March 17, 2005

sports

Good year for 6th-graders

The Yellow Springs sixth-grade boys basketball team battled its way to the semifinals of the Mini March Madness tournament last weekend at Cedarville University.

The tournament was the culmination of a season of hard work and included five games in four days, in which the Bulldogs beat Wayne, Fairborn and Springfield Catholic, playing some of their best basketball of the season.

The boys were operating on all cylinders against Springfield, dominating in shooting percentage, rebounding, passing and free throws. Geoffrey Pitts was the high scorer with 23 points, Carl Wiener had 10, and Robert Hardin had the game of his life with 6 points. Sam Morrison led the defense with several steals, while Elliot Cromer made smart plays at both ends of the court.

Two weeks earlier, the Bulldogs beat Wilmington in the first round of the Kenton Trace League tournament. In round two, the team put up a valiant effort against Clinton-Massie, the best team in the league, but came up short. Shaquil Collett played for the first time and showed promise.

The boys started their season slowly, falling first to Wilmington and losing by 1 point to Southeastern. But even in the early games there were harbingers of good things to come. Everyone contributed to the effort, including Nerak Roth Patterson, Kaida Johnson, Addison Pettiford, Tony Parker, Andre Minor, Tyler Qualls and Devon Massie.

The third game of the season began a remarkable streak during which the Bulldogs won six of seven games.

“We are extremely proud of our boys and the way they conducted themselves on and off the court this season and through the tournaments,” coach Bob Morrison said. “They played hard, they respected the other teams, they never gave up…The future is bright for Yellow Springs basketball.”

Spring season approaching

Spring is in the air for Yellow Springs baseball players, who begin their season with three scrimmages, starting with a game against Springfield Catholic Central on Saturday, March 19. The opening pitch will be tossed at a time that will be determined by the weather. The junior varsity team travels to Southeastern for another scrimmage on Monday, March 21, at 4:30 p.m. On Thursday, March 24, the varsity squad travels to Graham for a scrimmage beginning at 4:30 p.m.

The Bulldogs open the regular season at Springfield Catholic on Monday, March 28, at 4:30 p.m.

The following day, March 29, the tennis team begins its season when the Bulldogs host Cedarville, beginning at 4:30 p.m. The tennis team plays its home matches at the Antioch tennis courts.

The YSHS track teams will host their first meet of the year on Wednesday, March 30, at 4:30 p.m.

The softball season starts on April 4, at 4:30 p.m., when the girls travel to Bethel.

The McKinney School track team opens its season on Wednesday, April 4, against an opponent that still needs to be determined.

The complete spring sports schedule will be published in next week’s News.

Spring sports season is fast approaching

Please check backwith us towards the end of March for school track, tennis, baseball and softball coverage.