SPORTS & RECREATION
Jones Continued from Page A8
McNick coach Tim Ross credits Jones’ effectiveness to her ability to throw several pitches, one of which, is a nasty rise ball. “The rise ball will tend to take a jump and it comes in looking like it’s waist high and then it’s neck high and it comes faster. It’s very effective,” Ross said. Jones’ legend grew even larger when she pitched her select team, the Northern Kentucky Bandits, past the college – that’s right – the College of Mount St. Joseph, 2-1, last summer. Because MSJ is one of Jones’ college options, the hurler said she was just trying to leave a good impression. “I had to make a good impression and I (couldn’t) let those girls eat me alive. I had to do good and make them know who I am, so I went out there and happened to pull out a win,” Jones said. Ross had a simple expla-
APRIL 25, 2012 • COMMUNITY JOURNAL • A9
nation for Jones’ dominance in the game. “When Abby is on, she’s very hard to hit,” he said. Jones added that playing select ball and facing tough competition throughout the summer months has helped her become a better a player. “It makes me realize in order to be the best I have to push myself to work hard and to not just be like, ‘oh, I’m better than everybody else,’ I have to work to be good.” When she heads to college, Jones plans to major in biology. Eventually, she’d like to become a dentist. She is considering attending Thomas More, Otterbein, and MSJ. She wants to play Division III college athletics because she wants to continue playing the sport she loves, while also giving her full attention to academics. “I love playing (softball) and I don’t want to move up to the next level and have it be more like a job than me just getting to play because (playing softball) is what I want do.”
Bulldogs getting back on track By Tom Skeen tskeen@communitypress.com
BATAVIA — It’s been a season of ups and downs for the Batavia Bulldogs baseball team. They currently sit at 10-5, atop of the Southern Buckeye Athletic and Academic Conference National Division and ranked No. 9 in The Enquirer Divisions II-IV coaches’ poll. “We got off to a hot start and were hitting the ball real well,” coach Jeff Carter said. “We didn’t have to rely on our pitching too much because we were hitting. Then spring break rolled around and we hit the buzz saw that is New Richmond and since then we are struggling to find a win. Our hitting has cooled and we can’t relay on our pitching all of the time.” The buzz saw that Carter speaks of is off to a
PRES PREPS HIGHLIGHTS Continued from Page A8
to her fifth win of the season. Maddie Sorenson was 3-4 from the plate. On April 18, Jones followed up with 14 strikeouts during the Rockets’ 4-3 win over Fenwick. Courtney Curran and Katie St. Charles were each 3-5 at the plate.
Volleyball
» McNick improved to 8-4 with a 3-0 win over Milford April 16. The squad followed up with
a 3-2 win over Fenwick April 17. The squad is 9-4 on the season.
Boys tennis
» New Richmond lost 5-0 to Mariemont April 17. » Batavia defeated Clermont Northeastern 3-2, April 17 to improve to 4-2 on the season. Batavia lost 4-1 to Western Brown April18.
Track
» The Williamsburg girls team won the CHCA relays April 17.
The team won the 4x100 and 4x200 relay, as well as the shot put, discus, long jump, high jump and pole vault. They boys finished second at the CHCA Relays and claimed titles in the 4x800 relay, shot put, discus and high jump. » Batavia finished fourth at the Western Brown Invitational April 17. Nick Dierks won the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 16.87. The Lady Bulldogs finished eighth.
consistent top to bottom hitting. We get guys in scoring position with less than two outs and from there we have to play baseball the right way in getting them over and in. I can’t rely on two guys to hit the ball all the time.” The two guys he speaks of are Austin Lenhardt and Ryan Gormley. Gormley leads the team with a .524 batting average and has two home runs,16 RBI, 22 hits and18 runs scored on the season. Lenhardt is hitting .489 with 9 RBI, 23 hits, 21 runs scored, five doubles and leads the Bulldogs with 16 stolen bases. “Throughout that (losing) stretch, they still hit and kind of carried us,” Carter said. “We can always depend on those guys.” On the mound, it has been senior Tyler Carver leading the way. He is 3-1 on the year with a 5.53
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15-0 start on the season and beat the Bulldogs 23-2, April 11. The Lions scored 12 runs before the Bulldogs could record an out. That game was the start of the Bulldogs losing three of four games and coming back to reality a little bit. Before playing the Lions, Batavia was 8-1 with its only loss coming to second-ranked Madeira when they gave up two runs in the seventh to lose 5-4. Carter believes his team’s struggles are a thing of the past, especially after a big 7-5 win over Blanchester April 18, who is currently in secondplace in the National Division. “To play the way we did and to get that win (over Blanchester), I think it’s going to get us our surge that we need to get back on track,” he said. “We need to be more
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ERA, 28 strikeouts and one shutout in 19 innings. “He has really stepped up,” Carter said. He’s taken the ball and thrown a lot of innings. He’s been really reliable.” Carter has had two surprises on the mound this season. Sophomore Kyle Schmitgen has tossed 10 innings and boasts a 2.63 ERA, while Dalton Wright is back after missing the first 10 games of the season and has a 3.11 ERA in nine innings. With 10 games remaining in the regular season, the Bulldogs’ coach knows what his team needs to do to keep up the solid play and bring home a National Division championship. “Pitching has to keep us in the game to where we can stay close,” he said. “We need to hit with runners in scoring position and hit top to bottom.”
Immaculate Heart of Mary's fifth-grade volleyball team celebrates winning the prestigious Mount Notre Dame Cougar Classic with a 10-0 record. They also beat St. Ursula Villa in league play and finished 27-3 in the CYO, making them league co-champs. They finished 60-4 on the year and won the city championship at Mason SportsPlex March 11. From left are: Back, assistant coach Chris Zimmerman, Lillie Zimmerman, Sarah Tankersley, Lauren Boldt, Ava Romerill and head coach Stephen Tankersley; front, Jenny Kleier, Lauren Steele, Josie Buendia and Abby Wachs. THANKS TO STEPHEN TANKERSLEY
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