In a battle of two top teams in Class 4A, No. 14-ranked Carmel knocked off No. 3-ranked McCutcheon 2-0 on April 18. With the victory, Carmel advanced its annual invitational tournament. Despite the low scoring game, each team stranded its share of runners. Carmel stranded five, while McCutcheon stranded 12. McCutcheon also had its opportunity at the plate, pounding nine hits. However, it was Carmel who was able to muster the game’s only two runs. In the third inning, the Greyhounds scored their pair of runs with three singles and a walk.
Trailing by a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth inning, the Cascade softball team found its bats just in time. The Cadets scored three unanswered runs, one run in the fifth and two in the seventh, to claim a 3-2 victory over visiting Cloverdale on Monday. The winning run came on an RBI single by Lauren Cooper in the seventh. Cascade coach Don Helmick was pleased with his team’s effort in the come-from-behind victory. “We were hitting it right at them, we just needed to get base hits,” he said. “We got some hits there in the fifth and built some confidence, and they helped us out with some mistakes and fortunately we took advantage of it.”
After going 86-63 at Greenfield-Central over the past seven years, Donna Keck accepted the head girls’ basketball coaching job at Noblesville High School on Tuesday. Keck replaces Kurt Gasson, who left following the Millers’ loss to Westfield in the Carmel Sectional semifinal. Keck is dealing with the troubles of leaving her past job, but the Noblesville position was too good to pass up. “It’s tough to walk away from, but Noblesville is a great opportunity and in an elite conference,” she said. “There are just certain teams I’ve liked to watch over the years, and Noblesville happens to be one of those.”
With most of the pressure off her back, Lawrence North tennis star Kylee Johnson begins the 2008 season ranked 10th in the state among 18-year-olds by the U.S. Tennis Association. Johnson, who is a senior, accepted a scholarship to play at Ball State next year earlier in the week. Johnson accomplished a goal by receiving the scholarship and acknowledges that all of the pressure is relieved. “I really feel a lot more relaxed now, and I don’t feel any pressure,” she said. “My biggest goal all along was to get a scholarship, and it’s nice to know the hard work paid off. Now I don’t feel like I have to go out and sell myself when I play. I can relax and enjoy my last year of high school tennis.”
In an early season battle of a pair of top-five ranked teams in their individual classes, Class 4A No. 5 Cathedral dominated Class 1A No. 1 Central Catholic 11-1 on April 12. Cathedral got off to a fast start when first baseman Kevin Bower nailed a three-run home run over the centerfield wall. The Fighting Irish (6-1) never looked back, cruising to the 10-run victory over Central Catholic (4-1). Cathedral coach Rich Andriole knows that the main issue for each team was the cold and windy weather. “You can’t prepare for this kind of weather,” he said. “But it’s been a miserable spring for everyone, so we’re sort of used to practicing and playing in this kind of weather.”
Washington High School’s Tyler Zeller was named the Indianapolis Star Indiana Mr. Basketball on April 9. Zeller set an Indiana high-school championship game record with 43 points against Fort Wayne Harding in the class 3A championship in March. Zeller received 257 of the 345 ballots cast from media and coaches. In 2005, Zeller’s brother Luke was honored with the same award after nailing a half-court shot at the buzzer to win the state title for Washington. Luke now attends Notre Dame.
After finishing a very successful boys’ basketball season, the All-County Team for Hendricks County was named on April 14. After winning the Class 4A state championship, Brownsburg’s senior duo of Julian Mavunga and Gordon Hayward were honored to the First Team. Danville also had a pair of players named to the First Team in Travis Carroll and Tyler Weaver. Jameson Wheeler and Blake Metcalf from Plainfield were each were named to the team. Tri-West’s Sam Groth and Betheda Christian’s Kyle Bennett were also named to the First Team.
No-hitters are something special and rare for a pitcher in high school sports. Avon junior Jenny Esparza made it look easy on April 10. Esparza struck out 17 opposing Ben Davis hitters in her seven innings of work. Ben Davis was only able to muster one score toward the no-hitter. Catcher Jessica Jonas led off the sixth inning and hit a 2-0 pitch hard into right field where Bailey Smith was able to make a leaping catch. It was a well-pitched game on both ends, as Ben Davis hurler Sydney West also threw a complete game, but taking the tough luck 2-0 loss.
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