News

Arcanum repeats in baseball wins back-to-back WOAC Championships.

Story & Photos by Dale Barger

ARCANUM – The Arcanum baseball team ran the table in the WOAC this year, going a perfect 11–0 after a 9–0 win over Tri-County North at home. The victory clinched back-to-back league championships for the Trojans and their fourth title in the five-year history of the WOAC.

Coming into the spring, not many would have predicted a clean sweep for Arcanum given the holes they had to fill. Junior starting outfielder Jace Mote sustained a late-season, year-ending injury in basketball. On top of that, the Trojans lost starting pitcher Lucas Miller, who won seven games last season with a 0.64 ERA. There were real questions about how Arcanum would respond.

But under head coach Randy Baker, the Trojans’ program has consistently found ways to compete and overcome adversity. This year’s title marks the 10th league championship of Baker’s tenure.

In an era where league championships sometimes take a backseat to tournament runs, Baker reminded his team what they had just accomplished.

Arcanum coach Randy Baker holds up WOAC Championship trophy and explained to his team what it means to win a league title which he's done 10 times in his coaching career.

“We talked after the game and like I told them, we are playing two seasons: the league season and the tournament season,” Baker explained. “The first season is our league season, and our goal is to win the league. If we go undefeated, that’s great, but it’s a tough league to go undefeated because there are a lot of trap games. Twice this year we had to play three league games in a week, and that requires a lot of pitching. You have to have a lot of depth, and we did that this year and won some really tough games during those stretches.”

While Baker didn’t specifically talk about his own program, senior catcher Bryce Kramer did, offering a glimpse into why Arcanum has been so successful.

Senior catcher Bryce Kramer has been a solid 3-year player behind the dish for Arcanum.

“In coach Baker’s program there are no days off. If there’s a day off, it’s on the weekend,” Kramer said. “We’re putting in the work, 110% every single day. We’re coming in with the same energy and leaving with the same energy. All the guys put in extra work after hours. We’re in the gym, hitting in the cages and sometimes putting in three to four hours of practice.”

All that work paid off for Arcanum and for the six seniors who also won league titles as freshmen and juniors. Doing it together one more time as seniors made this championship even more meaningful.

“We didn’t think we were going to be as solid as we were last year due to the loss of a couple guys that were key to the team not being able to play,” Kramer admitted. “But we surprised ourselves, we worked really hard and some guys really stepped up, so winning it this year is really awesome.”

Regan Christ delivers for his team, 8 starts and 8 wins so far this year.

It doesn’t hurt to have another senior, Regan Christ, taking the ball in big games and delivering. Christ has started eight games this season — and won all eight.

Against Tri-County North, Christ went the distance, allowing just three hits and one walk while striking out 15. In his eight wins, he owns a 0.15 ERA and has fanned 99 batters.

Christ, who is headed to Ohio University to pitch next year, is savoring his senior season and winning a league title with his classmates.

“Obviously, it’s been a lot of fun. Winning a WOAC league title outright means everything — that’s all we can ask for in our first season — and to do that with these seniors is extra special,” Christ said.

Arcanum Seniors had a good night picking up their 3rd WOAC League Title in 4 years.

Arcanum honored its seniors before the game: Derek Longstreth, Cole Kessler, Kolton Quigney, Regan Christ, Bryce Kramer, and Ethan Kearney. Fittingly, each left a mark on the win.

• Longstreth had a hit and an RBI.
• Kramer once again controlled the game behind the plate.
• Quigney flashed the leather at shortstop and added 2 hits, 2 RBI, and a run scored.
• Kearney chipped in a hit and scored twice.
• Kessler collected 2 hits, 2 runs scored, and an RBI.
• Christ helped his own cause with 2 hits, 2 runs, and an RBI.

Christ has been an impact player since his freshman year, when his older brother — then a senior catcher — called the game for him behind the plate. Over the last three seasons he’s built that same kind of bond with Kramer, and together they’ve surpassed the 7–0 mark the Christ brothers shared in Regan’s freshman year, going 8–0 so far.

“You know, after three years we’re pretty much on the same page — especially this year,” Christ said. “He knows what I want half the time and that’s all you can ask from any catcher. We are completely in sync.”

