LINTON —
Linton and North Central were both defending high school baseball sectional champions, but the Thunderbirds’ move up to Class 2A did not go as they expected.
The host Miners (13-15) won a third straight Sectional 47 championship with a 8-2 victory in Monday night’s championship game.
North Central’s Connor Strain and Linton’s Tanner Butler, a pair of hard-throwing senior right-handers, had an epic pitching duel going in the middle innings.
Linton got the early lead, putting the pressure on the favored Thunderbirds, who finished another great season with a 20-6 record.
Linton made Strain pay for a few pitches left out over the plate. Abe Neff came up with two clutch hits to put his team ahead. The Miners’ junior second baseman had a two-run single in the third and a two-run double in the fifth to put his team up 4-0.
Linton got a good bounce on a slow roller down the third-base line, and then Aspen Taylor placed a beautiful bunt down the first-base line to set up two runners for Neff.
Strain got refocused and struck out the next six batters he faced, matching Butler who struck out the side in the fourth and fifth. Butler struck out 12 in six innings, giving way to Bryant Jackson in the seventh since Butler had tossed the entire 10 innings he was allowed Monday, winning a semifinal game earlier in the day.
Butler was able to go home and relax in the air conditioning and get his mind prepared for the title game. He said he relished the underdog role against the 20-6 Thunderbirds.
“We came down here as the underdog. It was tremendous winning this. I was all over it. I was at home thinking about the game all day. I was thinking if we win this game it was going to be crazy. It’s the first threepeat in Linton history,” Butler said.
Strain, heading to the University of Evansville next year to pitch, admired Butler’s effort Monday.
“Linton played a great game, their pitcher threw an outstanding game,” Strain said. “He got a little wild at the end, but other than that he was in the zone, mixing pitches up, keeping himself balanced. We were never really comfortable at the plate.”
The Thunderbirds left five runners on in the first four innings, but couldn’t string enough hits together as Butler seemed to get in a groove as the game moved along.
North Central had a rally going in the sixth after a single by Cole Johnson ended Butler’s run of six straight strikeouts. Nate Lyday walked, but Tyler Strain — Connor’s twin brother — thought he walked on a 3-1 pitch then struck out swinging. His complaint to the umpire got him ejected from the game.
The Thunderbirds continued to rally as Daniel Loveall walked to load the bases and Nolan Kinnett walked to force in a run. The Thunderbirds’ designated hitter, Jacob Hauger, flied out to deep center to end the inning.
But coach Craig Grow had to replace his left fielder. The replacement made an error after a Linton base-hit to lead off the sixth, causing a close play at second base that went in Linton’s favor. Connor Strain then was ejected by a base umpire for something he said.
With a new pitcher in the game for North Central, Linton took advantage, scoring four in the seventh to turn their 4-1 lead into an 8-1 lead.
The Thunderbirds had the top of their batting order coming up in the seventh inning, and Collin Harding led off the inning with a solo home run.
Grow was proud to coach a group of seven North Central seniors that includes Zach Lyday, Nate Lyday, Johnson, Connor and Tyler Strain, Loveall and Dillon Jewell. The Thunderbirds won more than 60 games over the past three seasons, and lost in a one-run game to Lafayette Central Catholic in the Class A state championship game last season.
“They’ve got to look back and look at the accomplishments they’ve and had and some day they can look back and get over this loss,” Grow said. “A lot of congratulations to those guys, we just didn’t hit the ball the way we have in the past. Up until that last inning, we were only down 4-1, and had some guys coming up. Just very, very tough loss.”
Linton 8, North Central 2
Linton ab r h bi N.Central ab r h bi
Taylor ss 3 3 2 0 Harding cf 3 1 1 1
Neff 2b 4 1 3 5 Z.Lyday ss-p 4 1 1 0
Butler p 3 1 1 0 C.Strain p 3 0 1 0
Bl.Eaton 1b 4 0 1 2 Boyll 2b 0 0 0 0
Helton cf 3 0 1 0 Johnson c 4 1 1 0
Vowell c 4 0 0 0 N.Lyday 2b-ss 1 0 0 0
Jackson 3b 3 0 0 0 T.Strain lf 1 0 0 0
Shelton pr 0 0 0 0 Copeland 1 0 0 0
Burgess dh 4 0 0 0 Loveall 3b 1 0 0 0
Be.Eaton lf 2 3 2 0 Kinnett 1b 2 0 0 1
Haugher dh 3 0 1 0
Lewis pr 0 0 0 0
Totals 33 8 11 7 Totals 23 2 5 2
Linton 002 020 4 — 8
North Central 000 001 1 — 2
Butler (W, 7-4) and Vowell; C. Strain (L) and Johnson.
