Senior Malcolm Blunt finished in first place in the 200-meter race at the seventh annual Greene County Invitational on Thursday, April 20. The win netted Blunt a personal- and season-best time of 22.71. (Submitted photo by TJ Turner)
Bulldog Sports Round-Up | April 28, 2023
- Published: April 28, 2023
Baseball
Three wins, one loss for varsity
The Yellow Springs High School varsity baseball team traveled to Trotwood-Madison High School on Tuesday, April 18, to face the Division I Rams. Junior Jake Ortiz-Thornton started his second game of the year on the mound, still working his way back from an early-season shoulder injury. He gave up only two hits in his two-inning stint, but walks and errors turned those into seven runs.
The Bulldogs used some walks and hits of their own, coupled with several stolen bases, to go ahead 10–7. Senior Josh Clark came in as a reliever for the first time this year and calmed the waters. After striking out the first two batters he faced, he gave up two runs on three consecutive hits before shutting down the Rams with another strikeout. After three innings, the score stood at 10–9. Our boys rapped out four hits in the fourth inning to plate another two runs, increasing the lead to 12–9. Clark settled in at that point to shut out the Rams the rest of the way and seal the win.
Eight players had at least one hit and all reached base at least one time. Senior Krishan Miller cracked three hits, while freshman Caleb Derrickson, junior Isaac Grushon and junior Sam Miller each had two. Leadoff man, junior Antonio Chaiten, added another three stolen bases to his season total, while Krishan Miller had three of his own.
The Bulldogs traveled to Meadowdale High School on Wednesday, April 19, to try to tame the Lions. Derrickson made his second appearance of his career, in his first-ever start as pitcher. He gave up only three hits, but his five walks turned into six runs. Grushon came in and shut down the Lions in the last two innings, registering five strikeouts and giving up no earned runs.
The Bulldog bats warmed with the weather, knocking out 12 hits and scoring 18 runs for an 18–7 victory. Ortiz-Thornton and Krishan Miller each had another multi-hit game. An extra base hit was added by Clark, and Derrickson broke out with a single, double and a triple. Grushon had three stolen bases, and Chaiten added another three to his stat line.
The varsity squad played Meadowdale again on Thursday, this time hosting the Lions at Gaunt Park. Sophomore Hazen VanMeter posted yet another solid outing as he threw a complete game two-hit performance that led to a 15–5 victory for his team.
The bats were steady again, but the patience of the Bulldog hitters and their wild abandon on the basepaths were the story regarding the scoring. Grushon and the Miller boys each had an extra base hit, which pushed in the free runners, led by Clark’s and freshman Jaxyn Fletcher’s three walks and three stolen bases apiece. Ortiz-Thornton and Krishan Miller did their jobs in the middle of the lineup by knocking in three RBIs each. The result pushed the Bulldog’s win total to four and added to their three-game win streak.
The Bulldogs made the very short trip to play the Franklin Monroe Jets at Wright State University’s Nischwitz Stadium on Saturday evening under threatening skies. The very good crowd that made the jaunt from the village was treated to a good game that had lots of energy. Derrickson batted leadoff for the first time this year and made the most of it by ripping a triple to right center field. Ortiz-Thornton pushed him over the plate with a nice piece of hitting. Krishan Miller held the strong Jets club in the first with a nice 1–2–3 inning. The Jets chipped away at Miller and their strong defense kept the Bulldogs’ hard hits from dropping, to pull out an 11–1 victory. The score was not indicative of the fight the Bulldogs gave the Jets in their attempts to damper the raucous chants from the bench.
JV plays hard on the road
The junior varsity team set off for Greenon on Thursday, April 20, for a game against the Knights. A couple of early injuries had the team understandably focused on their teammates rather than the game. In fact, a huge shout-out to the Greenon coaching staff for stepping in as our coach tended to the injured players.
Freshman Teddy Horvath enjoyed the first start of his career against the hard-hitting Knights. He pitched admirably until relieved by senior Jaymon Lange, in the first pitching appearance of his career. Lange held things together as the Bulldogs added runs in every inning. Senior Lucas Tumblison did his job at shortstop, while adding powerful and consistent hitting.
Although they trailed the entire game, the Bulldogs never gave up. In fact, freshman Collin Calfee kept hope alive with an amazing catch in the outfield with the bases loaded that would have surely scored at least three runs. Freshman Noah Diamond was called upon to take on yet another role, as he pitched the final two innings and tamped down the Knights’ scoring barrage. The Bulldogs lost in a 27–8 final, but for a first-year team against the well-established program from Greenon, while dealing with injuries, it was a night that held positives for the young team.
The Saturday double-header scheduled to be played at Emmanuel Christian Academy was postponed due to poor field conditions from the heavy overnight rain. Efforts are underway to get the games rescheduled.
McKinney charges forward to loss, win
The McKinney Middle School team traveled to powerhouse Dayton Christian on Tuesday, April 18, to face the Warriors. Assistant Coach Scott Fleming took the time to assure the players that, although Dayton Christian’s facilities are beautiful and have all the amenities of a good minor league park, it was still just a baseball field. It did make it more enjoyable for the players to hear their name called on the loudspeaker when they came to the plate.