Kramer echoed that connection.

“Considering it’s our third year together, we’re pretty much on the same page with everything we do — calling strikes, calling pitches, and just showing up together,” Kramer said. “He’s just consistent. Every single day he is consistent, and it starts the minute he steps on the field. He’s locked in and ready to go.”

Consistency also describes Baker’s program. With a league title secured and the “first season” complete, Arcanum now turns toward the second season with the tournament draw taking place this weekend.

“We’re going to enjoy this league title tonight and then get back to work tomorrow,” Baker said. “We just have to keep getting better. We’ve got to get some other pitchers throwing. We’ve had a couple rainouts, so we’ve got to get our pitching staff going again, because you never know in tournament what will happen — especially the further we go, where you might need four or five pitchers that can actually throw.”

“I’m very proud of the boys. It’s been a good first season, but we’re not done,” he added.

Christ and Kramer are on the same page there, too.

“Oh, it’s been so much fun this year,” Christ concluded. “Now it’s all about getting ready for tournament. That’s our main goal after winning the league — we definitely want to make a big run this year.”

Now standing at 17-2 overall, 11-0 in league the Trojans got to celebrate another WOAC crown.  But they know the work is just beginning. The first season ended in perfection. Now, with Christ on the mound, Kramer behind the plate, and a senior class that doesn’t believe in days off, Arcanum turns its full attention to the second season — and a tournament run they hope will be just as memorable.

The Arcanum boys baseball team knows how to celebrate after a big win.
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National Trail is a young but talented team. They beat Franklin Monroe 18-1 to move to 9-7 on the year and looking to make some noise in the Tournament.

PITSBURG – The National Trail Lady Blazers softball team picked up where they left off from a rain delay with Franklin Monroe last week leading 3-0 in the bottom of the first inning.  The bats were alive and well as they pounded out 13 hits on their way to an 18-1 win over the Lady Jets.

The Blazers are a young talented team with just two upper classmen both seniors: Morgan House and Femke Tenniglo.  It’s a team that has six freshman and three sophomores.  After starting the season off at 3-4 they went on a five-game winning streak and four of the wins came against WOAC teams.

National Trail's Katie Wyatt delivers to the plate in game vs Franklin Monroe and picked up the win.

Then they ran into the top two teams in the league falling 13-3 to Arcanum and 19-9 against Tri-Village … but showed they can hit and score runs against anyone in those losses.

After a disappointing defeat at Dixie on Monday, Trail responded with a good effort on the mound from sophomore starting pitcher Katie Wyatt throwing three innings with just one hit.  Then freshman Addison Sexton came on in relief going two innings giving up a hit, one run and had two strikeouts to get the save.

Trail's Eva Swartsell had two hits and two rbi's in win over the Jets

Five Trail hitters had multiple hits Eva Swartsell 2-4, 2 rbi, Taylor Reynolds 2-3, 3 rbi, 3 runs, Kinley Marker 2-4, 3 rbi, 2 runs, Madison Lawson 2-4, 2 runs and Katie Wyatt 2-2, 1 rbi and 3 runs.

Kenady Thompson was 1-4 3 rbi’s and 3 runs score, Morgan House 1-3 with a run scored and Kamryn Howard 1-3 with a rbi and 3 runs.

Sometimes it's hard to lay off the high one's ... fortunately for Kenady Thompson she hit this one to the fence for a triple. She had 3 rbi's and 3 runs in the game as well.

The WOAC has been strong in softball since it began boasting two state championships one by Bradford and the other Tri-Village in the first four years.  Tri-Village, Arcanum, Ansonia and Tri-County North all won district titles last year and remain strong again this year with Newton coming on strong as well and National Trail showing steady improvement as well.

National Trail coach Natasha Richie sees a young talented team improving as the season goes along and will not be an easy out in the tournament.

“Today we came out here hitting the ball well. We worked in practice yesterday with each individual player to adjust their hitting knowing we would face a little bit slower pitcher and they executed well tonight,” Richie stated.

“We talked to them about maintaining their focus, especially with the big lead.  We wanted to play clean, stay disciplined and not create bad habits to take into the next game,” Richie added.

