PREP ROUNDUP: Tigers go to 6-0 in MIC

By TRIBUNE SPORTS STAFF

May 10, 2008 12:17 am

— Northwestern whipped Taylor 12-2 in five innings Friday at Phares Field to clinch at least a share of the Mid-Indiana Conference baseball championship.
The Tigers improved to 13-3 overall and 6-0 in the MIC. They close league play against Cass next week.
Northwestern led Taylor 4-2 after the first inning, then exploded for eight runs in the top of the fifth inning to break the game open.
“We had a pretty good ballgame there for a while, but we did a nice job later in the game extending it out,” Northwestern coach Ryan Berryman said.
James Reed (2-1) pitched a complete game for the Tigers. He allowed five hits, struck out two and walked none. Catcher Alex Ridlen complemented Reed with a strong effort behind the plate. Ridlen threw out or picked off three base-runners.
“Alex came up huge for us defensively,” Berryman noted.
Leadoff hitter Kirk Beachy went 4-for-4 with two doubles to lead the Tigers’ offensive charge.
“He is really setting the table for our offense, doing a great job getting on base, and we have some good hitters behind him,” Berryman said.
Also for the Tigers, Jimmy Corcoran went 3-for-3 and drove in a run, Austin Henderson went 3-for-4 with two RBI and Brad Rist and Reed each had a double and a single. Rist and Reed combined to drive in five runs.
Tyler Simmons suffered the pitching loss.
“Simmons hit a little bit of a wall. He was limited to basically one pitch — for most of the game, he couldn’t get his curveball over so they were able to sit on the fastball,” Taylor coach Jeremy Luna said. “We made only one error, but it extended the [fifth] inning and they ended up scoring eight runs in that inning. That obviously hurt.
“Still, we felt like we made improvements in this game. We had good approaches at the plate and we threw one guy out at home and another guy out at third. It sounds silly to say you’re happy after losing by 10, but it was an improved [effort].”
Seth Vautaw had a double for the Titans.
Today, Northwestern hosts Boone Grove, Delphi and Northfield in a four-team tourney while Taylor (7-11, 1-5 MIC) hosts Harrison in a doubleheader.
Kokomo 4, Harrison 3
Colton Summers pitched six innings and Colton Hopwood followed with an inning of rock-solid relief to lead Kokomo past sectional rival Harrison 4-3 at Highland Park.
“These are the kind of games we want to play in,” Kokomo coach Steve Edwards said. “We want to count on pitching and defense and like I told the kids after the game, I felt like this was the first game this season that we resembled what we’ve done over the last two seasons. I think we’ve come together a little bit.”
The Raiders scored three runs in the top of the second to take an early lead, but the Kats scored four runs in the bottom of the third to seize control. Nick Griggs ignited the Kats’ rally with a two-run single, Hopwood followed with an RBI double and Larry Baker hit a fielder’s choice to score Hopwood with the go-ahead run.
Summers and Hopwood made the lead stand. Summers worked into the seventh inning, allowing seven hits and three walks. Hopwood took over after the Raiders led off the top of the seventh with a single. Hopwood recorded a groundout and two strikeouts to secure the win. The Raiders stranded the potential tying run on third base.
Hopwood finished with two of the Kats’ seven hits at the plate. Edwards noted Griggs complemented his two-run single with solid play in the field. Griggs has settled in at the hot corner for the Red and Blue.
“I’m proud of the kids for the way they have played over the last few games, but the big test now is [today] against a good Anderson team,” Edwards said.
Kokomo (13-7) visits Anderson for a North Central Conference doubleheader. Kokomo is 7-1 in league play, one game behind front-runner Huntington North.
Softball
Northwestern 7, Taylor 0
Shelby Barnett pitched a no-hitter and hit two home runs to lead the Purple Tigers to the Mid-Indiana Conference win.
Barnett struck out 10 and walked three. At the plate, she smacked solo shots in the third and fifth innings.
“[Barnett] had control of the ball, and her changeup was working,” said Northwestern assistant coach Marty Britten, who was subbing for coach Kerrie Kucholick. “She was carrying the team pretty much.”
Also for the Tigers, Kourtney Kohl cracked a double and a single and Bailey Muhlenkamp and April Wray each had two singles.
“Also, Natalie Appelhans did a good job at first base. She caught line drives over her head, and a leaping diving catch to the left of her,” Britten said. “Defense was exceptional — nothing got by them. They probably played their best game of the year. I told them that this is a conference game and they had to put it all together.”
Girls tennis
Marion 3, Kokomo 2
Heather Hemmeger rolled to a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 2 singles and Alex Beechy claimed a 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 win at No. 3 singles, but the Kats came up short in their search for a third point.
“It started to rain in Marion, and we had two matches left, so we moved over to Greentown to finish them,” Kokomo coach Rob Leavitt said. “Marion is strong, and our conference is strong from top to bottom. [The Giants] were co-champions last year, and we knew it was going to be a tough match. We played well.”
Kokomo dropped to 9-5 overall and 3-4 in the North Central Conference.
Bryan Gaskins and Kenny Hetzler compiled this roundup.

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