The Mail-Journal, Volume 21, Number 21, Milford, Kosciusko County, 6 June 1984 — Page 8

THE MAIL-JOURNAL - Wed., June 6,1984

8

Sports

Face Blazers in regional —

Warriors celebrate sectional title

By TOM CHARLES Sports Editor Thanks to some long-overdue offense, sharp defense and strong pitching, the Wawasee Warriors marched to their first baseball sectional crown in nine years with a 5-2 win over Goshen last Saturday. The Warriors advanced to the championship game with a narrow 1-0 win over an improved Fairfield squad. Goshen waltzed into the finale in surprising style, downing a tough Jimtown team by the score of 8-1. Wawasee now advances to the second game of the South Bend Regional at Clay Park. The Warriors, 15-15 on the year, will face Elkhart Central (24-6) in the 2 p.m. contest. Saint Joseph’s and Prairie Heights are scheduled to collide in the 11 a m opener. The championship is slated for 8 p.m. . Although the Warriors had a comfortable three-run margin in the finale, Wawasee fans had to endure some tense moments in the final two innings Senior hurler Brian Henson, who pitched the final 2’ 3 frames against Fairfield, struggled to maintain his form with a 5-0 lead in the sixth inning. Henson retired the first two men he faced, then gave up three singles, a walk and two runs. That set the stage for one of the day’s best plays With two men on and two out, Goshen’s Jeremy Zentz stepped to the plate. Zentz, who was 8-10 in the sectional, drilled a long fly ball to right field. Wawasee s Kevin Tracey made a leaping catch just a few feet from the fence to end the Redskin rally. “I thought we played,some super defense," said coach Myron Dickerson “Tracey, for one, made a great catch." That rally was the only real threat the Redskins could against Henson's strong arm. He allowed only five hits and one walk while striking out six. The two sectional wins raised his

Dickerson bows out of baseball after four years at Wawasee

By TOM CH ARLES Sports Editor For Myron Dickerson* Saturday’s sectional victory will be one of the pleasant memories he carries with him upon leaving the Wawasee baseball program at the end of the current campaign. Arriving at a time when the baseball program had fallen on hard times. Dickerson has worked to put the Warriors on a par with their tough Northern Lakes Conference foes. This sectional trophy is a witness to that work. The Warriors had won only eight games in the three seasons prior to Dickerson’s arrival. Under his guidance, the Warriors improved to 18-12 in 1983 and followed that with this year’s sectional heroics. Still. Dickerson says it’s time to hang up the spikes. “It is a time thing.’’ Dickerson said in reference to his resignation. “I really didn’t come here with the intent of coaching baseball, but I was asked to take the job and did.’’ Stepping down from his

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record to 10-5 on the year. “Brian had to be very tired those last two innings,” Dicker? son said. “But he kept pumping in strikes. He just had to go ahead and do the job the best that he could.” “Henson is a great pitcher,” echoed Goshen coach Devon Hoffman. “He refused to quit at the end.” < As it turned out, the Warriors scored all the runs they needed in the third inning. Following singles by Dave Kistler and Jeff Carden, Tony Blackburn laced a double to right-center off Goshen starter Jesse Alvarado. Kistler, who tagged up at second on the play, barely made it to home plate in front of the streaking Carden. Goshen catcher Al Kemper missed the tag on Kistler and failed to see Carden who slid in on Kistler’s heels. Blackburn then came around to score on a single by Tracey Ryman. Alvarado was lifted from the game in the fourth inning in favor of Byron Holden. Holden, who shutout the Warriors 4-0 earlier in the season, was greeted by solo runs in both the fifth and sixth frames. ‘T think this group of kids played hard because they are outstanding competitors,” Dickerson said. “They played this one for pride and for the school.” “The win makes me feel good," he added. "But I feel extra happy a for the four seniors who have really dedicated themselves to this game. They have all worked hard in the off season, and that is what it takes to make yourself a good player.” Blackburn, Carden and Rob Jewson each had two hits in the championship game. Overall, it was the Warriors finest offensive performance since they pounded out 18 hits in a 15-13 win over Fort Wayne North on May 12. • “We spent a lot of time during the week working on bunting and hitting,” Dickerson said. “We

MYRON DICKERSON baseball duties will give Dickerson more time to concentrate on Wawasee’s football program Although he is looking forward to that opportunity, he still enjoys the sport he is leaving. “I don't feel burned out on