Highlights — For Linton, Abe Neff had a double, 5 RBI and was 3-for-4;
Jewell, Johnson. LOB — L 4, NC 7. HR — Harding (1). 2B — Neff. SH — T.Strain. CS — N.Lyday.
Linton IP H R ER BB K
Butler (W, 7-4) 6 5 1 1 7 12
Jackson 1 1 1 1 2 1
North Central IP H R ER BB K
Strain (L) 6 6 4 4 1 9
Z.Lyday 1 4 4 4 0 2
PB — Johnson 2.
Next — North Central finished its season 20-6. Linton (13-15) plays the winner of the Class 2A Southridge Sectional on Saturday at 1 p.m. in the Class 2A Southridge Regional.
High School
Miners beat 2A newcomer for 3rd straight title
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West Vigo comes up short against 19-9 Brown County softball
West Vigo got off to a good start but Brown County finished better in Class 3A high school softball sectional semifinal action Tuesday night at Edgewood.
The Eagles bested the Vikings 7-5 and will meet South Vermillion, a 12-7 winner over Owen Valley, for the sectional championship on Thursday starting at 6 p.m.
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Valley baseball teams have been keeping busy heading into sectionals
When high school baseball sectionals begin around the Wabash Valley today, one complaint that’s not expected to be heard from any coach is that his team has had too much time off.
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Northview powers way past Terre Haute South in sectional semifinal
Northview unleashed power rarely seen in high school girls softball Tuesday night to eliminate Terre Haute South 8-1 in the Class 4A Sectional at Martinsville High School.
The Knights hit three home runs in an eight-run third inning to reach the championship game. -
Terre Haute North dominates field at regional
Keirra Porter took first place in two individual events and helped Terre Haute North win one of its relays as the Patriots captured the Evansville Central Regional team championship in girls high school track and field Tuesday night.
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PREP ROUNDUP: South tennis cruises into regional final
Terre Haute South didn’t lose a game en route to blanking Seeger 5-0 in girls high school tennis Tuesday to advance to today’s championship match against Crawfordsville in the Greencastle Regional.
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Terry enjoys strong year with Wildcats, and still enjoying suiting up to play
South Vermillion’s Tim Terry is the longest tenured coach in Wabash Valley high school baseball as his Wildcats are set to begin sectional play Thursday against Owen Valley.
But on the Yankees, a 35-and-over team in the Terre Haute Men’s Senior Baseball League, Terry is “just a youngster” if you ask Larry Roesch, his 68-year-old teammate on the Volkers Group Yankees. -
West Vigo softball holds off nemesis Edgewood in softball sectional
Ice cream was enough of a reward Monday night after the West Vigo Vikings beat eight-time defending champion Edgewood 6-2 in extra innings in the opening game of the Class 3A softball sectional at Edgewood High School. But that’s not what Vikings want.
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PREP ROUNDUP: Shakamak's Green hits two homers in win over West Vigo
Shakamak improved to 22-3 on the season behind a complete-game effort from Brett Yeryar, and Patrick Green hit two solo home runs in a high school baseball game Monday.
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Terre Haute North offense unable to get going in loss to Mooresville
Jack Kirchner chose to give credit Monday night to Mooresville pitcher Taylor Chitwood, not to the Greg Maddux-size strike zone she seemed to enjoy.
But if there were no excuses forthcoming from Kirchner and his Terre Haute North High School softball team, it wouldn’t have been hard to find a spectator or two to come up with extenuating circumstances about the Patriots’ 4-1 loss at the Class 4A Martinsville Sectional. -
Terre Haute North looking strong going into girls track regional
Terre Haute North might need an off night for anyone to catch them in the girls track regional at Evansville Central.
The Patriots are as well-rounded as they’ve ever been, and two relay teams are state contenders with times ranking No. 2 in Indiana among times recorded all spring.
Terre Haute South, Northview and Sullivan have athletes among the contenders in multiple events as well. -
South tennis ready for potential challenge in regional
Terre Haute South and Northview take respective records of 10-5 and 11-5 into the Greencastle Regional today.
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Softball sectionals up for grabs
All three Vigo County high schools and Northview appear to have a realistic chance of winning sectional championships in softball this week.
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Terre Haute South, Northview vie for tennis regional title
Terre Haute South and Northview take respective records of 10-5 and 11-5 into the Greencastle Regional today.
Coach Bill Blankenbaker’s Braves will play Seeger at 4:30 p.m., while coach Emily Goff’s Knights will take on Crawfordsville about 6 p.m. -
Vikings win in extra innings at Rockville
West Vigo scored six runs in its first two innings Saturday, then needed a ninth-inning single by Lucas Fagg to escape with a 7-6 extra-inning win in nonconference high school baseball at Rockville.
