Wayne County girls tennis teams have big week to highlight area sports

RICHMOND, Ind. — It’s a Thursday night in Wayne County, and you want to take in some girls tennis.

You know Northeastern is playing tonight, so you drive up to Fountain City. But when you get there, nobody’s home. That’s right, the Knights are on the road at Randolph Southern today.

You remember Centerville also has a match, so you head west to Williamsburg before taking a straight shot south to just below the center of the county. Once again, nobody’s home. The Bulldogs are at Hagerstown.

By this point, there isn’t much time before it starts getting dark, meaning you have one last chance to catch some tennis before the night is over. Cambridge City is right down the road, and Lincoln has a match on the schedule. You start driving that way, hoping you’re not about to strike out for the evening.

You pull up to the high school, and — thank goodness — there is tennis. You hop out of your car just in time to see the Golden Eagles finish off Connersville 4-1 to move to 5-0 on the season. During the celebration, you curiously check your phone to see how Northeastern and Centerville did. You’re not disappointed, as the Knights also won 4-1, and the Bulldogs earned a sweep.

That was the scene last Thursday, April 21. It mgith not have been your exact process, but wins were not hard to come by for those three teams last week.

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Here’s more on how Centerville, Lincoln and Northeastern tennis performed along with all other Wayne County girls’ sports results from April 19-23:

Tennis

Bulldogs, Golden Eagles, Knights combine for seven wins

Centerville defined improving one game at a time last week. It beat Connersville 3-2 April 19, Franklin County 4-1 April 20 and Hagerstown 5-0 April 21. Gabby Duke and Lizzie Parker went 3-0 on the week in singles play, and Gracie Helms was 2-1. Ashtyn Allen won three doubles matches with a couple of different partners, two with Emma Cooper and one with Kylar Marshall. Marshall teamed up with Ava McCurdy for one more doubles win.

The Bulldogs’ next match is April 27 hosting Blue River Valley.

Lincoln defeated Muncie Central April 20 and Connersville April 21, both by a score of 4-1. In the first match of the week, Emily Cox and Reagan Sturgis won their singles matches. In doubles action, both teams — Olivia Spurgin and Mia Cupp as well as Emily Merida and Betsy Richards — won their matches.

The Golden Eagles will play April 28 at home against Centerville.

Northeastern earned a pair of dual wins last week: 5-0 over Hagerstown April 19 and 4-1 over Randolph Southern April 21. Anna Drake and Grace Todd each won both of their singles matches, and Lauren Lacey was 1-1. The first doubles team of Chloe Cook and Claire Coddington and the second team of Lainey Moore and Ella Coddington both went 2-0.

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The Knights also placed fourth out of eight teams at the Richmond Invite April 23. They will play again April 28 at home against Tri.

Richmond has up-and-down week

The Red Devils started their week April 19 with a 4-1 win over Winchester. Maggie Blair, Aeryn Morris and Isabel Torres-Mejia all won their singles matches. Paighton Morken and Brooklyn Harris won their doubles match.

Next up was a 3-2 loss to Anderson April 20. Only the doubles teams — Morken and Harris and Krisha Patel and Sam Langner — came away with wins.

Finally, Richmond hosted seven other teams in their invitational April 23. The Red Devils plced fifth, sending Blair to the singles final and Morken and Harris to the doubles final. Richmond will play April 28 at Connersville.

Seton still improving

The Cardinals continued their season with a 5-0 loss to Union City April 20. They also competed April 23 against Knightstown. Mary Daoud was the team’s top performer that Saturday, winning her singles match. Seton will play April 28 at International.

Softball

Hagerstown wins Wayne County Tournament

The Tigers got some momentum to start the week, taking down Wes-Del 11-8 on April 20. Tori Kelley and Hannah Pyle each had three hits, Rylan Young and Allison Stinson each had two hits and Emma Jarrett and Avery Bowen each had two RBIs. That propelled them into the Wayne County Tournament April 23.

More: ‘One of the best feelings’: Hagerstown softball wins Wayne County Tournament

Hagerstown bested Centerville 13-3 in the first round to advance to the championship. Pyle pitched five innings and struck out seven batters. Kelley notched three hits and three RBIs. Bowen and Hayley Harris each picked up a pair of hits.

Earlier: ‘These freshmen aren’t freshmen’: Young, other rookies step up for Hagerstown softball

The Tigers then beat Northeastern 9-6 to claim the title. Kelley pitched 6.1 innings, struck out seven and didn’t allow any earned runs. Pyle had two hits and four RBIs, and her day was highlighted by a three-run home run. Young had two hits, and Stinson added two RBIs. Hagerstown’s next game is April 27 hosting Centerville.

Northeastern snaps losing streak

The Knights started the season 5-0. Since then, they’ve gone 1-5. Their first two games last week weren’t pretty. First, they lost 11-0 to Union County April 20, and Lilly Null had their only hit of the day. Next, they fell 17-1 to Franklin County April 22, and Null had two of their four hits as well as the only RBI.

Northeastern turned it around at the Wayne County Tournament, beating Lincoln 4-0 in the first round to end its four-game skid. Clare Lopeman pitched all seven innings, striking out nine and only allowing two hits. Saige Sanders had two hits and two RBIs.

