Last year, the Wes-Del Warriors ended their season with a 5-3 loss to Cowan in the sectional championship. “This group was pretty determined [to not repeat that],” Warriors third-year head coach Daniel Hanson said. “...[The team] wanted to make sure that when we got back to those kinds of moments, we were prepared, and that it was a different outcome.” So with that in mind, how did they respond this season?
One thing was clear when speaking with Yorktown head coach Nathan McClung, he said he not only has a good group of golfers, but also a good group of kids. “This is one of the most enjoyable teams I've ever coached, and last year was too,” McClung said “But this group of guys, they're very different. But a lot of them are unique and some really special. They're phenomenal young men. So it's a privilege that they call me coach.” That group of kids ended up winning sectionals at the Hickory Hills Golf Club with a score of 321, led by the sectional individual champion, Christian Groves.
The Yorktown Tigers and Cowan Blackhawks attempted to reach the promised land as they continued their journey in the state tournament. But there are no longer any Delaware County teams left as both teams had their quests cut just short as they were defeated in Saturday’s semi-state. In the first game of the 3A semi-state, the Tigers (17-9, 4-3 Hoosier Heritage) trailed Leo (26-2, 6-1 Northeast Eight) 4-1 in the seventh inning. But after a walk by Freshman Emma Reynolds, Yorktown hoped for a comeback at Twin Lakes High School.
After a historic season and postseason, winning a Mid-American Conference Championship and making it to the NCAA Tournament, the Ball State Baseball season comes to an end. Head coach Rich Maloney said he would never forget the team being selected and hearing Ball State be picked to play in an NCAA regional. Ball State (36-23) lost their elimination game against West Virginia (40-20).
In the first inning of today’s NCAA regional game in Lexington, KY, Ball State junior Decker Scheffler hit a single. That was followed by a double by senior Adam Tellier. With two base runners on second and third with only one out, Cardinal fans might have thought that their team was going to hit the scoreboard early. But then, the hometown Kentucky Wildcats retired the next two Ball State batters with a lineout and a strikeout. The Cardinals did not know it then, but that would end up being their best chance to score in their 4-0 opening loss of the NCAA Tournament.
When the state tournament for high school sports rolls around in Indiana, communities come together to show their support. Win or lose, they are always there. But when they see their team play great defense, never give up, and hit a walk-off single on their home turf, it becomes something that they will never forget. That’s what the Cowan faithful saw today as the Blackhawks softball team defeated the Tri Titans 2-1 for their third straight regional championship.
If you wanted perfect baseball weather for yesterday’s sectional championships, you got it as the day brought sunshine and enjoyable temperatures. But if you were looking forward to the final two Delaware County teams continuing their postseasons, disappointment was your answer. The Sectional #24 championship game at Yorktown High School came down to two teams who ended the regular season under .500, with both teams losing their first five games of the season. In the semi-finals, the Delta Eagles knocked off the hometown Yorktown Tigers (20-7, 11-3 Hoosier Heritage) 5-3, while the New Castle Trojans defeated the Jay County Patriots (13-14, 1-5 Allen County) 4-3.
No. 1 seed Ball State (36-21) defeated No. 3 seed Kent State (42-16) 12-9 to win the 2023 Mid-American Conference (MAC) Championship Tournament and advance to the program's first NCAA Regional appearance since 2006.
Just about a week ago, Ball State got beat 29-11 at home against Kent State in the last regular season series. Yesterday, Ball State (35-21) beat that same Kent State (41-15) team 6-1 to advance to the Mid-American Conference Championship. Senior Trennor O’Donnell, who started in the 29-11 loss, went a complete nine innings today to beat the Golden Flashes. It was the first complete game of his career.
“Foul Ball, USA, hit the ball the other way, Aruba, uh uh, Jamaica, uh uh Hawaii, uh uh Aloha.” That was one of the chants that the Cowan softball team screamed from their dugout during the 1A Sectional #55 championship game. But when the seventh inning at Daleville Junior/Senior High School came to a close, those chants turned into cheers as the Blackhawks defeated Wes-Del 5-1 and became back-to-back-to-back sectional champions.
Grit. Following today’s 7-6 win against No. 2 Central Michigan (33-21, 19-11 MAC), he used it once more. “[The Cardinals] are a gritty bunch who believe in themselves,” Maloney said. “And they've been amazing because we've been short-handed for a long period of time.” With the team going through some adversity this season, yesterday’s win made the Cardinals’ (34-21, 19-11 MAC) first Mid-American Tournament (MAC) victory more than just that. It was a big moment for multiple players and lifted the team's spirits.
Playing in the first National Golf Invitational, Ball State Men’s Golf finished tied for fourth with their 859 score over three rounds. Sophomore Kash Bellar won the individual title with his 7-under-par performance over three rounds. “It's about time I've had some really good opportunities to win this spring alone, I just didn't capitalize on and didn't take advantage of the final round,” Bellar said. “I think today I just proved to myself that I can be an elite player. That's the best way to show some other people and teams around the country that I am a pretty good player.”
Ball State baseball needed a sweep of three games to take the Mid-American Conference regular season title, but after day one, those hopes were gone. The series result would be the complete opposite of what the Cardinals wanted as they were the ones who were swept.
After coming in second place in the Mid-American Conference championship, Ball State Men’s Golf looks to the postseason, playing in the first National Golf Invitational (NGI) tournament hosted by Golfweek. The tournament will be held at the Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club in Maricopa, Arizona. The Cardinals qualified with their two tournament titles this spring. With those wins, Ball State gained almost 30 spots in the national rankings.
Ball State Baseball defeated in-state opponent Southern Indiana 12-1 last night. This was the final non-conference game of the season for the Cardinals, improving their record to 33-18. After three innings, Ball State had a 9-0 lead.
Three different head coaches during the season. Multiple injuries. The first home loss in three years. A tall task of defending back-to-back Mid-American Conference (MAC) titles. That’s what the Ball State women’s women’s tennis team (22-4, 9-1 MAC) was faced with during the 2023 season. Despite all of that, it was one of the most historic seasons in program history, and covering every match for the Ball State Daily News taught me so much about how to deal with this thing called adversity.
The Ball State Baseball team won its series with Miami (Ohio), only losing one of the three games. The series took place from May 12-14. The Cardinals dropped the first game and won the last two to take the series.
During the top of the sixth inning of the 2023 Delaware County Championship, the Wapahani Raiders and Delta Eagles were tied at one apiece. Wapahani senior Daniel Blevins, a former Delta student, stepped up to the plate. Until this point, he was zero-for-two on the day. But he would end the contest one-for-three as he destroyed a two-run home run to left field. This helped the Raiders capture their 13th Delaware County Title in program history as they downed the Eagles 4-1.
On their final day of competition, the women’s track and field team scored 70 points on Saturday to take the Mid-American Conference Outdoor Championship title. This is the first MAC Outdoor title since 2001 and the program’s fifth overall. Sophomore Moriah Johnson, freshman Alana Springer, freshman Lindsey Steele and sophomore Jenna Oriani combined for a MAC Championship record time of 44.93 to win in the 4x100m relay.
After falling to No. 1 seed Miami (Ohio) in the first game, the Cardinals needed a win against Central Michigan (29-25, 18-11 MAC) to stay alive in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Tournament. But after falling 4-1, they go down as the first team to be eliminated.
