SPORTS BRIEFLY
The week at Taylor
• The Taylor baseball team beat Deer Park 18-1 in five innings, May 7. Taylor’s Zach Brisker was 3-4 with three RBI. On May 10, New Richmond beat Taylor 9-0 in sectionals. Taylor’s Alex Haussler was 2-3. • In softball, Taylor beat Indian Hill 8-7 in Division II Sectionals, May 10. Taylor’s Liz Mooney and Katie Jackson were both 3-4. Taylor advances to play Goshen on May 12.
The week at Elder
• The Elder baseball team lost 4-1 to Moeller, May 7. Michael Schwartz collected an RBI. Elder also fell to Dublin Jerome 5-2. Jacob Lindsey was 2-3 for Elder. On May 9, Elder beat Ross 15-10. Elder’s Jacob Lindsey was 3-5 with a homerun and three RBI. Colerain beat Elder 6-1, May 10. Elder’s Frank Rosenacker was 2-2. Elder beat Hamilton 5-0, May 12 in sectionals, advancing them to play Glen Este on May 19. Lindsey was 3-3 with two triples, three RBI and two runs.
The week at Oak Hills
• The Oak Hills baseball team beat Milford 10-3, May 7. Oak Hills’ Jay Schunk was 2-4 with a homerun, a double and four RBI. Oak Hills also beat Princeton 4-1 the same day. Schunk was 2-4, scored a homerun and had two RBI against Princeton. On May 9, Oak Hills beat Wyoming 10-8. Schunk scored a homerun and had three RBI. On May 10, Oak Hills beat Winton Woods 13-0 in five innings. Schunk was 2-2 with four RBI. Oak Hills beat Princeton 10-4, May 11. Tyler Walters had three RBI. Oak Hills lost 3-2 to Kings, May 12.
Athletes of the week
Oak Hills High School athletes of the week Ed Smith and Anthony Wunder have spent much of the year as the boy’s tennis team’s second doubles. Smith and Wunder are second-year Smith v a r s i t y starter, and are 2-4 in the tough GMC b e a t i n g Hamilton and Colerain, and have nonconference Wunder wins against Roger Bacon and Taylor. They took home first place at second doubles at the Oak Hills Invitational beating a tough Northwest team. The duo placed second at the Coaches Classic last weekend, losing to Mason in the finals. Smith leads the team in Aces, with a career high 15 in the Oak Hills Invitational. A key win for Wunder this season was a two-set win over Princeton. Smith and Wunder are both excellent student-athletes excelling in the classroom as well.
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Western Hills Press
May 18, 2011
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Your Community Press newspaper serving Addyston, Bridgetown, Cheviot, Cleves, Covedale, Dent, Green Township, Mack, Miami Township, North Bend, Westwood
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Elder advances to sectional final By Tony Meale
innings). The experience Elder gained in advancing to the state final last year could come in handy this postseason. Some managers downplay the importance of having been there before, but Thompson isn’t one of them. “I don’t think it’s overrated at all; I think it’s very important,” he said. “It gets you to relax in certain situations playing in pressure-type games. Our guys are kind of used to that year in and year out. It’s definitely a plus.”
tmeale@communitypress.com
Tim Baldrick did it again. The Elder High School senior, who threw a no-hitter earlier this season, tossed a complete game shutout in the Panthers’ playoffopener, a 5-0 win over Hamilton May 12. “He threw first-pitch strikes and got ahead in the count,” Elder head coach Mark Thompson said. “That’s the key to his success.” Baldrick, who improved to 5-1 with the win, has filled the ace void left by 2010 Elder graduates Brian Korte and Matt Pate. “Tim had one bad outing his first outing of the year, and since then he’s really stepped up and led our pitching staff,” Thompson said. Senior Jacob Lindsey, who went 3-3 with two triples and three RBI, led the way offensively against Hamilton; he leads the team in average (.394), OBP (.463) and RBIs (23). “He’s kind of the heart and soul of the team,” Thompson said. “He’s a tremendous leader and put us on his back the other day against Hamilton.” Other top run-producers include Nick Connor (.329, 15 RBI), Dewey Freidel (.294, 14 RBI), Michael Schwarz (.281, 13 RBI), Ben Gramke (.282, 10 RBI), David Haley (.274, 14 RBI) and Anthony Asalon (.229, 12 RBI). The Panthers (14-10) have gone 9-5 since starting 5-5. They advance to face No. 5 Glen Este in the sectional finals May 19 at Lakota West. Thompson intended to scout Glen Este in its game against Kings May 13, but it was rained out.