The Knights fell to Hagerstown 9-6 in the championship. Lopeman had another solid pitching performance, striking out eight batters in five innings. She also had two hits and a pair of RBIs at the plate. Sanders, Lexi Russell and Emma Neeley each had two hits. Northeastern’s next game is April 28 hosting Lincoln.

Richmond gets offense going with two wins

The Red Devils scored double-digit runs in both wins last week, beating Winchester 11-7 April 20 and Marion 11-3 April 22.

In the first game of the week, Kinsey Bosell notched three hits, including two doubles, and drove in three runs. Madison Owens, Macie Ferguson and Dajsha Burgess each had two hits, and Owens added a couple RBIs.

In the second game, Ferguson struck out 13 batters in the circle and got on base three times at the plate. Haley Pipenger led the offense with an inside-the-park home run, two doubles and five RBIs. Erica Metsch also had a three-run triple. Richmond’s next game is April 27 at home against Union County.

Earlier: Confidence soars after Richmond, Centerville softball have bounce-back consolation game

Centerville, Lincoln fall in first round of county tournament

The Bulldogs came into the tourney with plenty of momentum, having beaten Daleville 15-1 April 20. Harmony Owens pitched five innings and only allowed two hits, and she picked up three hits and three RBIs at the plate. Lilly Day had four hits and four RBIs. Haylee Parker and Jocie Collins both had three hits, and Collins added a couple RBIs. Shaellyn Shearer had two hits — a home run and a triple — and drove in two runs. Drew Tubesing also added a pair of hits.

When they played Hagerstown in the first round, however, they fell flat, losing 13-3. Shearer was the lone bright spot with two hits and two RBIs. Centerville’s next game is April 27 at Hagerstown.

The Golden Eagles also were riding high going into that Saturday. They lost their first game of the week 13-1 to New Castle April 19, in which Kaylee Gabbard had two hits and the lone RBI. They turned it around April 22 with a 4-0 win over Wes-Del. Paige Lunsford pitched a complete game, striking out nine and only allowing two hits.

The offense went cold again against Northeastern in the first round of the tournament, as they fell 4-0. Lunsford pitched four scoreless innings and only gave up one hit. Alexis McPheeters had two hits at the plate. Lincoln’s next game is April 28 at Northeastern.

Track and field

Centerville wins big at Tri

The Bulldogs outscored the Titans 101-22 April 20 and came away with wins in just about every event.

B. Jordan won the 100- and 200-meter dash. Wolfal won the 800 and 1,600. Reece won the shot put and discus. Taylor-Stanley won the 100 hurdles, and Carter won the 300 hurdles. Lickfelt, Burton and Scales each took the 3,200. All three relays also won: the 4x800 team of Scales, Morgan, Shipman and Lickfelt; the 4x100 team of Carter, Ballenger, Swartz and Jordan; and the 4x400 team of Carter, Morgan, Shipman and Ballenger.

Centerville will be back on the track May 3 at home against Lincoln.

Richmond caps off week in Eaton

The Red Devils started their week April 19 with a 67-63 loss to Franklin County. Claire Reising won the 1,600 and the 3,200. Sophia Laughlin-Foster won the shot put with a throw of 33-4 ½, and Molly O’Brien won the discus with a throw of 83-1 ½. Khalidah Hickson won the 100 hurdles with a time of 18.7 seconds. Lizzy Graham won the 800 (2:29). The 4x800 relay team of Alex Parker, Allison Stout, Bess Scheiben and Addison Jones was also victorious.

Richmond then traveled to Eaton April 23 for the Dean Stolz Invite and placed seventh out of 11 teams. Reising won the 2,000 steeplechase with a time of 8:38.32. Jayci Allen won the high jump (5-2), and Mary-Alice Zaleski came in third (4-10). Laughlin-Foster finished second in the shot put (33-5). Keena Barker placed third in the 3,200 (13:14.45).

The Red Devils will compete again April 30 at the Muncie Central Invite.

Lincoln, Seton have a few bright spots in respective meets

The Golden Eagles took a 76-32 loss to Anderson Prep April 21. Bailey Puckett swept the distance events, taking first in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200. Ellie Mettler won the shot put, and Shayna Morris won the discus. Lincoln’s next meet is April 29 at Northeastern.

The Cardinals placed sixth out of seven teams April 23 at the Guerin Catholic Invite. The 4x400 relay team of Bella Cornell, Ella Berger, Jackie Clemente and Lydia Reichley placed second (4:42.48). Reichley finished third in the 300 hurdles and fourth in the 100 hurdles. The 4x800 team of Josey Meeks, Jana Clemente, Brim and Knights placed fourth. Bryn VanVleet was fifth in both the 100 hurdles and shot put. Seton will compete again April 29 at the Park Tudor Invite.

Zach Piatt reports on sports and education for The Palladium-Item. Contact him at zpiatt@gannett.com or on Twitter @zachpiatt13.

This article originally appeared on Richmond Palladium-Item: Indiana high school girls tennis: Wayne County teams have big week