Crafty lefthander Bryce Fleming took the mound as the starter and was relieved by Ashby Lyons in a very hard-fought game that had the good guys behind 7–8 after two innings and 7–10 after three. Alas, the Warriors took over the rest of the game and finally secured the 16–7 win. Stellar defender Oskar Dennis turned a solo double play at first base, with a pop out and tag of the bag. Adding to the highlight reel was Finn Turnmire with a great catch of a hard-hit ball to left field. The ever-solid Austin Thomas impressed the coaches with another great effort behind the plate.
Coach Sam Jacobs’ enthusiastic team made their first trip to Catholic Central’s baseball field, better known as The Annex, on Thursday, April 20. The young squad swatted out 15 runs and only gave up nine to add to the growing win total of their inaugural season. Of note was a smash hit by Kennedy Strobel that was followed by a smash leveled against her by the catcher as she attempted to steal home. Surprising the crowd, she popped right up and dusted off her uniform to rejoin her teammates and seal the victory.
—Mitch Clark, coach
Softball
Tough matchup ends in loss
It was an abbreviated week for the Yellow Springs High School softball team as four games were canceled, leaving only a matchup on the road against Greenview High School.
In that game, slugger Violet Babb continued her sensational hitting with a long grand slam home run to drive in four runs — but it wasn’t enough, as the team lost by a final score of 25–5.
It was a tough outing for their only game of the week. Coach Jim had this to say: “Greenview is in first place in the very competitive Ohio Heritage Conference, so I knew beforehand this game would be a difficult matchup for our team. They are the best team we will play this season.”
The Bulldogs scored early as Autumn Sorenson led off the game with a base hit and later scored on a single by Adeline Zinger, as the Bulldogs jumped out to an early 1–0 lead. Zinger is a sophomore who is currently in the top four in hitting in the Metro Buckeye Conference, and according to Coach Jim, has been the surprise of the season so far.
“Zinger went from being a solid bench player last year to one of my top hitters this year,” he said. “She’s seeing the ball well and hitting it hard and playing outstanding defense at third base.”
The Bulldogs’ offense broke through for more runs in the fourth inning, when Babb hit a long shot to right field that resulted in a grand slam home run for the team. It was Babb’s third home run of the season, and she currently leads the MBC in home runs and runs batted in.
“Babb is picking up her hitting right where she left off last year. The ball just explodes off her bat,” Coach Jim said.
Other players contributing to the offense were Ayla Current, who was on base twice, had two stolen bases and scored a run; Neveah Smith, who was on base twice and scored a run; and Sorenson, who was on base twice and scored two runs.
—Jim Delong, coach
Track and field
Bulldogs at Greene County Invitational
The Bulldogs traveled to Beavercreek High School on Thursday, April 20, to compete in the seventh annual Greene County Invitational. Both squads finished in seventh place out of the eight Greene County high schools.
Senior Malcolm Blunt ran to a first-place finish in the 200 meters with a personal- and season-best time of 22.71. He complemented this effort with a runner-up finish in the long jump, leaping 19´10˝. Sven Meister heaved the shot put (39-7) in a sixth-place effort, while the 1,600-meter relay squad of Malik Booth, Blunt, Jack Horvath and Kyle Raymer sped to a seventh-place finish. The last scoring effort was an eighth-place run by the 400-meter relay team of Blunt, Zacariah Butler, Raymer and Jonah Summers. Solid efforts were put forth by Ethan Goodman, Kyle Johnston and Charles Whitlock.
Senior Cheyan Sundell-Turner ran to a second-place finish in the 1,600 meters in 5:59, and followed up that effort with a fifth-place performance in the 800 meters. Sophomore Tiger Collins set a personal best in the long jump with a leap of 14´8˝, which earned her third place. The girls 400-meter relay quartet of Llynah Grant, Maya Henderson, Liliana Herzog and Lilliana Sylvester passed the baton to a fifth-place effort. Earning sixth-place points were Grant in the 100 meters and the 800-meter relay team of Cynthia Burke, Clara Gomez, Henderson and Ahsha Jackson. Josie DeWine (3,200 meters) and Collins (100 hurdles) scored two points with seventh-place finishes, and rounding out the scoring was Herzog (100 hurdles), with an eighth-place effort. Competing admirably for the Bulldogs were Rebecca DeWine and Siobhan McCann-Stewart.
Coaches Isabelle Dierauer and John Gudgel were enthused with several personal-best efforts, but noted that the injury bug has sidelined and impacted several Bulldogs. The majority of the team will compete Friday, April 28, at the Mechanicsburg Relays, while a few athletes will compete at the prestigious Wayne Invitational on Thursday and Friday, April 27 and 28. The annual Bulldog Invitational will take place Friday, May 5, at Yellow Springs High School, starting at 5 p.m.
—John Gudgel, coach
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