TALAWANDA 7, MOUNT HEALTHY 2: Winning pitcher Howie Smith pitched six strong innings and Nate Lynch drove in three runs, going 2-for-3 with a double in a Fort Ancient Valley Conference game on Friday. Other offensive standouts for the Braves were Jake Hendricks, 2-for-3 with a double, and Mark Hesford, 1-for-1 with an RBI. Talawanda raised its record to 8-9 overall, 6-5 in the FAVC West Division. Mount Healthy fell to 5-11, 2-10 FAVC.
LAKOTA EAST 5, SYCAMORE 4: Jarret Rindfleisch went 3-for-5 with two RBIs to lead the Thunderhawks on Friday. Other hitting leaders for Lakota East were Mitch Geers, 2-for-3, and Alex Corna, a double. Starting pitcher Mike Conrad recorded 13 strikeouts in seven innings for the ’Hawks, and Mark McDaniel pitched a scoreless eighth in relief for the win. Lakota East improved to 14-7 overall, 11-4 in the Greater Miami Conference. Sycamore slipped to 9-6 overall and in the GMC.
BADIN 23, PURCELL MARIAN 0: The Rams erupted for 16 runs on 10 hits in the fourth inning in Friday’s run-rule Greater Catholic League game. Tim Kramb recorded the win and got hitting support from Alex Rieman, 3-for-4 with a triple, double and three RBIs; Nate Snellgrove, 2-for-2 with a home run, double and two RBIs; Jeff Smith, 3-for-4 with a triple and two RBIs; and Max Adams, 3-for-4. Badin improved to 13-2, 8-0 in the GCL Central Division. Purcell Marian dropped to 1-13, 0-9 GCL.
EDGEWOOD 13, NORTHWEST 2: The Cougars put Friday’s game at Foundation Field out of reach with six runs in the top of the seventh inning. Winning pitcher Stephen Holland hurled a complete game, allowing no earned runs and striking out eight, and he also went 2-for-4 with a double. Other offensive standouts for Edgewood were Paul Dennis, 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs, and Eric Pelfrey, 2-for-3 with two RBIs. The Cougars improved to 12-5 overall, 8-4 in the Fort Ancient Valley Conference West Division. Northwest slipped to 8-7, 7-4 in the FAVC.
LA SALLE 3, ROSS 2: The Rams took a 2-1 lead in the top of the seventh inning of Friday’s game on Cody Johnson’s sacrifice fly, but La Salle scored two in the bottom of the seventh on a one-out single. Corey Wigal went 2-for-3 for Ross, which fell to 15-6. La Salle improved to 12-8.
SOFTBALL
BADIN 15, PURCELL MARIAN 2: The Rams clinched the Girls Greater Cincinnati League Grey Central Division championship Friday in a five-inning run-rule victory. Hitting leaders for the Rams were Jennifer Paxton, 3-for-3 with a run scored and two RBIs; Alicia Dudley, 1-for-3 with three runs and five stolen bases; Crystal Rains, 2-for-3 with three runs and two steals; and Katelyn Kreke, 2-for-3. Anna Weber was the winning pitcher. Badin improved to 13-5 overall, 8-1 in the GGCL Grey Central. Purcell Marian fell to 2-10, 1-8 in the GGCL Grey Central.
EDGEWOOD 12, NORTHWEST 0: Emily Pigg pitched a two-hit shutout Friday as the Cougars scored five runs in both the third and fourth innings. Offensive standouts for Edgewood were Bree Wiliams, 3-for-3 with three runs scored and four RBIs; Taylor Berry, 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBIs; Kelsey Swartz, 2-for-3 with a run and RBI; Kayla Harmon, 1-for-2 with three RBIs; and Jen Prushing, 1-for-2 with two runs and an RBI. The Cougars raised their record to 14-5 overall, 11-1 in the Fort Ancient Valley Conference West Division. Northwest fell to 9-7, 7-4 in the FAVC.
FAIRFIELD 5, MIDDLETOWN 3: Kelly Browning led the visiting Indians in Friday’s Greater Miami Conference game, going 3-for-4 with a double and RBI. Winning pitcher Erica D’Arcy, who ran her record to 15-1, was 2-for-4 with an RBI, and Kristen Shafher went 2-for-5 with two RBIs. The Middies were led by Ashley Sauter, 2-for-3 with a sacrifice fly; Abby Cain and Brianna Lipscomb, both 2-for-4 with a run scored; Brittany Blankenship, 1-for-2 with a double and walk; and Kabrea Grewe and Meagan Powell, each with a sacrifice fly. Fairfield improved to 15-1 overall, 14-1 in the GMC. Middletown fell to 5-12, 5-10 GMC.
ROSS 6, HARRISON 4: Megan Cales went 3-for-3 with a double and three RBIs for the Rams on Friday. Other standouts were Molly Ann Harris and Abby Walters, both 1-for-3 with an RBI, and Allison Ellinghausen, two runs scored. Ross improved to 11-6 overall, 11-2 in the Fort Ancient Valley Conference West Division. Harrison slipped to 10-7, 10-3 FAVC.
NEW MIAMI 7, CINCINNATI COUNTRY DAY 2: Sam Faulkner pitched a one-hitter, allowing no earned runs and striking out five, and also went 1-for-2 with two RBIs for the Vikings on Friday. Other standouts for New Miami were Heather Thacker, 2-for-4 with two RBIs, and Janisha Lathan, 2-for-4. The Vikings ran their record to 9-1 overall, 7-1 in the Miami Valley Conference.
LAKOTA WEST 5, HAMILTON 2: Amanda Lahti’s two-out, two-strike single which hit the left-field line in the top of the seventh inning drove in the tying run for the Firebirds, and Lakota West went on to score three runs in the eighth inning to raise their record to 13-4, 12-3 in the Greater Miami Conference. The Big Blue (8-12, 6-10 in the GMC) were led by Heather Robinson and Taylor Bertsch, each with a double.
TALAWANDA SWEEPS DOUBLEHEADER, CALHOUN PITCHES PERFECT GAME: The Braves won 13-0 twice over Mount Healthy on Friday. In the opener Caitlyn Calhoun pitched her third career perfect game and got offensive support from Franncesca Lindley, 2-for-2 with two RBIs; Regan Coleman, two RBIs; and Amalia Stevens, a double and RBI. In the second game Calhoun pitched a one-hit shutout. Hitting leaders for Talawanda were Stevens, 2-for-2 with a double and two RBIs; Taylor Kittel, a double and RBI; and Kori Michael, 3-for-4 with two stolen bases. Talawanda improved to 10-10 overall, 6-7 in the Fort Ancient Valley Conference West Division.
TRACK & FIELD
EYL WINS TWICE AT FRANK CHEW CLASSIC: Badin senior Adam Eyl finished first in the boys discus and shot put events at Friday’s Madison “Frank Chew” Invitational track and field meet in Middletown. Eyl won the discus competition with a throw of 124 feet, five inches beating his next closest opponent by three inches. He also claimed first in the shot put with a toss of 44 feet, 11 inches. Coaches Kelley Shebatka and Josh Mears said Eyl has improved his throws by 25 feet in the discus and by 8-10 feet in the shot put since the season started. Teammates Colin Finnegan (300-meter hurdles) and Kevin Keating (800 run) both finished second in their respective pursuits. The Badin boys placed fourth out of 10 teams.