Freshman Lily Locke successfully — and dramatically — slid into home at the recent softball match-up against Stivers, which the Bulldogs won 18–17. According to Coach Steck, the slide left quite a mark on Locke. (Photo by Jyoti Miller)
Bulldog Sports Round-Up | April 24, 2026
- Published: April 24, 2026
BASEBALL
Wild week for Bulldogs
The Varsity team met conference opponent Emmanuel Christian Academy Tuesday, April 14, on their field. The Bulldogs got down early as the Lions took a 1–0 lead in the first inning. At that point, the over-the-top insults by the home team took a toll on the young Bulldogs, who were unable to amass a hitting attack and struggled in the field. The result was their first loss in conference play.
The Varsity hosted the Emmanuel Christian Academy Lions in the second game of their home-and-home series on Thursday, April 16. The Bulldogs were determined to dust off their home white uniforms and take the rematch, and fans were treated to a heck of a baseball game.
Bryce Fleming began by putting the Lions on their heels, keeping them off balance with a mix of pitches. Each of the first three batters took strike three looking. Mateo Basora got things going in the home half by ripping a double to center field, advancing to third on a wild pitch and scoring on another wild pitch. Fleming twirled another 1–2–3 inning in the second, while the Bulldogs also went down 1–2–3. He surrendered a walk to start the third but shut down the next three hitters. Senior Jaxyn Fletcher and Caleb Derrickson each had hits in the inning, but the Bulldogs could not score. Fleming held down the Lions again in the fourth, then drove in Ashby Lyons, who had walked to lead off the inning, for a 2–0 lead.
The Lions finally broke through in the sixth with a single and double, but Fletcher snagged a line drive and fired a strike to freshman third baseman Evan Collier to complete a double play and shut down the inning. In the bottom half, Fletcher reached on an error, and Derrickson, Basora and Mason Cline successively walked to score another run and make it 3–1.
Fleming tired in the seventh after surpassing 90 pitches, allowing a double and a walk. Lyons relieved him, struck out the first batter he faced, then induced a weak bunt but threw it past first base, allowing two runs to score and knotting the game at 3–3. He quickly settled down and got the next two outs.
The Bulldogs then came to bat needing one run. Braden Derrickson lined a pinch-hit single to left, Fletcher walked on four pitches, and Collier confidently strode to the plate and singled to the right side, scoring Derrickson to seal the 4–3 victory. The win puts the Bulldogs atop the Metro Buckeye Conference standings with a 3–1 MBC record. A scheduled Saturday doubleheader with Tri-Village was rained out.
The JV team traveled to Emmanuel Christian Academy on Monday, April 13. Henry Babb had a very good pitching outing, scattering four hits over five innings after a shaky first. The Bulldog bats rapped out eight hits, capitalized on nine walks and scored 14 runs, while adding another 14 stolen bases. David Torres stayed hot with three hits, and Babb helped himself with two hits and three RBIs as the Bulldogs moved to 4–0 with another run-rule victory.
JV traveled to Mechanicsburg on Wednesday, April 15, and came out swinging, leading 4–0 after the first inning. The Indians answered and eventually took a 14–11 lead before darkness stopped the game in the sixth. Finn Turnmire had two hits and two RBIs. Adding hits were Collin Goebel, Graham Turnmire, Collier and Chris Goebel. The Bulldogs managed 16 walks and swiped seven bases.
The JV hosted Emmanuel Christian in a rematch on Friday, April 17. The Bulldogs outhit the Lions, but a shaky defense allowed the Lions to come away with a disappointing 9–3 victory.
The middle school team hosted a strong Clark Shawnee squad on Monday, April 13. Elliot Shires had a hit and Judah Shultz added two, but that was not nearly enough to overcome the onslaught by the Braves. The middle school Bulldogs had another run-in with Cedarville on Thursday, April 16. The Bulldogs scored two in the first inning on a hard-hit ball by Otoño Roeth that scored Zander Breza and Joseph Schubel, but were unable to keep up with the slugging Indians after that.
—Coach Mitch Clark
SOFTBALL
Bulldogs bounce back in thrilling win
It was a busy and exciting week for the Yellow Springs Varsity Bulldogs, who showed plenty of grit and heart in a trio of competitive games.
The National Trail Blazers bested the Bulldogs 17–1 on Blazers turf Saturday, April 11, with freshman Malini Miller securing an RBI to bring in freshman hitter Allee Bayard for the team’s sole run. Miller also netted two strikeouts on the mound during the game.
