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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
The Seaman baseball team had to settle for a split of a doubleheader with Lansing when the Lions held on for an extra-inning win in the second game Tuesday at Seaman.
The Vikings ran away with the first game of the night 13-3, powered by six extra base hits in five innings. Pitcher Bryson Vawter earned the victory, striking out 10 Lions.
Seaman senior Bryson Vawter picked up the pitching win in Tuesday's 13-3 first-game win over Lansing. [File photo/TSN]
Seaman sophomore Max Huston had a home run in the Vikings' 13-3 first-game UKC win over Lansing on Tuesday. [File photo/TSN]
Vawter hit a speed bump in the fourth inning, giving up two walks after the leadoff batter reached on an error. He induced a strikeout and groundout, but then gave up a two-run single before getting off the hook, still clinging to a 4-3 lead.
“I struggled a little bit there, but it’s about just sticking to what I know, getting back into the groove of things,” Vawter said. “Getting off path has really been my struggle this year, and I’m trying to get better at staying consistent.
“Today I felt like the fastball was pretty good, so I kind of dominated with that, and then when I had to, I put a little wrinkle in there.”
The Vikings retaliated with eight runs in the bottom half of the fourth, stretching the lead to 12-3. It was more than Vawter needed.
“Our guys always know when Bryson is out there, he’s always going to give us a chance,” said Seaman coach Trent Oliva. “We’ve just got to take care of the baseball defensively and mark a couple of runs here and there.”
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By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
After taking bumps and bruises in a forgetful week last week, Shawnee Heights rebounded by shutting out United Kansas Conference foe Leavenworth 15-0, 15-0 in a doubleheader sweep at the Lake Shawnee Complex on Tuesday evening.
Shawnee Heights sophomore pitcher Grace Proctor pitched a first-game no-hitter in Tuesday's 15-0 UKC softball win over Leavenworth. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Shawnee Heights junior Karlyn Bowman (4) watches her second-game home run in the T-Birds' 15-0 softball win over Leavenworth. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
It was pretty much a perfect day at the ballpark for Shawnee Heights. The only thing that went wrong for the Thunderbirds on Tuesday was that a player was hit with bird droppings out of the air.
But besides the bird-on-bird crime, everything went according to the Thunderbirds’ plan.
Shawnee Heights outscored its conference foe 30-0 in two games that lasted a combined eight innings due to separate run rules.
“It feels really good to bounce back,” Shawnee Heights coach Tara Griffith said. “We had a real tough week last week. Not only did we play Basehor-Linwood, but played Olathe North and Mill Valley and lost both of those. So that was not ideal. It felt really good to bounce back from those losses.”
Leading the way for Shawnee Heights defensively was standout sophomore pitcher Grace Proctor, who pitched a four-inning no-hitter in the first game of the doubleheader, recording eight strikeouts while giving up one walk..
“I was definitely pleased today,” Proctor said. “A no-hitter is something I’ve been striving for pretty much the whole season. So, I was just happy to get one today. The curveball worked the best today. Drops were going good, too.”
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Topeka West's boys tennis team had its string of three straight tournament team championships halted in Tuesday's 10-school Topeka West Invitational.
But Charger coach Kurt Davids still saw some growth out of his team in a second-place finish to Blue Valley West at Kossover Tennis Center.
Topeka West seniors Miles Cusick (left) and Ian Cusick finished second in doubles in Tuesday's Topeka West Invitational, helping the host Chargers finish second as a team. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Topeka West senior Carter Cool finished third in singles in Tuesday's Topeka West Invitational tennis tournament. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Topeka West juniors Caden McGee and Caleb Weybrew finished fifth in Tuesday's Topeka West Invitational as West finished second as a team. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
"I think we're moving up in trajectory from a team perspective,'' said Davids, whose team was the Class 5A state runnerup a year ago.. "Tournaments so far this year I'm not sure we've really capitalized on everything but today was a better day.
"Tough competition, but we fought in every match.''
The West doubles team of senior twin brothers Ian and Miles Cusick, the defending Class 5A state doubles champions, suffered a tough 8-6 loss to Blue Valley West in Tuesday's championship match while senior singles player Carter Cool posted a third-place singles finish, rallying for an 8-7 (7-5 tiebreaker) win over Washburn Rural senior Mason Casebeer in the third-place match.
The Chargers also got a fifth-place finish from the junior doubles team of Caden McGee and Caleb Weybrew while junior James Maag finished sixth in singles.
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By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
SILVER LAKE – It was an anti-climatic evening for the Silver Lake baseball team against Mid-East League foe Riley County, but that’s how the Eagles wanted it with their 16-1, 15-0 run-rule victories on Monday night.
Logan Cathcart (9) helped Silver Lake push its winning streak to 10 games with a Mid-East League sweep over Riley County on Monday. [File photo/TSN]
Silver Lake's Dysen Schooler (7) had a big day at the plate in Monday's twinbill sweep over Riley County. [File photo/TSN]
Outside of a pair of opening-day losses to Hayden, Silver Lake has rolled the rest of the way this spring.
The Eagles are riding a 10-game win streak with eight wins against opponents within their league.
In the last two doubleheaders against Wabaunsee and Riley County, Silver Lake has outscored those two schools 61-1. No-hitters, run rules and shutouts have been regular in Eagle Country lately.
“We’ve had two pretty big senior classes leave the last two years, and I knew coming into this year we were going to be young and inexperienced, but we’ve done a really good job of staying the course,” Silver Lake coach Tyler Seele said. “We’re getting a little bit better each and every day. One thing about our guys is when we come to practice; our practices are spirited with a ton of energy.
"Hayden is a tough team, and that was a tough draw to begin the season. But we’ve done a really good job of locking in and doing the little things right. Basic things like base running, throwing strikes on the mound, making routine plays and taking extra bases.”
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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
Hayden sophomore pitcher Cooper Grace started last Friday's second game at Washburn Rural, then had to wait until Monday to finish the job.
Hayden sophomore Cooper Grace finished off a complete-game pitching victory Monday at Washburn Rural. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
He did so with hardly a bump, taking advantage of the Wildcats' huge offensive day to close out a 15-4 Centennial League win and a doubleheader sweep over the Junior Blues.
"You get a good routine going, good arm care, and it keeps me fresh,'' Grace said. "I'm never really sore ever and it helps a lot having a team behind me that helps me.''
In fact, the delayed second game still didn't go the full seven innings, with Hayden (8-3 overall, 4-2 in the league) ending things after the fifth due to the 10-run spread rule.
After Hayden rallied for a 4-3 win in last Friday's first game, the second game was tied at 2-2 in the top of the third inning before lightning pushed the completion of the nightcap back to Monday.
Obviously Bill Arnold would have liked to have finished off the twinbill on Friday, but understood the postponement.
"I thought we were in a pretty good groove and Cooper was in a really good groove pitching the other day, but those are situations you don't have any control over so there's no reason to worry about spilled milk out of that deal,'' Arnold said. "My big deal was to come out today and compete right off the bat.''
