Published: May 11, 2008 12:14 am         

Logan splits with New Castle

No. 1 Frontier sweeps No. 4 Caston

The Logansport baseball team had a topsy-turvy day at North Central Conference foe New Castle Saturday.

The Berries let a 6-3 lead in the seventh inning get away from them in game one before plating two runs in the eighth to win 8-6. In game two they were tied 4-all in the sixth inning before a New Castle grand slam broke the game open as the Trojans went on to win 10-4.

Logan ace Luke Zinsmaster was staked to a 6-3 lead in game one before New Castle hit back-to-back home runs, the first a two-run shot, to tie the game. Nate Champion then relieved Zinsmaster and pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings for the win.

In the top of the eighth inning, Ike Homburg hit what turned out to be a game-winning RBI triple and later scored on a wild pitch.

Also for Logan in the contest, Mark Fultz, Matt McKay and Sam Starbuck had two hits apiece. Homburg had two hits as well. Broc Conrad added a pinch-hit RBI single.

Logansport coach Jim Turner said the Berries “just didn’t play real sharp.”

“We just didn’t play that well. We were not on the top of our game. We didn’t take advantage of the opportunities we had. We weren’t getting to balls in the infield,” the Berries’ veteran coach said.

In game two, New Castle’s Allen, who hit one of the back-to-back homers in game one, had two home runs, including the key grand slam, to spark the Trojans win.

“(The grand slam) just killed us,” Turner said. “(Pitcher) Sam (Starbuck) was battling along and then he lost the plate and they got some base runners on, and the kid just reaches out with natural power and an aluminum bat and rockets it out of the ballpark. He’s a big, strong kid.”

Fultz led the Berries’ offensive attack in game two with three hits and two stolen bases.

The Berries are now 12-11 and 5-5 in NCC after the split.

“We just can’t get over the hump,” Turner said. “We’re not fiery enough.

“We’re not getting the big hit, the clutch hit that would get the team enthusiastic. We just don’t seem to do those things.”

Turner is still hopeful the tide will turn for a squad he thinks has a lot of talent and potential.

“Its getting a little late. I keep hoping we’ll put it together and put a string of victories together,” he said.

New Castle, like Logansport, is in the middle of the pack in the NCC standings but had won eight of its last 10 games entering Saturday.

“They’re capable. They’re a lot like us,” Turner said of the Trojans. “They got the key hits, we didn’t.”

Logan travels to Marion on Tuesday before hosting the Giants Wednesday in a pair of NCC contests. The Berries then host Muncie Central on Saturday to close out their NCC slate.

Frontier 8, Caston 1

Frontier 3, Caston 1

The No. 1 ranked team in Class A swept a series at home against the fourth-ranked team.

Caston ace Elliot Rowe took the loss in a complete-game effort in game one, allowing four earned runs on eight hits and three walks, striking out six. The Comets (15-5, 8-3 in Midwest Conference) were held to just four hits, all singles, by Frontier ace Dustin Sterrett.

In game two, Caston’s Matt Turnpaugh held the Falcons (21-1, 12-0) to three runs on nine hits at Frontier’s hitter-friendly ballpark, but Frontier’s Dylan Sterrett, Dustin’s younger brother, outdueled him, holding the Comets to one run, an Ethan Zartman homer, on three hits.

“Throughout the day we need better approaches at the plate,” Caston coach Blake Mollenkopf said of his squad. “They were pitching us backwards — throwing a lot of breaking balls. We worked that quite a bit this week because we knew that’s what we were going to see, but we didn’t swing like we needed to. And we had some mental errors.

“We committed some errors early and they did a nice job of taking advantage of that.”

Caston hosts rival Pioneer for a conference tilt on Tuesday before traveling to Pioneer on Thursday.

Pioneer 8, North White 4

North White 6, Pioneer 3

Cody Conn hit a grand slam in the sixth inning to give the Panthers a seven-run lead in their game-one victory over the Vikings.

With a 1-1 score after three, Pioneer scored two runs in the fourth and one in the fifth before Conn’s bases-loaded blast. North White rallied for three in the seventh but were unable to mount a comeback.

Jim Smith earned the win, improving to 3-2 on the season. He gave up two earned runs on seven hits while walking one and striking out one in seven innings of work.

Catcher Deven Lee earned a sacrifice bunt, but reached on one of the Vikings seven errors.

In the nightcap, Pioneer wasted little time getting the bats going in the second game.

In the first inning, JD Bridge got on base, and Cody Conn followed with a two-run homer, his second of the series. Mitchell Petrie followed right behind him with a solo shot, giving the Panthers an early 3-1 lead.

Errors hurt the Panthers the rest of the way as they committed five, leading to five unearned runs, helping North White earn a 6-4 win.

Conn took the loss on the mound, falling to 4-3 on the season. He gave up one earned run on eight hits, while walking three and striking out three.

The Panthers (10-10, 7-4 in MWC) travel to rival Caston on Tuesday before hosing the Comets on Thursday.