Taylor Reynolds helped bolster the defense making a tough over the shoulder catch.

“So early season, we struggled a little bit, but then we started putting it together playing very well for a stretch and won a couple of games we didn't anticipate and had a nice win streak going, which was good. Then we kind of hit a little bit of a slump with our pitching putting too many on base, and that's definitely getting better again,” Richie explained.

National Trail improves to  9-7 overall and 5-4 in the WOAC and is back in action tonight hosting 3rd place Newton and then they will start to set their sights on the tournament.

The Blazers will host DeGraff Riverside in the OHSAA DVI Southwest District on May 14th at 5pm.

“We got a good tournament draw  and the team that we're going to be up against, I think, is pretty comparable to where we're at so I'm really excited for this game,” coach Richie concluded.

Franklin Monroe is struggling a little this year ... but freshman pitcher Adrina Davenport gives them a pitcher who can deliver strikes and three more years to throw the ball.
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Tri-Village boys track team won the Austin Bruner Invitational & the girls were runner-up.

Mens Team Scores
1               Tri-Village – 152
2               Ansonia – 86.50
3               Dixie – 76.50
4               Preble Shawnee – 75
5               Brookville – 66
6               Newton Local – 65
7               Bradford – 59
8               Franklin Monroe – 45.50
9               Tri-County North – 9
10            Tri-Village – B Team     7.50

Boys 100m Dash Finals
1 Cade Shellhaas 11 Ansonia 11.70
2 Ethan Fields 12 Preble Shawnee 11.82
3 Avery Felver 12 Bradford 11.87
4 Jacson Cress 11 Newton Local 12.19
5 Isaiah Purpus 10 Bradford 12.24
6 Luke Cornett 12 Newton Local 12.29
7 Bentley Spiers 9 Tri-Village 12.47
8 Van Patterson12 Tri-County North 12.86

Boys 200m Dash Finals
1 Jacson Cress 11 Newton Local 23.94
2 Avery Felver 12 Bradford 24.34
3 Jacob Stamper 12 Preble Shawnee 24.37
4 Luke Cornett 12 Newton Local 24.63
5 Evan Marker 12 Dixie 25.36
6 Lathen Wehr 12 Tri-Village 25.41
7 Samuel Hester 12 Brookville 25.80
8 Isaiah Purpus 10 Bradford 25.83

Boys 400m Dash Finals
1 Jackson Felver 9 Bradford 52.89
2 Lincoln Smith 10 Newton Local 53.95
3 Keagan Wells 11 Dixie 54.31
4 Chase Wackler 9 Newton Local 54.78
5 Graham Coppess 10 Ansonia 54.84
6 Treyton Spence 10 Ansonia 55.20
7 Elijah Dillon 9 Dixie 55.22  
8 Donald Clark 12 Preble Shawnee 56.91

Boys 800m Run Finals
1 Collin Day 12 Dixie 2:07.32
2 Cooper Angle 10 Newton Local 2:09.14
3 Coleman Trantham 10 Tri-Village 2:09.24
4 Carsen Dyson 11 Tri-Village 2:10.56
5 Evan Pentecost 12 Brookville 2:12.30
6 Kellen Sargent- Eckert 12 Preble Shawnee 2:13.98
7 Van Patterson12 Tri-County North 2:15.89
8 Eli Leingang 10 Newton Local 2:16.00

Boys 1600m Run Finals
1 Evan Shields 11 Preble Shawnee 4:49.89
2 Carter Tranthamb10 Tri-Village 4:51.28
3 Dylan Trost 9 Newton Local 4:54.95
4 Oliver Kutter 9 Tri-Village 5:01.51
5 Christian Seitz 12 Brookville 5:18.43
6 Gavin Stachler 12 Ansonia 5:20.87
7 Zeb Lavey 10 Bradford 5:22.81
8 Anthony Moore 9 Tri-Village 5:26.10

