The Versailles Republican Sports
June 4, 2009

Milan Lady Indian softball team delivers "BIG" in 2009

Gary Franklin, Sports Writer
One can correctly assume by the cheek to cheek wide grin on the face of Milan Lady Indian Head Softball Coach Milton Teer, that things have gone well for him and his team this season.
How well, one might ask? The Lady Indian Varsity squad clinched the ORVC Conference Championship Title, delivered Coach Teer the "ORVC Coach of the Year" honor and as of Saturday evening, May 30, won their IHSAA Class 2A Sectional #44 Championship Title bid over the Switzerland County Lady Pacers by the score of 8-2. Adding more sweetness to the victory was the fact that the Lady Indians actually defeated the home tournament hosting SC team on their own ball field in Vevay.
The Sectional begins
Day One - Game One
Leading up to the championship contest, the Milan Lady Indians opened the tournament with a game against the Hauser Lady Jets on Tuesday, May 26. (The tournament onset scheduled to begin on Memorial Day, Monday, May 25, was forced into postponement due to weather conditions.) The Lady Indian's regular season scheduled game against the Lady Jets was cancelled due to weather conditions and was not made up. Therefore the teams met on the sectional field as the first time to face one another this year.
The Lady Indians managed to hang on to and win by a final score of 3-1 over the Lady Jets, slating them for second round action against the bye receiving Southwestern Hanover Lady Rebels.
Day Two - Game One
On Wednesday evening, May 28, the hosting Switzerland County Lady Pacers opened the second day's game action in a battle with the North Decatur Lady Chargers. The SC Lady Pacers captured the win by a final score of 4-0, earning the right to advance.
Day Two - Game Two
The second game featured the Lawrenceburg Lady Tigers against the South Ripley Lady Raiders. Even though taking a 5-1 lead into the top of the seventh inning looked to be a safe bet with the Lady Raiders, that would not be the case as they fell to the Lady Tigers after 8 innings by the score of 5-6.
Day Three - Game One
The Milan Lady Indians and the Southwestern Hanover Lady Rebels met for battle on Saturday, May 30 at high noon. With the chance to advance to the championship contest on the line, the Lady Indians took the Lady Rebels out of contention by the final score of 7-0.
Day Three - Game Two
The hosting Switzerland County Lady Pacers and the Lawrenceburg Lady Tigers played to a 0-0 tie in regulation action, forcing an extra inning to determine a winner. The Lady Pacers hung on to score and earned a ticket into the home hosted championship event.
The Championship Game
Eager to prove themselves worthy, the Milan Lady Indians went to work and earned a decisive 8-2 victory over the opposing SC Lady Pacers, earning an invitation to play in Regional action on Saturday, June 6, at Indianapolis Scecina HS against Lapel HS.
Lapel HS holds a 12-11 season record to date while the Lady Indians stand at 24-4. In the bottom of the bracket, hosting Scecina stands at 25-4 with their opponent Shenandoah @ 17-7. Scecina and Shenandoah are to square off at noon.
The Lady Indian Regional opener is to commence at 10 a.m., with the winner slated to play at 4 p.m. for the Regional Championship Title.
We wish the Lady Indians continued success on their Class 2A extended season pursuit.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Jac-Cen-Del Eagles win '09 Baseball Sectional #60 Championship Title

Gary Franklin, Sports Writer
The Jac-Cen-Del Eagles met with a gratifying Coach David Bradshaw, immediately following their fourth straight IHSAA Class 1A Baseball Sectional Championship Title win, on Tuesday evening, June 2, at the Shawe HS baseball field.
The Eagle coach has been one of the blessed souls in '09 sports with a IHSAA State Basketball Championship earlier in the school year and now an opportunity once again to advance his Eagle baseball club to extended season action.
The '09 Eagle baseball team roster includes four senior players: Blake Sutton, Gerald Hardesty, Jacob Gaither and Craig Houk, of which Sutton and Hardesty have been a part of the consecutive four year run on Sectional Championship teams in each of those years.
This years season began with extended basketball action running into legal baseball practice time, followed by rain that kept practice to a minimum at best, then pretty unusual conclusions to Eagle baseball games.
Many times in gist, Coach Bradshaw would tell his players he was going to label them his "Rain Team". Seems if it wasn't raining literally, it was raining baseballs on the Eagle defensive efforts.
Eventually, as the season progressed and the team got fully into the "Swing of Things", so to speak, they turned the "I don't know year into the Yes we Can" season that has rightfully grown to become an expected tradition for Coach Bradshaw coached teams of extend season action.
Regional information
Next on the Eagle agenda is a trip to Shakamak High School on Saturday, June 6, where they will face Regional opponent Edinburgh Lancers in the second game of the day opening at 1 p.m. The Regional site opener is to get underway at 11 a.m. at Shakamak HS between the hosting Shakamak Lakers and the winner of the Ind, Luth. held sectional sites (Ind. Luth vs University).
The Regional Championship is set for an 8 p.m. opening pitch.
Sectional #60 action
The 2009 IHSAA Class 1A Baseball Sectional #60 was hosted by Shawe Memorial High School beginning with a game between the hosting Hilltoppers and the South Decatur Cougars on Saturday, May 30.
The Cougars earned the 7-0 victory to advance to round two.
Day 2, Game One
Sectional #60 continued on Monday, June 1 with a match between the Jac-Cen-Del Eagles and the Oldenburg Academy Twisters, resulting in an Eagle win by the final score of 11-3 over the Twisters for a spot on the championship ticket.
Day 2, Game Two
Mondays' second game featured the Rising Sun Shiners against the South Decatur Cougars, with the Shiners earning the right to advance to the championship game with their 7-2 win.
Championship Game
The championship game between the Jac-Cen-Del Eagles and the Rising Sun Shiners was played on Tuesday evening, June 2, with the Eagles advancing to the Regional at Shakamak HS.
Coach David Bradshaw selected his left handed Eagle hurler Derek Lunsford for the games opening duties from the mound, but as the visiting team on the score board, they would first take a tour through the batters box.
Senior Eagle Blake Sutton led off for the Eagles with a single, followed by a Derek Lunsford hit. With two on base, Shane Adams went down on strikes for the first out. Senior Craig Houk drilled a hard shot through the right side of the infield to drive home both base runners for the early 2-0 JCD lead. The Eagles would not score again until the top of the fourth inning when Designated Hitter Zachary Kappes' single led to a Blake Sutton RBI for their third run of the game.
At 3-0, the Shiners came to life and scored two runs in short order to cut the game to a one point Eagle edge. After holding the Eagles in the top of the fifth, the Shiners again struck for the 3-3 tie.
Eagle defense tightened up and with the help of a couple of Lunsford strikeout victims rang up, halted the Shiner attack, stranding three runners on the base path.
Eagle Pitcher Derek Lunsford helped himself tremendously with a shot over the left center field fence to put JCD back on top 4-3.
Lunsford fanned three of the seven Shiner batters to enter the batters box in innings six and seven, helping to protect the narrow one run lead and eventual win.