at second base to get the out at second.
On the mound, pitcher Violet Babb took the loss, but Coach Delong was encouraged with her outing as she pitched a complete game and only allowed three hits.
“Babb is throwing hard this year. While she has struggled with her control thus far, when she throws strikes, she is unhittable,” Delong said.
Babb has nine strikeouts in six innings this season and has only allowed four hits.
The Bulldogs begin Metro Buckeye Conference League play this week as they have two games versus Dayton Christian.
—Jim Delong, coach
Tennis
Bulldog tennis is off to a solid start with a 6–1 record going into the third week of matches. Four of the team wins were sweeps, taking all five courts against Greenon, Legacy Christian, Greenview and Urbana. Cedarville was a bit more of a contest, but the Bulldogs triumphed in a 3–2 victory.
However, the team’s most monumental win was against conference rival Miami Valley School. The mighty Bulldogs took down the Rams 3–2 — the first team victory over the Rams in more than 20 years.
The one loss suffered so far this season was against Dayton Christian, finishing 2–3 in a tight contest. The Bulldogs look to avenge their loss to the Crusaders this Friday, April 14, at 4 p.m., on their home courts.
Yellow Springs has a lot of talent playing this year, which gives them options for scrambling the lineup to keep opponents guessing. The roster is the largest it’s been in two decades, with 22 players.
Leading the team with the most wins is captain Jason Knemeyer, who is undefeated on the season, with a 7–0 record. Also achieving success, winning five matches each, are Henry Smith-Heston, Ethan Knemeyer, Liam McClean, Luka Sage-Frabotta and Tallis Onfroy-Curley. Sophomore varsity starter, Aiden Scavone, has won three matches since returning from a family vacation. New players to the varsity squad securing their first wins are Anikin Boden, JP Anderson, Max Lugo and Jia Sundell-Turner.
To say the team is deep is an understatement. This is such an asset, because the squad becomes less predictable and harder for opponents to set their lineup advantageously.
With the weather warming up, the Bulldogs welcome community support in their 13 remaining varsity and JV home matches.
—Stacey Knemeyer, coach
Track
The YSHS boys and girls track teams performed admirably in the highly competitive Springfield Shawnee Seitz Invitational on Thursday, April 6, with a long list of personal bests. The girls team finished in fifth place out of 12 squads, while the boys ended up in seventh place out of 12 teams.
On the boys side, senior Malcolm Blunt demonstrated that he is a force to be reckoned with as he earned two first-place finishes. He leaped to 20´8˝ in the long jump, outdistancing his nearest competitor by two feet, and then ran a gutsy 200 meters in an early season fast time of 23.34 while crossing the finish line in first place.
Fellow senior Sven Meister set a personal best in the shot put with a heave of 40´1˝, earning fourth place. Kyle Johnston set a personal record in the 1,600 meters with a fourth-place time of 5:34. Kyle Raymer navigated the 300 hurdles with a seventh-place finish and joined his teammates — Malik Booth, Blunt and Jack Horvath — in the 1,600 relay with a seventh-place scoring effort. Solid performances were also turned in by Kiernan Anderson, Jonah Summers, Ryan Thomas, Charles Whitlock and Morris Wyatt.
The girls squad was once again led by distance phenom Cheyan Sundell-Turner, who ran to a first-place finish in the 1,600 meters (5:55) and complemented this effort with a runner-up finish in the 800 meters (2:42).
Sophomore Tiger Collins set a personal best in winning the high jump with a jump of 4´10˝. The girls squad showed much depth, with a long list of scoring efforts highlighted by fourth-place efforts by Josie DeWine (3,200) and Liliana Herzog (long jump).
Ninth-grade sprinter Llynah Grant had two fifth-place finishes in the 100 and 200 meters, and ninth-grader Addison Shafeek tossed the discus for a fifth-place effort. A bevy of sixth-place performances were turned in by Tiger Collins (long jump), Liliana Herzog (100 hurdles), Gema Paz Brizuela (shot put) and the 3,200 relay quartet of Josie DeWine, Rebecca DeWine, Siobhan McCann-Stewart and Addison Shafeek. Collins ran to a seventh-place finish in the 100 hurdles.
Rounding out the scoring for the Bulldogs with eighth-place points were Addison Shafeek in the shot put and the 400 meter relay squad of Llynah Grant, Maya Henderson, Herzog and Lilliana Sylvester. In nonscoring efforts, Cynthia Burke and Clara Gomez achieved great marks.
Coaches Isabelle Dierauer and John Gudgel were very complimentary of the many personal bests and realize that both teams have a lot of potential to perform well for the remainder of the season.
The Bulldogs will compete at the Graham Invitational on Friday, April 14, and then will run at the Greene County Invitational at Beavercreek High School on Thursday, April 20.
—John Gudgel, coach
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