Boys 3200m Run Finals
1 James McNew 11 Dixie 10:52.51
2 Carter Trantham 10 Tri-Village 10:54.24
3 Oliver Kutter 9 Tri-Village 10:55.17
4 Miles Bland 9 Brookville 10:55.92
5 Wyatt Unrast 11 Ansonia 10:57.74
6 Kyle Bruno 10 Preble Shawnee 11:48.64
7 Zeb Lavey 10 Bradford 11:49.84
8 Carson Barr 10 Brookville 12:38.19

Boys 110m Hurdles Finals
1 Noah Finkbine 12 Tri-Village 16.43
2 Teddy Miller 11 Tri-Village 16.93
3 Keven Huang 11 Franklin Monroe 17.54
4 Caleb Miller 9 Tri-Village 17.85
5 Country Ford 12 Preble Shawnee 18.01
6 Zurich Bess 12 Newton Local 18.60
7 Prestyn Hardin 11 Dixie 18.78
8 Kaiden Osborne 12 Bradford 19.74


Ansonia's Cade Shellhaas was a double winner in the 300m hurdles and Pole Vault.  

Boys 300m Hurdles Finals
1 Cade Shellhaas 11 Ansonia 40.89
2 Aaron Bruner 10 Tri-Village 43.74
3 Caleb Miller 9 Tri-Village 45.77
4 Prestyn Hardin 11 Dixie 47.05
5 Zurich Bess 12 Newton Local 47.33
6 Uriah Berry 10 Dixie 49.26
7 Ethan Scott 11 Preble Shawnee 50.91
8 Dallan Hewitt 11 Bradford 50.91

Boys 4x100m Relay
1 Preble Shawnee 46.28
2 Franklin Monroe 46.40
3 Ansonia 46.65
4 Tri-Village 47.44
5 Dixie 47.54
6 Brookville 49.14
7 Bradford 50.55
8 Tri-County North 54.38

Boys 4x200m Relay
1 Preble Shawnee 1:35.71
2 Bradford 1:38.67
3 Dixie 1:39.63
4 Tri-Village 1:39.95
5 Ansonia 1:41.66
6 Newton Local 1:42.56
7 Brookville 1:46.09
8 Tri-County North 1:56.21

Boys 4x400m Relay
1 Tri-Village 3:43.68
2 Dixie 3:48.16
3 Preble Shawnee 3:48.46
4 Franklin Monroe 4:02.35
5 Tri-County North 4:11.71
6 Brookville 4:28.34

Boys 4x800m Relay
1 Tri-Village 8:48.19 
2 Brookville 9:12.31
3 Dixie 9:21.92
4 Preble Shawnee 9:33.88
5 Franklin Monroe 11:04.39


Noah Finkbine was also a triple winner in the 110m hurdles, high jump and long jump.  

Boys High Jump
1 Noah Finkbine 12 Tri-Village 6-4
2 Teddy Miller 11 Tri-Village 5-8
3 Kaiden Osborne 12 Bradford 5-6
4 Tyler Fugett 9 Franklin Monroe 5-6
5 Cade Shellhaas 11 Ansonia 5-4
5 Evan Addis 10 Franklin Monroe 5-4
7 Caleb Miller 9 Tri-Village 5-4
7 Evan Marker 12 Dixie 5-4

Boys Long Jump
1 Noah Finkbine 12 Tri-Village 20-5.5
2 Avery Felver 12 Bradford 19-10
3 Ethan Fields 12 Preble Shawnee 18-9
4 Vail Cox 11 Franklin Monroe 18-8.5
5 Prestyn Hardin 11 Dixie 18-5
6 Teddy Miller 11 Tri-Village 18-4
7 Branson Landis 9 Ansonia 18-3
8 Sawyer Hainline 10 Newton Local 18-0

Boys Pole Vault
1 Cade Shellhaas 11 Ansonia 15-6
2 Samuel Hester 12 Brookville 12-0
3 Zachary Zerkle 9 Ansonia 11-6
4 Kegan Metcalf 9 Brookville 11-0
5 Aaron Bruner 10 Tri-Village 10-6
6 Jason Myers 10 Dixie 10-0
7 Will Eikelberger 10 Preble Shawnee 9-0
8 William Glyptis 9 Preble Shawnee 8-0