Westfield 5, Cass 1

Cass 7, Lebanon 2

Cass split a pair of contests at the Westfield Invitational.

In the opener, Damon Foreman had two of the Kings’ five hits.

In the second game, Colton Zeck had three hits including two doubles. Ethan Watkins and Keith Lee both had two hits including a double. Jeff Marschand had two hits as well.

Four Kings hurlers combined to hold Lebanon to two runs on four hits with Ryne Stover picking up the win.

“We hit the ball well all day. In the second game we didn’t hit it right at ‘em,” Cass coach Greg Marschand said. “We played well. We were the smallest school in the tournament with 4A and 5A schools, and it was a great experience to get ready for the sectional.”

Lewis Cass (9-6) hosts Peru Monday.

Girls Tennis

Logansport 4, Huntington North 1

The Lady Berries (12-3) ended their regular season Friday night and secured a third-place finish in the North Central Conference with a 5-2 record

In singles action, Megan Whitcomb won 6-4, 6-2, Lauren Zehner won 6-1, 6-4 and Maggie Brown won 6-1, 6-4.

Logan’s No. 2 doubles team of Rachel Geer and Megan Rozzi won 6-2, 6-2.

The Berries’ JV team won 3-2 to finish its season 16-1-1. Taylor Johnson won 8-7 (3) and Peyton Zehner won 8-2 in singles play. In doubles action, Caitlin VanCuren and Elise Leung won 8-7 (3).

Logan’s C team lost 1-2. Rusty Conner picked up the Berries’ point with an 8-4 win.

The IHSAA Sectional Draw will take place Monday night at 7 p.m. Play at the Logansport Sectional will begin Wednesday and continue through Friday evening.

Softball

South Newton 4, Caston 3

South Newton 4, Caston 3

The Lady Comets dropped a couple of games on the road and fell to 5-15 and 1-4 in the MWC.

Caitlin Frey suffered both losses in the pitchers’ circle despite allowing just seven hits total in the twinbill.

In the opener for Caston, Erica Zartman had a pair of base hits, Christine Rentschler had an RBI double and McKenna Harmon added an RBI single.

In game two, Harmon had two hits and Sarah McManus and Chelsea Sivits added RBIs.

“We didn’t get the big hit today,” Caston coach Tim McCready said. “We outhit this team in both games and had chances with runners in scoring position and didn’t get the big hit.”

The Lady Comets travel to Class A No. 3 Frontier Thursday before hosting North White Friday.

Cass 4, Scecina 3

Scecina 11, Cass 2

Cass split a doubleheader with Class 2A No. 1 Indianapolis Scecina.

Amie Sites held Scecina to three runs on nine hits to earn the win in the opener. Taylor DeHaven had the game-winning hit for the Lady Kings (10-10) and finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Jennifer Berlet also went 2-for-4.

Kelsey Ullom took the loss in game two. Krista Weber had an RBI double and Berlet and Molly Naphew also doubled in the contest.

The Lady Kings travel to Peru on Monday.

Cass 8, Carroll 0

Amie Sites windmilled a four-hit shutout as the Lady Kings’ won at Carroll.

Jennifer Berlet went 3-for-5 with an RBI, Taylor DeHaven went 2-for-5 with three RBIs and Peyton Klinkhamer went 2-for-3 with two runs scored.

Logansport 7, New Castle 3

Logansport 12, New Castle 0 (JV)

JV Lady Berry hurler Sarah Lowry dominated the Lady Trojan batters Saturday, leading her team to a sweep of visiting New Castle.

Lowry gave up three runs on only two hits in the Berries’ game-one victory, when threw a no-hitter in the second contest, leading Logan to a 12-0 win in four innings.

In the opening game, Logan jumped out the a 4-0 lead after one, then scored three more unanswered runs. Kirsten Keay hit an RBI-triple to lead Logan, while Taylor Waychunas, Ali Morrill hit RBI-singles. Lowry, Kaelyn Schick and Morgan Smith collected hits as well.

In game-two, Lowry got plenty of run support, even though one score would have been enough.

Logan (14-2) scored eight runs in the second, along with two in the first and third, to take a double-digit lead. They ended the game in four innings behind the no-no by their ace.

Kian Rombold led the charge, hitting a single and a double while driving in four runs. Lowry finished the game with two hits, and helped her cause with two RBIs. Smith also drove in two runs on an RBI-double.

Kayla Warner earned a double, while Allison Evanich and Ashley Haynes collected singles.

The Berries will return to action on Monday when they play host to Maconaquah.

Boys Golf

Culver Military Academy Invitational

Logansport placed 15th at the 18-team event held at Mystic Hill Golf Club with a 279. No. 1 Avon won with a 288.

Evan Kirkendall and Drake Morris both shot 90s to lead the Berries. Braxton Shidler had a 95, Jacob Yeoman carded a 104 and Brenton Chentnik had a 108.