April 26, 2007

sports

Alex Turner returned a backhand on Friday, April 20, on the way to winning his second singles match in straight sets. Unfortunately, the Bulldogs lost that day, 3–2.

Bulldog sports roundup

Spirited baseball team loses 4
The return of decent weather last week gave the Yellow Springs High School baseball team a busy four-game week in which the Bulldog offense scored 32 runs. Todd Sheets was on a hitting tear and has raised his team-leading average over .500. In the field Ben Armstrong continued to make acrobatic catches and thrill crowds with his throws to tag out runners. On the mound, Lucas Donnell pitched three hitless innings against Cedarville in his first varsity game.

Unfortunately the squad still dropped all four games: 11–9 against Middletown Christian on Tuesday, April 17; 5–4 against Cedarville on Wednesday, April 18; 17–16 against Ridgeville Christian on Thursday, April 19; and 13–3 against Dayton Christian on Saturday, April 21. The Bulldogs are now 3–6–1, and the team is 2–3 in the league.

Against Middletown the Bulldogs jumped out to a 5–0 and then a 9–4 lead as everything the boys hit seemed to find a hole in the Eagles defense. But the offense suddenly stopped producing and Middle-town rallied for 7 late runs. Armstrong and Andrew Ferguson had three hits each, and Jamie Kitzmiller and Kilan Brown each scored doubles.

Against Cedarville the ’Dogs ran into their nemesis, the school’s senior pitcher, whose curveball has foiled them for years. Cedarville was up 4–0 in the third inning when Yellow Springs rallied. With Logan Sage and Armstrong on base, Ferguson lashed a single to score them. Cedarville then scored again, and with two out in the seventh and down 5–3, the ’Dogs showed their spunk. Sage and pinch-hitter Zach Reichart both poked singles before Armstrong drove home Sage for one last run.

Against Ridgeville the Bulldogs jumped out to a 6–0 second inning lead highlighted by Sheets’ 2-run triple. Yellow Springs was still up 11–10 going into the sixth, but a hit, walk, and error plated 2 runs to give the Lions the lead. Once again the locals showed a battling spirit and staged a 5-run rally. But Ridgeville matched the comeback and scored the winning run on an error.

Against Dayton Christian, Reichart made the first start of his pitching career and struck out the lead hitter in the Dayton area with a curveball. Control then became a problem, and the ’Dogs were down 7–0 by the end of the second inning.

Softball loses two
The YSHS girls softball team lost 17–8 against the Cedarville Indians on Wednesday, April 18. On Saturday, April 21, the Lady ’Dogs lost 18–0 to Dayton Christian.

Against Cedarville, Lauren Miles pitched a strong first four innings, and Bailey Linse pitched the final inning, walking four batters and giving up 1 hit and five runs. The Lady Bulldogs stayed with the Indians for three innings, scoring 7 runs in three innings with three hits, five walks and a couple of defensive errors by the Cedarville team. Kristen Foster had two hits, and Bailey Linse got the other hit in the game.

Miles also pitched against Dayton Christian. Jessica Kellar got the Bulldogs’ only hit.

Boys track sets school record
The boys mile relay team of Andy Peters, Evan Firestone, Alexis Onfroy-Curley and Sam Borchers established a new YSHS record at the prestigious Mehock Relays in Mansfield on Saturday, April 21. The foursome broke the existing record of 18:58.0, set in 1985 by Joel Robinson, Michael Lamont, Jamie Strewing and David LaRosewith, with a new mark of 18:44.6. The team finished fourth in the race.

On Tuesday, April 17, Borchers led the YSHS boys track team with wins in the 400 and 800 meter runs for a second place team finish at the London Quad meet. The girls team finished third. At the West Liberty Salem Invitational on Friday, April 20, the Bulldog boys finished fifth and the girls took sixth.

At the Mansfield Relays, which encompasses teams from four states and Canada, Borchers led the Bulldogs by finishing first in the mile in 4:15.2. Peters also took 12th in the mile in 4:39.

At London, Ron Cobb took second place in both the 100 and the 200 meter dash. Second-place finishes also went to the 800 and the 400 relay teams, both comprised of runners Peters, Borchers, Anthony -Pettiford and Birch Robinson-Hubbuch. Peters also pole-vaulted to second place and finished third in the 300 hurdles, while Asa Casenhiser finished third in the 200-meter dash and fourth in the 100-meter dash. -Jerimiha Stubblefield took fourth place in the long jump.

The girls track team finished third at the London meet, led by Leslie Holland, who took second in both the 100- and 200-meter dashes. Maiya Thornton-Hodge turned in a third-place finish in the 200-meters. Shakia Porter and Melodie Wright also contributed strong performances at the meet.

At West Liberty Salem, Brock Gunder-Kline took fifth place in the 3200-meter run, while sixth place finishes went to Raphael Allen in the long jump and to Jacob GunderKline in the 200-meter run. For the girls, Kristen Foster took sixth place in the 100-meter dash.

Tennis wins 2, loses 1
The YSHS tennis team beat Dayton Christian 4–1 on Tuesday, April 17, before giving up its first match this season against Cedarville 3–2 on Friday, April 20. Yellow Springs came back on Monday, April 23, to hand Washington Courthouse its first loss of the season 3–2.

Against Dayton, Olivia Chen zipped up court one with a 6–1, 6–1 win, followed by a more contentious 6–2, 7–5 win at second singles from Eduardo Gallifa. Emile Fleming lost in three sets on court three. Both doubles teams of Erin Silvert-Noftle/ Kyle Buchwalder and Raphael Allen/ Zeke Hardman won their matches. Aiysha Walker and Zac Katz-Stein contributed a big three-set win on the reserve court.

Against Cedarville, Chen took every game of her match. At second singles Alex Turner was down in the first set before coming back to win in a 7–0 tie breaker and then took the second in an easy 6–2. Gallifa lost 4–6, 4–6 at third singles. On the first doubles court, Buchwalder and Fleming lost 6–7, 2–6, while Katz-Stein and Walker lost 2–6, 3–6 at second doubles.

Against Washington Courthouse, Chen and Turner both won in straight sets, while both doubles teams of Hardman/Fleming and Silvert-Noftle/Katz-Stein struggled against a losing tide. The outcome of the match fell on Gallifa’s shoulders on the third singles court. Gallifa struggled to take the first set 7–5, and then started out the second off-kilter. In a fit of determination, he regained his focus and took control of the match to finish the second set off 6–3 for the day’s win. Walker had a nice showing in reserve singles.

Teen girls softball sign-up
Sign-ups for girls ages 14–16 who are interested in playing on a traveling summer softball team will be this Saturday, April 28, from 1 to 3 p.m., in the lobby of the Bryan Community Center. Address any questions to Chris Lloyd at 767-9318.

YS Soccer, Inc. sign-up
Yellow Springs Soccer Inc. will host summer soccer camps during the week of June 18–22 for kids in Yellow Springs and surrounding areas. Half-day camps are offered for ages 6–9, 10–13 and 14–18. If registration is completed by Friday, May 4, the participants will receive a free shirt and ball. The cost of the week-long camp is $96.

For more information, contact Lauren Miller at 767-2072 or Matt Hoy of British Soccer Challenger Sports at 888-290-9200.