just wanted to do the things we had to do in order to score runs.” Semi-final Senior Tony Blackburn came through with a solid pitching performance to keep the Warriors even with the upset-minded Falcons for most of the semi-final contest. Blackburn, who entered the tournament with a 2-3 record, hurled 4% sharp innings before loading the bases with two out in the fifth. At that point, Dickerson brought on Henson who got Myron Bontrager to ground out and end the threat. The Warriors used that momentum to rally in the bottom of the frame for the lone run of the contest. Junior Brad Mitchell singled and stole second to open the inning. He scored on a Jeff Carden line drive which was juggled and dropped by Falcon center fielder Steve Kammerdiener, who made an excellent diving effort on the play. The Falcons did not threaten in the final two innings. However, shortstop Dave Kistler came through with two fine assists in the sixth inning, showing good to his left and a good throwing arm. The Warriors Rallied five hits off Falcon starter Ben Neff. Blackburn allowed both Fairfield hits in his 4^ 3 innings of work. Henson struck out four Falcons in 2’3 innings. Regional The Blue Blazers, who zapped Memorial 11-3 in the Elkhart Sectional championship, are sure to give the Warriors a tough test on Saturday. In an April 6 clash at Elkhart, Central trimmed Wawasee, 8-7. Central owns a 24-6 record and is riding a nine-game winning streak. Clay Park is located on Darden Road in South Bend. Fans are advised to take Cleveland Road west to Kenilworth Road, and then take Kenilworth north until it intersects with Darden Road. The Warriors are scheduled for the 2 p.m. contest.

baseball.” he added. “I love being with the kids, especially because they are so positive. I enjoy coaching because it gives me a chance to be in a positive situation even though I may have had a rough day at school.” Baseball has been in Dickerson’s blood since his playing days in high school and college. After playing at Ball State University, he moved on to the coaching ranks at East Noble, Penn and Fort Wayne North before coming to Wawasee. During those years he was part of a regionalchampion team at East Noble and a sectional-champion team at Penn. “I feel very good about the time I’ve coached at Wawasee,” Dickerson said. “We’ve worked hard to improve the facilities and I think that we have built up a good summer program which is going to help us in future years.” Dickerson’s replacement, JV coach Scott Siler, stands to inherit most of the benefits from that summer program. Os the 29 players on this year's team. 15 are freshmen. That’s good news for the incoming mentor. "I'm excited about the new opportunity,” said Siler, whose father is the head coach at Elkhart Memorial. "This is the kind of chance I’ve wanted.” "Scott’s a fine young coach,” Dickerson added. “His first love is baseball and I’m sure that he will do a good job.”

Milford /Merchants -XaO Erving Paper rallied for 11 Bat 6:15 p.m. against Kreiger runs in the sixth inning to handed Brothers. the Milford Merchants their first loss of the softball season on Fri- xday in Ligonier. Erving Paper is The Merchants jumped out to Milford Merchants u early leads of 9-1 and 12-7, but wound up on the short end of an Player ab h r 18-14 score. The loss drops S.Troup 5 2 3 Milford’s record to 4-1 overall D. Troup 3 o o and 4-1 inleague play. J; * aiser 4 0 1 Bill Richardson cracked two « ? singles and a triple in four trips to T Yoder 11? the plate to pace the Milford of- P stichter 4 2 1 sense. Steve Troup scored three d Lechlitner 322 runs. M. Sumpter 4 11 The next game is Friday, June D. Beer 320

T j 222992 k 922295 -.oogoogoo pool fcv-x-cvcveeoc-rOOPOaC a P&C SOgOgOOi, W ■gpOftCOOOM - Ml "MVI i BBtßb ■” ■TB B 1 B * ~ A* t 1 - K-:'-CELEBRATE — Wawasee's Tim Fraser, left, and Tony Blackburn proudly raise the baseball sectional championship trophy after the Warriors defeated Goshen 5-2 on Saturday. Joining in the celebration are Jeff Carden, center, and Brian Henson. Henson was credited with both Wawasee wins in sectional play. (Photo by Tom Charles) i-

Warriors sneak into state finals

By MARK WEINSTEIN Sports Writer Rudy Cesco just wanted the opportunity to take his experienced Wawasee golf team to the state finals. A year ago, Cesco had his boys primed for semistate action, but they failed to. make the cut. Tuesday afternoon Cesco’s dream came true as the Warriors qualified for the state finals with a 333 team score. Fort Wayne Northrup won the semistate round with, a 310, and will take its seven-stroke lead into today’s finals. Noblesville was second with a 317 while. Lafayette Jeff and Kokomo Haworth tied for third with a 319 score. Lebanon and Terre Haute South tied for fifth place with a 327 as Merrillville and South Bend Adams were knotted together at 328 for seventh position. Wawasee rounded out the teams that qualified with its 333. It was a day of surprises for the 20-team semistate field. First off, Michigan City Elston, ranked second in the state, failed to make the cut. Elston, which captured the LaPorte Regional a week ago, six strokes better than the Warriors, gave Wawasee the push it needed into the finals. “We kept watching the field after we finished.” said a very happy Cesco. "The scores kept getting higher and higher. Then we saw Michigan City Elston's second golfer (Kirk Stark) come in with an 88. It was that score that gave us the ninth spot.” Another surprise was not so nice to see for Cesco. Wawasee’s top golfer, Jeff Atwood, struggled on the front nine with a 45. before

