by Gary Andrews

Wabash senior Grant Sailors signed his letter of intent Wednesday to play baseball at Saint Francis. Currently, Sailors has a .417 batting average through 9 games with 15 hits, two homeruns and 11 RBIs. On the mound, Sailors is 1-2 with a 3.12 ERA. In 22.1 innings, Sailors has struck out 21 and walked 8 batters.

Sailors will study Nursing at Saint Francis and looks forward to playing against his brother Zach, who is playing at Indiana Tech. Saint Francis is coached by Dustin Butcher, who expects immediate playing time for Sailors. “Grant will be on the mound for us and when he’s not, he will play first or DH. We want to keep him off the left side of the diamond to keep his arm strong,” Butcher said.

by Gary Andrews

Wabash senior Kyleigh Hampton has made it official, signing to play basketball at Trine University next year. Hampton, a four-year varsity starter at Wabash said  “I chose Trine because it is a really nice and it offers what I want to study.” Hampton will major in Music Technology.

Basketball has always been Hampton’s favorite sport.  “I have put in a lot of hours practicing and it started with my dad when I was in the third grade and it’s paying off.”

“Kyleigh was a four year starter for us and had a great effect on our program. She has had a lot of success and will be a very versatile player in college,” said Coach Scott Bumgardner. 

by Gary Andrews

Northfield finished third in the Whitko Invitational on Saturday at Sycamore GC. Braydon Schindler led the way for the Norse and was the 5th place medalist overall with a 77, Andrew Eckerly shot 80 and tied for the final medalist. Austin Trump shot a 84 and Austin Burns shot a 89.

“We shot 164 on the front and 166 on the back for a 330,” said Coach Terrell. “I’m very happy with our scores. This is where we should be scoring every time out. I’m looking forward to our next tournament.”

by Gary Andrews

The Southwood varsity baseball team split a double header with Oak Hill Saturday, falling in game one 5-3 before winning game two 14-7.

In game one, Oak Hill put up four runs in the 4th to take a 4-0 lead with the Knights cutting the lead to 4-3 with a run in the 5th and 2 in the 6th, but the Eagles added an insurance run in the 7th for the 5-3 win.

”Frazier and Curless threw a good game. We played poorly defensively and had a poor approach. Hopefully that is a day we can learn from,” Coach Holtzleiter said.

In game two, the Knight bats got going early and often, as the south side bombers put up 14 runs.

The Knights would score in every inning with the 5th being the largest with 5 runs.

by Gary Andrews

The Wabash varsity baseball team split a twilight double header with Eastbrook Saturday, falling in game one 6-3 before winning game two 5-4 under the lights.

The Apaches had a hard time getting the bats going in game one with a Roger Davis single being the lone hit heading to the bottom of the third and trailing 4-0. Jordan Holley would start off the inning reaching on a dropped third strike and with one out Devin Hostetler singled to put runners on the corners. Grant Sailors would then single home a run and the Apaches trailed 4-1.

The final scoring of the game would come in the 5th when Eastbrook scored 2 more runs to take a 6-1 lead before the Apaches responded. With one out, Kyle Kelsheimer walked and was followed by a Hostetler single. Kelsheimer would then score on a wild pitch with Hostetler later scoring on a Jordan Floor single.

The Apaches fell 6-3.

by Emily Armentrout

emily@thepaperofwabash.com

Former Manchester assistant coach and current Northfield football coach and physical education teacher Brandon Baker has been selected to coach Northfield’s varsity baseball team. Baker is also a former Northfield graduate.

Baker joins a completely new coaching staff, which includes Justin Branock, Cody Schell, Tory Shafer and Troy Vigar.

“The team is responding well,” Coach Baker said. “It’s a totally new staff; no one from last year is back and they’ve responded well to everything we’re trying to do with them.”

Not only did the Norse baseball team have a staff change up, they also lost multiple senior starters and the winningest pitcher in Indiana high school history. This year, the team is made up mostly of juniors and sophomores, with a lone senior.

by Gary Andrews

The Northfield varsity baseball team evened their season record to 3-3 Saturday with a double-header sweep over Marion.

The Norse rode the back of Shane Vigar in game one who was the winning pitcher striking out 13, while going 4 for 4 at the plate.

In game one, the Norse jumped on Marion in the first inning. Adam Roser led off with a single and was followed with a single from Brad Bever. Roser and Bever would then pull off a double steal with Roser scoring on a steal. Drake Richter then drove home Bever and the Norse led 2-0 after one.

In the bottom of the third, the Norse would tack on two more runs. Vigar started the inning with a single and was drove home on a Remington Monce double. Bryce Kendall was then hit by a pitch and followed by a Nate Hembree bunt single. With the bases loaded, Monce was picked off third but Joseph Mitchell loaded them back up with a single. Kendall would score on a wild pitch and the Norse led 4-0.

Marion would pick up a run in the fourth, and it was 4-1 in the fifth when the Norse struck again. Bryce Kendall started the inning with a double, but was thrown out at third. Nate Hembree then singled and was followed by a Mitchell walk. Both runners would advance a base on a wild pitch when Brown singled scoring Hembree and Mitchell to lead 6-1.

by Gary Andrews

The Southwood varsity baseball team hosted Peru in a double header Saturday, losing game one 5-4 before handing the Tigers their first loss of the season with a 9-8 victory in game two.

In game one, the first inning had plenty of action. In the top of the inning, Peru would strike first when Logan Brimbury hit a fly ball out to bring Cameron Beauchamp home. Richardson would then score on a Ray single for a 2-0 lead. The Southwood offense would waste no time answering the Peru opening. Jackson Blair led off the inning with a single and was followed by a Nathan Hollars single to put runners on first and second. Robbie Cole would then single and the Knights had the bases loaded with no outs. Brandin Frazier hit the fourth straight single, knocking in Blair and Hollars to tie the score at 2. On the next pitch Cole and Frazier pulled off a double steal with Jacob Lloyd making the Tigers pay with a 2 run single and the Knights led 4-2 after one.

Unfortunately for the Knights, the seeing eye hits they had in the first inning became a thing of the past the rest of the game as everything they hit went right at someone. The Tigers would chip away at the Knight lead, scoring 2 runs in the third to tie the game and scored 1 run in the 5th to take a 5-4 lead which held up for the game one win.