Boys Discus
1 Alex Stacy 12 Brookville 128-0
2 Dominic Black 11 Tri-Village 124-8
3 Gabe Fergerson 10 Ansonia 123-4
4 Calvin Allen 12 Brookville 123-1
5 Ethan Wilson11 Franklin Monroe 121-9
6 Ben Barnt 12 Ansonia 119-1
7 Madex Skidmore 12 Franklin Monroe 118-8
8 Miller Berter 9 Preble Shawnee 108-5

Boys Shot Put
1 Dominic Black 11 Tri-Village 52-10.5
2 Gabe Fergerson10 Ansonia 43-8.75
3 Madex Skidmore 12 Franklin Monroe 42-2.25
4 Calvin Allen 12 Brookville 41-11.5
5 Ben Barnt 12 Ansonia 41-11
6 Ayden Kane 10 Newton Local 40-11
7 Levi Welz 11 Dixie 37-8.5
8 Payton Stacy 12 Brookville 37-3.5

Dom Black won the Shot Put and placed 2nd in the Discus to help the Patriots win the Tri-Village Austin Bruner Invitational Track Meet.

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FM girls track team edged TV to win Austin Bruner Invitational. (Submitted Photo)

Girls Team Scores
1               Franklin Monroe – 113
2               Tri-Village – 105
3               Ansonia – 85.50
4               Dixie – 74
5               Brookville – 73
6               Bradford – 41
7               Preble Shawnee – 37.50
8               Tri-County North – 28
9               Newton Local – 27
10            Tri-Village – B Team     6

Girls 100 Meter Dash Finals
1 Adalynn Hines 12 Tri-Village 13.05
2 Jayla Coby 10 Tri-Village 13.20
3 London Reichert 11 Ansonia 13.28
4 Hannah Wolfe 11 Franklin Monroe 13.77
5 Quincy Cox 9 Franklin Monroe 14.01
6 Savannah Beachler 11 Bradford 14.13
7 Charlotte Barga 10 Ansonia 14.16
8 Aribella Huggins 10 Brookville 14.20

Girls 200 Meter Dash Finals
1 Sydney Baker 11 Franklin Monroe 26.24
2 Adalynn Hines 12 Tri-Village 27.04
3 London Reichert 11 Ansonia 27.25
4 Jayla Coby 10 Tri-Village 27.29
5 Savannah Beachler 11 Bradford 29.44
6 Quincy Cox 9 Franklin Monroe 29.59
7 Sallie Montgomery 12 Preble Shawnee 29.84
8 Autumn Best 10 Ansonia 29.85

Girls 400 Meter Dash Finals
1 Savannah Beachler 11 Bradford 1:02.72 
2 Josie Mondello-Garrett 10 Preble Shawnee 1:03.83
3 Mayson Cosby 9 Newton Local 1:07.30
4 Bentley Hess 9 Newton Local 1:09.26
5 Charlotte Barga 10 Ansonia 1:09.99
6 Adissyn Bosserman 10 Franklin Monroe 1:11.38
7 Alainah Hess 10 Franklin Monroe 1:13.14
8 Eliza Jones 10 Preble Shawnee 1:14.68

Girls 800 Meter Run Finals
1 Cayleigh Tipton 10 Brookville 2:42.17
2 Natalie Wood 11 Bradford 2:42.68
3 Riley Lake 10 Brookville 2:44.51
4 Mylie Myers 11 Tri-County North 2:50.92
5 Ellie Bradshaw 10 Newton Local 2:51.33
6 Sophie Goins 9 Tri-Village 2:51.39
7 Josie Mondello-Garrett 10 Preble Shawnee 2:53.22
8 Scarlett Cantrell 9 Dixie 2:53.41

Girls 1600 Meter Run Finals
1 Stella Fugate 10 Franklin Monroe 5:50.59
2 Gentri Deaton 12 Newton Local 6:01.29
3 Mackenzie Woodrey 10 Tri-County North 6:03.80
4 Ella Renner 10 Brookville 6:16.05
5 Ellie Bradshaw 10 Newton Local 6:21.71
6 Mylie Myers 11 Tri-County North 6:39.07
7 Addison Gelhaus 9 Ansonia 6:39.53
8 Scarlett Cantrell 9 Dixie 6:53.35