turning his game around on the back nine to finish with an 84. “Jeff had a very tough front nine,” admitted Cesco. "He had five penalty shots on the front, but he came around on the backside.” Although the coach was surprised with Atwood’s troubled front nine, he was not surprised with Brayn Beaty’s 42-40-82 and David Schacht’s 42-41-83. "Bryan has the potential of being our number one golfer,” insisted Cesco. “He is a very good golfer, and I expect him to have another good day today.” Schacht on the other hand was spectacular, except on four holes. “David played well today, but his game could of been a lot better,” said Cesco. "He had four doublebogies. and they weren’t on too hard of holes either.” Keith Burbank continued to add to the surprising day as he shot an impressive 84. Kim Zurcher rounded out the Warrior’s scoring with an 87, well below his norm. "Zurch just had a day when everything he hit went bad,” said Cesco. “His game depicted how the team played. We didn’t play up to our normal ability, and we still made the field which is very exciting.” Although Wawasee was able to make the field. Cesco doubts whether the Warriors will be able to capture the state title. Wawasee trails front running Fort Wayne Northrop by 23 strokes.

i-Sports shorts

Family swim daily at Wawasee The Wawasee High School pool is currently open Monday through Friday from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. for a family swim hour. According to Tim Caldwell, who is in charge of the program, students must be accompanied by an adult if they wish to swim. The cost is 50 cents per session. However, parents who are present to supervise their children and do not swim are admitted free. “I am hopeful that we can keep this program going until mid-July,” Caldwell said. “It all depends on how many people turn out to use the pod. If we can’t get enough, we’ll just have to cancel.” This is the first year for the family swim program.

lirl ** *•» *>. <*• X-• -*■ u* ÜBtbSf Br ■ x£92 x¥ ow-•IuBvB 0w -• IuBvB ■ | Be SWINGING AWAY — Tim Fraser takes a big Cut at a Ben Neff pitch during Wawasee’s opening sectional clash against Fairfield. The Warriors edged the Falcons by the score of 1-0. Howie Mathews is the Fairfield catcher. (Photo by Tom Charles) . 1 nB I L: Ai j? 4 BL \ \ \ JiMh I ill jp.. • V* UNDER THE TAG — Wawasee shortstop Dave Kistler slides back to first under the tag of Goshen's Doug Dischler during the sectional champioship game on Saturday. Kistler and his Warrior teammates grabbed the school’s third sectional crown, the first in nine years, with a convincing 5-2 win over the Redskins. (Photo by Tom Charles)

"That would be incredible if we pulled it off,” referring to the state crown. "The top five teams would have to collapse, and we would have to have a career day in order to win it.” With the realization of the fact that a state championship is almost out of their grasps. Cesco and his team are looking to improve in the standings. “We want to shoot better, and move up in the standings,” said Cesco. “We know we didn’t shoot that well yesterday, but we are still alive, and we want to go out playing our best golf of the year.” "This is a great thrill for the kids, as well as for myself,” said Cesco. “We are just tickled pink about being in the state championship. What we do today is just icing on the cake.” Wawasee, despite its 333 score entering today’s play, has a good chance of finishing in the top five. Presently, the Warriors are six strokes behind Lebanon and Terre Haute South for fifth place. Area players semistate scores Jeff Schumaker 80 Bryan Beaty 82 Tim Harman 83 Nick Weybright 83 Jeff Atwood 84 Keith Burbank 84 Chad Kilmer 86 Kim Zurcher 87 Jeff Reigsecker . 88 Dave Zehr ? 89 Scott Kaufmann 90

Track camp set for Wawasee Former Wawasee High School track standouts Mark Reiff and Dave Wollman will return to Syracuse to conduct the Cardinal and Blue Track Camp June 24-29. Reiff, field events coach at Yale University, and Wollman, a coach at Stanford University, are two of the leading field events coaches in the nation. They will be joined at the camp by Wawasee High School track coach Jerry Minton. The camp is open to male and female athletes of any skill level who are 10 years of age or older. Each athlete will be put through a series of tests to identify his/her skill level

Bh LEADS WAWASEE TO STATE — Bryan Beaty shot an 82 during Tuesday’s semistate action and will lead the Warrior’s into today’s state finals round in Indianpolis. (Photo by Mark Weinstein)

and potential. Training programs will be designed for athletes on the basis of these tests. Campers may commute daily or stay at the Oakwood Park Lodge on Lake Wawasee. Each camper must carry insurance. Syracuse camp to host soccer instruction ’ Smith-Walbridge Camp, Syracuse, will host a soccer camp July 29 through August 2. Instructors for the camp will be provided by the Kalamazoo Soccer School under the direction of Dr. Hardy Fuchs. The camp is open to boys and girls ages 10-18. No

previous soccer experience in necessary. For more information and a brochure, contact SmithWalbridge Camp, P.O. Box 367, Syracuse, Ind. 46567. Tennis tourney at Gndoyway Shores Cindonway Shores will be the site of an amateur tennis tournament on July 21 and 22. The single-elimination tournament is open to 24 teams. The tournament will be run with no-ad scoring and the first team to win eight games will advance to the next set. Each team must provide an unopened can of tennis balls. More information may be obtained by contacting Cindy Harper at 658-4009 or 658-4903.