On Monday, April 13, the Bulldogs hosted Fairlawn in a hard-fought home game. Despite the tough outcome, Yellow Springs showed determination throughout. Miller took the mound and turned in a resilient performance, throwing 118 pitches while recording a strikeout and battling through several challenging innings. Offensively, Kennedy Stroble, Rhythme Greene, Bayard and Miller each recorded a hit, while Stroble and Miller drove in runs for the Bulldogs. The team stayed aggressive on the base paths, swiping six total bases, with Miller accounting for two of them.
The Bulldogs bounced back in thrilling fashion on April 15 against Stivers School for the Arts, securing an unforgettable 18–17 walk-off win in extra innings. In a game packed with offense, Yellow Springs tallied 15 hits while also showing patience at the plate with seven walks.
Stivers jumped out to an early lead, using aggressive base-running and timely hitting to build momentum through the first three innings, but the Bulldogs didn’t back down. In the fifth inning, Bayard drove in a run, and Miller electrified the crowd with her first high school career home run, bringing Yellow Springs back within striking distance.
The Bulldogs completed their comeback in the bottom of the seventh, tying the game at 17 with a series of heads-up plays, including multiple steals of home by Kylee Reichelderfer-Wolff, Eleanor Bongorno and Lily Locke.
In the eighth inning, the drama reached its peak. With the game on the line, Bongorno was hit by a pitch, forcing in the winning run and sealing the 18–17 victory for Yellow Springs.
Miller earned the win in an impressive relief effort, pitching seven innings while striking out 16 batters and allowing just one walk. Offensively, Piper Millhoan, Anderson and Miller each collected three hits, while Bongorno and Miller led the team with three RBIs apiece. Stroble added two hits, and the Bulldogs’ aggressive base-running proved to be the difference, as the team racked up an incredible 24 stolen bases.
Defensively, Yellow Springs played a clean game, committing no errors, with Millhoan leading the way with nine fielding chances. With strong teamwork and standout performances, the Bulldogs continue to build momentum as the season moves forward.
—Coach Danielle Steck
TENNIS
Bulldogs seeded second
The boys tennis team is currently seeded in second place in the Metro Buckeye Conference after two 4–1 wins against conference rivals Middletown Christian on Tuesday, April 7, and Friday, April 10. The wins were followed by a 4–1 loss to Legacy Christian Academy on Thursday, April 16. At press time, individual player stats were not available.
TRACK
Bulldogs run well at Xenia Invitational
Competing against top-flight competition at the Doug Adams Xenia Invitational Friday night, April 10, the YSHS boys and girls teams performed in admirable fashion. A pair of seniors displayed true Bulldog grit and determination.
Kyle Johnston pulled off the distance double with victories in the 1,600 meters in a best-ever time of 4:37.47 and bounced back with a season-best effort in the 3,200 meters (10:12.33). Fellow senior Llnyah Grant had a quadruple performance, led by a first-place finish in the 200 meters (26.03), a personal best, complemented by a third-place finish in the long jump and fourth place in the 100 meters. Grant teamed with 400-meter relay teammates Isabella Espinosa, Natalie Gilley and Brooklyn Hapgood for a second-place finish.
Espinosa scored a third-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles with a best-ever performance (16.88), while sophomore Violet Matteson rounded out the scoring with an eighth-place finish in the 400 meters. On the boys side, senior Sailor Schultz heaved the shot to a fourth-place effort, and sophomore Matteo Chaiten finished in seventh place in the 400 meters.
Strong efforts on the girls side were turned in by Abebu Barnett, Inez Creepingbear, Paradise Everhart, Petra Nieberding, Addison Shafeek, Sierra Sundell-Turner, Bella Thomas and Evie Thomas. The boys had superb efforts from Saul Alvarez, Kiernan Anderson, Carter Brookey, Amitai DeLamatre, Arthur DeVore, Hugo Grigorian, Wills Oberg, Trevor Roberts and Brendyn Slone.
As a team, the girls finished in eighth place while the boys came in 11th place in the field of 13 teams.
Coaches Isabelle Dierauer, John Gudgel and Dave Johnston lauded the Bulldogs for performing admirably against top-flight Division I competition. As was commented by one fan in attendance, the kids from Yellow Springs never seem to be bothered when competing against larger schools.
At press time, the Bulldogs were set to compete in the Greene County Invitational on Thursday, April 23, and next week will split the squad between the Wayne Invitational and Greenon Relays.
—Coach John Gudgel
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