Girls 3200 Meter Run Finals
1 Stella Fugate10 Franklin Monroe 12:49.38 
2 Raegan Griffith-Burchfield 9 Brookville 13:47.70
3 Lindsay Rieder 12 Brookville 14:54.59

Girls 100 Meter Hurdles Finals
1 Maddison Caldwell 11 Dixie 17.71
2 Hannah Whaley 10 Tri-Village 18.68
3 Regan Hambly 9 Dixie 18.83
4 Mia Brookey 11 Franklin Monroe 18.84
5 Olivia Creager 12 Ansonia 20.07
6 Bailey Garnett 11 Preble Shawnee 20.53
7 Maddie Shofner 11 Franklin Monroe 21.69
8 Allyson Marshall 10 Ansonia 21.70

Girls 300 Meter Hurdles Finals
1 Maddison Caldwell 11 Dixie 53.49 
2 Mia Brookey 11 Franklin Monroe 54.10
3 Sophia Clifford 11 Dixie 54.42
4 Tara Seger 9 Ansonia 54.59
5 Hannah Whaley 10 Tri-Village 59.22
6 Allyson Marshall 10 Ansonia 1:00.56

Girls 4x100 Meter Relay Finals
1 Franklin Monroe 50.83
2 Tri-Village 51.96
3 Preble Shawnee 54.49
4 Brookville 56.00
5 Dixie 58.58
6 Tri-County North 1:04.60

Girls 4x200 Meter Relay Finals
1 Ansonia 1:52.54
2 Tri-Village 1:54.80
3 Dixie 2:05.37
4 Brookville 2:05.50
5 Tri-County North 2:08.88

Girls 4x400 Meter Relay Finals
1 Brookville 4:40.14
2 Dixie 4:47.75
3 Tri-Village 4:56.72
4 Tri-County North 5:37.10

Girls 4x800 Meter Relay Finals
1 Brookville 11:20.65
2 Franklin Monroe 12:29.18

Girls High Jump Finals
1 Scarlett Cantrell 9 Dixie 4-10
2 Natalie Wood 11 Bradford 4-10
3 Hailey Lovett 10 Tri-Village 4-8
4 Allyson Risner 9 Preble Shawnee 4-6
4 Autumn Best 10 Ansonia 4-6
6 Kenli Romine 11 Brookville 4-6
7 Olivia Creager 12 Ansonia 4-6
8 Ava Camacho 9 Tri-Village 4-4

Girls Long Jump Finals
1 Adalynn Hines 12 Tri-Village 17-2.5 
2 Olivia Creager 12 Ansonia 16-10
3 Sallie Montgomery 12 Preble Shawnee 15-9
4 Hannah Wolfe 11 Franklin Monroe 14-8
5 Kenli Romine 11 Brookville 14-6.5
6 Maddison Caldwell 11 Dixie 14-0.5
7 Natalie Wood 11 Bradford 13-11.5
8 Adissyn Bosserman 10 Franklin Monroe 12-11.5

Girls Pole Vault Finals
1 Sydney Baker 11 Franklin Monroe 11-6
2 London Reichert 11 Ansonia 11-0
3 Chloe Poppaw 11 Brookville 9-6
4 Bailey Garnett 11 Preble Shawnee 7-6
5 Sophia Clifford 11 Dixie 7-6


Tri-Village Zoe Ayette was a double winner in the Shot Put and the Discus for the Patriots.

Girls Discus Finals
1 Zoe Ayette 11 Tri-Village 100-7
2 Alexis Moody 12 Ansonia 100-2
3 Leah Clark 11 Bradford 99-1
4 Faith Wintrow 11 Franklin Monroe 98-9
5 Audrey Fox 11 Tri-County North 91-7
6 Annie Wendel 10 Ansonia 89-7
7 Aubree Whitaker 11 Dixie 84-10
8 Hailey Smith 12 Dixie 80-4

Girls Shot Put Finals
1 Zoe Ayette 11 Tri-Village 32-8.25
2 Faith Wintrow 11 Franklin Monroe 32-1.5
3 Kenna Wilcox 11 Tri-Village 31-9.75
4 Annie Wendel 10 Ansonia 31-4.25
5 Lilly Heck 10 Franklin Monroe 30-8.5
6 Alexis Moody 12 Ansonia 29-11
7 Hailey Smith 12 Dixie 27-0.25
8 Haylee Bloom 11 Tri-County North 26-7

This event serves as a tune-up to the WOAC Track Championship that will take place at Bradford on Tuesday May 12th and Thursday May 14th.