Oak Hills
SCOTT SPRINGER/STAFF
Oak Hills High School senior Jay Schunk awaits the glad hand at third base after jacking a home run to center against Wyoming May 9. Schunk drove in three runs as Oak Hills beat the Cowboys 10-8. The Highlanders fell to Kings 3-2 in the sectional semifinals May 12. “If we do what we do well, things will take care of themselves,” Thompson said. While Baldrick is Elder’s ace, the Panthers have a deep pitching staff. Among those who could see time on the mound this postseason are Joe Ramstetter (1.04 ERA, 41 strikeouts, 33.2 innings), Andrew Crofton (1-0, 1.75 ERA), Greg Niehaus (1-0, one save, 3.28 ERA) and Alex Bolia (2-1, 14 Ks in 14.2
No. 15 Oak Hills fell 3-2 to No. 11 Kings in the sectional semifinals May 12. The Highlanders advanced after defeating No. 32 Winton Woods 13-0 May 10. They finish the season 18-9 (12-6). Oak Hills, which started the year 6-7 (5-6) and was among the bottom three teams in the Greater Miami Conference at midseason, went 12-2 the rest of the way and finished second to Lakota East by a game in the GMC. The Highlanders went 1-1 against East, losing one game by a run and winning the other by a run. Senior Jay Schunk finished among the top three in the league in average (.431), home runs (five) and RBI (25). He also led the team in OBP (.559) and doubles (11). Five other Highlanders knocked in at least 10 runs, including sophomore Jake Richmond (.343, 12 RBI) and junior Brandon Hemberger (.325, 17 RBI). Sophomore Tyler Walter (.286, 11 RBI), senior Dylan Simkin (.273, 10 RBI) and junior Tyler Cox
(.258, 10 RBI) also played pivotal roles. On the mound, Schunk went 1-1 with a 2.96 ERA and had 23 strikeouts in 23.2 innings, junior Thomas Connolly went 3-1 with a 3.54 ERA and junior Austin Kron went 4-0 with a 3.71 ERA.
Taylor
The Yellow Jackets, seeded eighth, fell 9-0 to No. 7 New Richmond during sectional play May 10. Alex Haussler and Patrick Pennington hit right around .400 this season, while Zach Brisker, Brandon Siebel, Jordan Blanton and Dylan Lee all hit over .300. Brisker and Sean Weisgerber led the team in wins and strikeouts.
Western Hills
Seeking their first playoff win in more than five years, the Mustangs, seeded 26th, fell 8-4 to Mt. Healthy during sectional play May 10. They finish 11-10 (9-2). Sophomore Cameron Washington led the team in average (.455), OBP (.513) and RBI (25), while senior Antwuane Blackwell hit .448 with a .579 OBP. Blackwell had 29 steals, which led the Cincinnati Metro Athletic Conference. Washington was second with 22. Senior Aaron Ernst hit .354, sophomore Levi Wolf hit .314 and sophomore Dailyn Stevenson hit .306. On the mound, Ernst went 4-2 with a 1.70 ERA and 44 strikeouts in 33.0 innings, senior Juan Warren went 4-3 with a 1.96 ERA and 67 strikeouts in 39.1 innings and freshman Edurado Rodriguez had 47 Ks in 39.2 innings.
Bobcats use balance to win playoff-opener Sophomore Anna Hetzer, junior Kari Lockwood and senior Laney Sportsman were among the top hitters for Seton, while junior Danielle Hoffman received the vast majority of innings on the mound. The Saints have gone a combined 0-20 in the GGCL over the last two years.