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TH South beats Northview in Big Four makeup baseball game
Terre Haute South wrapped up a share of the MIC baseball title and finished up the Big Four Classic with an 8-1 victory over Northview in less than 24 hours on Saturday morning.
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Olds pitches South to share of MIC baseball title
Friday night, winning the second game 5-0 and earning a share of the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference high school baseball title.
Damon Olds was dominant on the mound for the Braves, striking out 14 and walking just one while pitching a three-hit shutout. -
South wins first half of doubleheader against Lawrence North
Host Terre Haute South kept its Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference high school baseball title hopes alive — and clinched no worse than second place in the process — by downing Lawrence North 4-1 in the first game of a doubleheader Friday night.
The second game, which started after Senior Night festivities between games, ended past the Tribune-Star deadline. -
PREP ROUNDUP: Calleja pitches West Vigo past South Vermillion
Brandon Calleja had 13 strikeouts to lead West Vigo to a 5-1 victory against South Vermillion in high school baseball Friday.
Brandon Behringer went 2 for 4 with two RBI for the Vikings, who secured second place in the Western Indiana Conference.
Kaden Lawson had double for South Vermillion (15-7), which finished 4-2 in the WIC. -
Seibert returns from injury to win three events as Braves win sectional crown
His baseball equivalent might be Rick Sutcliffe of the 1984 Chicago Cubs.
When Tyler Seibert returned to the Terre Haute South track and field lineup Thursday for sectional action at Terre Haute North, it was like the midseason trade the Cubs made for Sutcliffe that earned them a playoff spot. -
South switches up lineup to defeat North in tennis sectional
Terre Haute South coach Bill Blankenbaker said two weeks ago that he would change the Braves’ lineup after the 3-2 dual-meet loss to Terre Haute North.
The Patriots knew it was coming, but they couldn’t do anything to stop it. -
PREP ROUNDUP: North slips past Northview in eight-inning baseball game
Colton Pittman drew a bases-loaded walk to score Zach Milam with the winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning as host Terre Haute North edged Northview 8-7 in high school baseball Thursday at Jennings Field.
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PREP ROUNDUP: North and South to face off for tennis sectional title
The winner of the Terre Haute sectional for girls high school tennis will come down to Terre Haute North and Terre Haute South.
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Terre Haute North gets 10 event victories to claim 12th straight sectional crown
Terre Haute North won 10 events Tuesday night while winning the Indiana High School Athletic Association girls track and field section at South Putnam High School for the 12th straight year.
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North, South to meet in first round of baseball sectional
The Indiana High School Athletic Association announced pairings for the baseball state tournament Tuesday and the draw offered up a Vigo County battle in the opening game.
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PREP ROUNDUP: West Vigo softball clinches share of WIC title
West Vigo clinched at least a share of the Western Indiana Conference softball title with a 6-4 victory over Edgewood on Tuesday.
Jacy McClain and Bailee Waters had RBI singles in the fourth inning to break the game open for the Vikings. -
Track sectional titles on the line
Expect one heck of a high school dual track meet Thursday night when Wabash Valley boys visit Terre Haute North for sectional action.
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Prep report: Patriots, Braves favored to advance from tennis sectional 1st round
Persons attending this week’s girls tennis sectional championship match at Terre Haute North might want to pack a lunch.
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Local ADs happy to see spring come to a close
Brian Mancuso is the most experienced of the high school athletic directors in Vigo County — and that’s a very relative term — but even he wasn’t quite ready for the headaches that have accompanied spring sports the last few weeks thanks to rain, rain and more rain.
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South baseball remains in first-place tie with Center Grove
Heading into Saturday’s Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference baseball doubleheader against Center Grove, coach Kyle Kraemer of Terre Haute South wasn’t completely optimistic.
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Kehrt Award goes to Emily Bell, Lee Davis
Emily Bell of Terre Haute South and Lee Davis of Terre Haute North are the 2013 recipients of the Willard M. Kehrt Mental Attitude Award.
Bell and Davis were nominated by their schools and chosen in a vote by the Kehrt Award panel. Both will be recognized at awards assemblies later in the month at the schools.
Bell played varsity basketball four years at South and is competing in track this season, running the 800 and two relays. “I wanted something to do my senior year,” Bell said.
She plans to attend DePauw University and play basketball. DePauw is the reigning NCAA Division III champ in women's basketball.
Bell tore an AÇL playing in a basketball tournament the summer after her sophomore season. She missed most of her junior season but came back to play her senior year and was second leading scorer and leading rebounder her final season.
Bell also was leading rebounder her sophomore year. - More High School Headlines
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