Adalynn Hines was a double winner including this winning jump of 17'2.5".  She also won the 100m dash & 2nd in the 200m dash.
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Tri-County North pitcher Alayna MtCastle picked up the win on the mound and had 3 hits including an rbi double for the Panthers.

LEWISBURG – Tri-County North softball had to earn their 7-4 win over Dixie while the baseball team fell 11-0 to the Hounds on senior night.

Tri-County North pushed a run across the plate to start the game on a sacrifice bunt from Alyssa Arnett in the bottom of the 1st inning.

Dixie's Jacie Hartimer triples and drove home a run for the Hounds.

Dixie responded with a rbi triple from Jacie Hartimer tying the game in top of second.

But North got two runs in the bottom of the 2nd with a two single from Paityn Davidson and then a huge 3-run homer from Lola Grieshop in the bottom of the 3rd inning for a 6-1 lead.

Dixie didn’t go down without a fight plating 3 runs to draw to 6-4 heading in the 5th inning chasing off starting pitcher Alyanna MtCastle. 

Lola Grieshop gave North some breathing room with a 3-run blast over the left field fence.

MtCastle gave up 3 hits, 3 walks and gave up 4 runs to go along with 5 strikeouts and would eventually get the win.

North added an insurance run in the bottom of the 5th inning with MtCastle rapping her 3rd hit, this time a double scoring Allysa Arnett who had a two-hit night, to go up 7-4. 

Lola Grieshop came on in relief to get the save for Tri-County North throwing two innings, gave up one hit and had three strikeouts.

Dixie Kaylie McConnell doubled in the game at the plate and went the distance on the mound for Hounds.

Dixie senior pitcher Kaylie McConnell went the distance giving up 9 hits, 6 earned runs, 2 walks and 4 strikeouts.

All four Dixie hits in the game were extra bases with Beth Himan, Kaylie McConnell and Kierstin Alderman doubling and Beth Himan had a triple.

North with a 10-5 overall record is two games back of first place Tri-Village, one game behind Arcanum and in 3rd place overall in the WOAC at 5-2.  They will host Mississinawa Valley on Thursday.

Dixie fell to 5-10 overall and 1-7 in the WOAC.

Dixie hurler Dillon Phillips struck out 11 hitters and collected a win over Tri-County North.

The Dixie baseball team run-ruled a good North baseball team by pounding out 13 hits and getting a complete game on the bump from senior pitcher Dillon Phillips who struck out 11 batters on just three hit in an 11-0 win.

The Hounds jumped out front in the top of the first inning scoring 3 runs, two on an error and another on a rbi single from Brayden Puckett.

They added five more runs in the top of the 2nd inning with Wyatt Kettler, Landry Broyles, Garrett Williams and Puckett all with rbi hits in the inning.

Williams led the way for Dixie driving home four runs on three hits.  Puckett, Phillips, Broyles and Kevin Bowser all had multiple hits on the night.

The win for Dixie improved their league record to 6-2, while the loss dropped North to 6-2 with both teams two games back of undefeated Arcanum at 8-0 in the WOAC while Newton is 7-1 and TV South 6-1.

Dixie will host National Trail on Thursday while Tri-County North will play at Newton.


Dixie's Garrett Williams had 3 hits and 4 rbi's in win over Tri-County North.
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Arcanum's Eathan Kearney came through with the biggest swing of the night, Crushing two-run homer run deep to right-center in the top of the eight inning to send the Trojans past Mississinawa Valley 11-9 in WOAC League Play.

Story & Photos by Gaylen Blosser

UNION CITY – In a back-and-forth Western Ohio Athletic Conference battle played under blustery conditions, the Arcanum Trojans found a way to finish, defeating the Mississinawa Valley Blackhawks 11-9 in eight innings in a hard-fought road win.