By Tony Meale tmeale@communitypress.com
The Mother of Mercy High School softball team showed it’s not just a oneperson show. Senior catcher Erika Leonard, who leads the Girls’ Greater Cincinnati League Scarlet division in average (.547), home runs (six) and RBI (19), was walked every at-bat in the Bobcats’ playoff-opener against No. 5 New Richmond May 12. “In order to produce runs, we had to have everyone contribute,” Mercy head coach Stefanie Kathman said. “And they did.” Juniors Anna Eggleston, Amy Feie and Morgan Fuller sparked the Bobcats to an 8-0 win, as Mercy, seeded No. 1, advanced to face No. 8 Goshen in the Division II sectional finals May 17 after deadline. Eggleston and Feie are hitting .411 and .354, respectively, but their biggest contributions have come on the mound. They have a combined 0.87 ERA, eight shutouts and 211 strikeouts in 145.0 innings, as the Bobcats have allowed two runs or fewer in 18 of 21 games this year. “We’re kind of in this weird dilemma that most coaches don’t have where you have two very good pitchers,” Kathman said. “We don’t really have a No.1 or No. 2, but I think they’re two of the strongest pitchers in the city.” Mercy (19-2, 9-1) finished the regular season on a 10-game winning streak. The Bobcats’ only losses
Taylor
TONY MEALE/STAFF
Seton High School senior Sam Dressman, left, applies a tag to Oak Hills senior Ally Janson as Seton junior Rachel Poston looks on during Division I sectional play May 9. Janson was safe on the play, as the Lady Scots won 11-3. The game was played at Rapid Run Middle School. this year were to Ursuline and McAuley, and they won rematches with each – 8-7 over Ursuline May 9 and 10 over McAuley May 10. Mercy has now won the GGCL three years in a row. “We’ve definitely had a strong pitching-catching combo,” Kathman said. “But you can’t win and be successful with one or two all-stars. So it really has been other players stepping up, playing defense and hitting through the line-up. People look for Erika and Anna and Amy, but they don’t always recognize that we have nine other players on the team who play well.” Kathman, a first-year head coach, was on staff under former Mercy coach Karen Kron for several years before taking over this season. The Bobcats graduated six seniors from last year’s squad, and Kathman said one of the biggest challenges she faced was getting the varsity newcomers to believe they belonged at this level.
Given that Mercy won at least 19 games for the third straight season, it’s safe to say Kathman succeeded in that endeavor. The focus now turns to a deep tourney run. Despite going 39-11 (.780) in 2009 and 2010, Mercy was unable to advance past sectionals in either season. Kathman said this year could be different. “Last year we had hoped to go further, and the girls on the team this year remember that and how tough that loss was,” Kathman said. “This year, the girls just want to keep playing. After losing six seniors, no one really expected this team to do that well, and they’ve already exceeded everyone’s expectations. So I think their goal is to keep going with that.”
Oak Hills
The Lady Scots opened the postseason with an 113 win over No. 17 Seton May 9 but fell i7-3 n the sectional semifinals to No. 7 Ursuline May 11.
TONY MEALE/STAFF
Oak Hills senior Ally Janson gets ready to run to third base in the May 9 game against Seton. Oak Hills, which started the season 3-5, dropped 10 straight before winning three in a row heading into its game with Ursuline. Senior Ally Janson hit just below .400 this season, while freshman Sammy Sagers, senior Rachel Salzl, junior Katherine Herbort and sophomore Emily Laymance were all above .300. Junior hurlers Katelyn Doran and Lauren Sommer split the majority of time on the mound. Oak Hills finishes 6-17 (4-12).
Seton
The Saints, seeded No. 17, fell 11-3 to No. 14 Oak Hills in their playoff-opener May 9. They finished the regular season with three losses in three days May 10-12, losing 7-2 to Mount Notre Dame, 4-3 to St. Ursula and 9-8 to McAuley. Seton, which started 2-3, lost 10 straight and 15 of 17 to close the season. The Saints finish 4-18 (0-10).
The Lady Yellow Jackets pulled off a bit of a shocker in an 8-7 sectional upset of Indian Hill May 10. Seeded 10th, they entered the game 2-12 overall and a winless 0-10 in the Cincinnati Hills League. No. 4 Indian Hill, meanwhile, was 11-8 (7-5). Nevertheless, Taylor held on for the win before bowing out to No. 6 Amelia, 104, in the sectional semifinals May 12. Senior Katie Jackson and junior Cheyenne Hawk both hit over .400 this season, while freshman Caitlyn Bowman and juniors Christy Baldwin, Liz Mooney and Brandy Crouse posted OBPs well above .350. Freshman Kaylyn Schmitz was Taylor’s top pitcher.
Western Hills
The No. 20 Lady Mustangs forfeited to No. 9 Colerain in the Division I sectional semifinals May 11. Western Hills finishes 83 (7-1). Among the top players for the Lady Mustangs were junior catcher Becky Owens, senior outfielder Miah Davis and senior third baseman Melvona Coleman.