North All-Stars fall

From Staff Reports

July 19, 2008 12:16 am

— The North All-Star football team was defeated by the South 34-14 Friday night in the North-South All-Star Football Classic held at North Central High School in Indianapolis.
Three players from the North represented Cass County football in Justin Ruff of Pioneer, Rory Mannering of Lewis Cass and Luke Zinsmaster of Logansport.
Logansport coach Bucky Kramer was in attendance and said all three of the local players got a lot of playing time in the contest. He said Zinsmaster had three assisted tackles on special teams, two tackles from his defensive end position and a quarterback hurry.
Kramer added that Ruff and Mannering also played well.
“Rory Mannering played very well,” he said. “He knocked down a couple passes and had a couple tackles. Ruff played very well on the offensive line.
“They represented our area very well.”
The South took a 21-14 lead into halftime and scored 13 unanswered points in the second half.
“The South came out and just opened it up in the second half,” Kramer said. “They had some athletes start making some plays. The game is set up for offensive success.
“They had some incredible athletes as well as the North. It was a great game representing the talent of Indiana football.”
Mannering won the Hub Etchison Scholarship along with Elizabeth Rynkiewich of North Posey. Kramer said the scholarship is an annual $1,000 scholarship awarded to a relative of an Indiana High School football coach in the memory of Etchison, a longtime coach at Richmond.
Mannering’s father, Scott Mannering, the coach at Lewis Cass, coached the North to a 20-7 win in last year’s Classic.
Baseball
Logan 13s
Logansport is hosting this year’s Babe Ruth League 13-year-old state tournament at Steinman Field.
The host Logan squad opened the tournament with an 11-8 win over St. John Thursday.
“We weren’t supposed to beat that team,” Logan coach Adam Perrone said. “We just came out like gangbusters.”
Jayson Higgins led Logansport, going 3-for-5 with four RBIs and he pitched four scoreless innings in relief. Nate Bullard added a pinch-hit, two-run single.
Starting pitcher Berkshire got the win.
Logansport recorded a six-run second inning to take a 6-1 lead. Braxton Berkshire led off the inning with a single. Todd Yeoman later walked and Conner Looker followed with a single. Owen Swartzell then hit an RBI single. Cory Rozzi wore one on his back and got an RBI hit-by-pitch. Higgins followed with a two-run single.
The last inning was more intense than Perrone would have liked. Logan entered the frame leading 11-1 and held on for the three-run win.
“I about had a couple heart attacks there,” Perrone quipped.
Logansport is set to play Elwood at 12:30 p.m. today.
Logan 14s
Logansport won the Babe Ruth League district championship Tuesday evening by defeating Kokomo 8-3.
Kokomo took the early lead 2-0, but Logan clawed back with three in the fourth, two in the fifth, and three in the seventh to secure the win and advance to the state tournament.
Kyle Overway came in to pitch in the second inning and went the distance to pick up the win, while Jake Slusher had a key two-RBI single that pulled Logan ahead in the fourth inning. Matthew Kistler scored Nate Tannenbaum on a perfectly played squeeze bunt in the fifth for the decisive go-ahead run.
The 14-year-olds will begin play for the state championship today at 12:30 p.m. at Logan Field in Noblesville.
Logan 15s
Logansport All-Stars Kyle Ayers and Tanner Hess were recently named as North All-Stars and will play in the North/South All-Star game in LaPorte on Saturday, July 26.
Sports editor Beau Wicker compiled this roundup.