The game had all the makings of a classic, featuring momentum swings, timely hitting, and a determined Blackhawks squad that refused to go away. In the end, it was Ethan Kearney’s clutch two-run home run in the top of the eighth inning that proved to be the difference.

With the game tied 9-9, Colton Quigney led off the eighth with a single to center, setting the stage for Kearney, who delivered a towering shot to right-center field to give the Trojans an 11-9 advantage.

Kolton Quigney leads off eighth with lead-off single setting up Ethan Kearney game-winning extra-inning home run.  

“Kearney went opposite field,” said Arcanum coach Randy Baker. “We had some decent hits during the game, not enough like I thought we should have.”

Mississinawa Valley threatened in the bottom of the inning when Elliott Seubert led off with a double, but Arcanum reliever Regan Christ shut the door with a lineout and back-to-back strikeouts to secure the win.

Elliott Seubert leads off bottom of eight inning with a Mississinawa Valley double in conference play with Arcanum.  

The Trojans struck first in the opening inning, taking advantage of a walk to push across an early run. Arcanum added two more in the second inning on a Derek Longstreth RBI single to build a 3-0 lead.

“We had a chance to put them down and left a couple runs on base when we were up 3-0,” Baker said. “You let a team like that hang around, and they are going to do what they did today.”

Blackhawks Bently Manning picks up a hit in MV home game with Arcanum.  

The Blackhawks answered in the bottom of the third inning, taking a 4-3 lead behind key hits from Caden Hanes and Bentley Manning, along with an Arcanum error.

Arcanum quickly responded in the fourth inning as Christ crushed a three-run home run over the center field fence and Quigney added an RBI double to give the Trojans a 7-4 edge.

“Regan had a nice shot early on,” Baker said. “It was a line drive shot – it wasn’t aided by the wind, it was a shot.”

Mississinawa Valley continued to battle, trimming the deficit to 7-6 in the fourth and eventually tying the game at 8-8 in the fifth inning behind a string of timely hits from Gavin Rehmert, Cole McGlothlin, Manning, and Seubert.

Neither team scored in the sixth, but Arcanum regained the lead in the seventh when Christ doubled and came around to score on a Longstreth RBI single for a 9-8 advantage.

Derek Longstreth knocks an RBI single giving Arcanum a 9-8 seventh-inning lead over Blackhawks.  

The Blackhawks again answered in the bottom half, as McGlothlin doubled and later scored on a passed ball to tie the game at 9-9 and force extra innings.

“I knew when they got that one-run lead… I knew they were going to bring Regan Christ in,” said Mississinawa Valley coach Kyler Guillozet. “We did score a runoff on him, so that is something to be proud of, and I am just very proud of my guys, they fight until the end – that’s for sure.”

Cole McGlothlin leads off Mississinawa Valley eighth with a double and came around to score on a passed ball sending the game to extra innings.

Despite the loss, Guillozet’s Blackhawks proved they could compete with one of the conference’s top teams.

“That was the No. 1 team in the conference,” Guillozet said. “Nobody expected Mississinawa Valley to take Arcanum into extra innings… I am just very proud of my guys.”

Christ earned the win in relief for Arcanum, allowing one unearned run on two hits over three innings while striking out six. Bishop Cartwright started for the Trojans, giving up six runs (four earned) over four innings.

Landon Brewer collects an Arcanum hit in Trojans WOAC win over Mississinawa Valley.

For Mississinawa Valley, Bentley Manning took the loss in relief, while Caleb Spradling started the game on the mound.

Both teams pounded out 12 hits apiece in the contest. Arcanum was led by Brewer, Christ, Longstreth, and Quigney with two hits each, while Seubert paced the Blackhawks with a 3-for-4 performance. Hanes, Seubert, and Manning each drove in two runs for Mississinawa Valley.

“They can hit, they battle,” Baker said. “We need some games like this… in a conference like this, you have to win tough games. We were fortunate to come out on top.”

Gavin Rehmert knocks a Blackhawks hit in-home game with Arcanum.
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