Starfires to play for title

CHURUBUSCO — The Starfires will once again play for a sectional title.

Anna Nussbaum and Jade Baker combined to throw a no-hitter on Thursday for the South Adams softball team as it thumped the Canterbury Cavaliers 17-1 in five innings to make the Class 2A Sectional 36 championship game for the fourth straight year. 

The Starfires (24-3), who are fifth in the state and three-time defending sectional champions, meet Allen County Athletic Conference rival Adams Central in the championship game at 5:30 p.m. tonight.

South Adams jumped on the Cavaliers with five runs in the top of the first inning and four more in the second. A six-run third frame made it 15-0, and two more in the fourth pushed the score to 17-1 before the Cavs scored an unearned run in the home half of the fourth.

Nussbaum struck out five in two innings, and Baker allowed the unearned run with six strikeouts over the final three innings.

Jenna Myers doubled and knocked in a pair of runs, and Mallory Hirschy had a pair of hits as well. Taylor Augsburger collected two RBIs.



Randall takes sixth

INDIANAPOLIS — Gavin Randall didn’t crack the top 10 as a junior at regional.

He scored the only points for the Patriots as a senior.

Randall had his track career come to a close on Thursday as he finished sixth for the Jay County High School boys track team in the IHSAA regional meet at North Central.

Jay County totaled three points for 26th out of 40 teams. Full team scores were not available.

Randall, who finished in a five-way tie for 11th place as a junior, cleared 6 feet, 2 inches, to place sixth and earn three Patriot points. Kaymren Garrett of Lawrence Central won the title at 6 feet, 10 inches.

Noah Harris (16.44 seconds) and Isaac Robbins (17.36 seconds) were 12th and 16th respectively in the 110-meter hurdles, and Aaron Funkhouser placed 15th in the 400 dash.

The Patriots’ 4x100 relay team was disqualified.

Jay golfers third

Jay County’s boys golf team finished third in a four-team meet it hosted on Thursday at Portland Golf Club.

Heritage won the match with 164, and Woodlan was runner-up at 185. Jay County’s 209 was third while Adams Central shot 234 for fourth. 

Kyle Sanders led the Patriots with his round of 48. Joey Hall shot a career-best 52, two strokes ahead of Devin Harris. Seth Wilson carded a 55.

Matthew Hall shot 68, but did not factor into the team total.

Seth Roop of Heritage was the match medalist with his 3-over par 38.



Banuelos places eighth

MARION — Dario Banuelos took eighth in shot put for the South Adams boys track team in the IHSAA regional meet Thursday.

Oak Hill scored 66 points for the regional crown, beating Carroll by one point. Banuelos’ one team point put South Adams in a five-way tie for 34th out of 39 scoring teams.

Banuelos, a senior, had a put of 47 feet, 8.75 inches.

Starfire sophomore Drew Stutzman placed 13th in the 200-meter dash with his time of 23.65 seconds.



Five pave way

Five players each had four hits in paving the way for Pak-A-Sak to get a 12-1 win against All-Circuit Electrical in Portland Junior League’s Rookie baseball division on Thursday.

Cruz Darby, Tyce Foreman, Cooper Reynolds, Koltyn Garringer and Henry Teeter each had four hits for Pak-A-Sak. Reynolds contributed four RBIs, Foreman knocked in three runs while Darby and Garringer knocked in two runs apiece.

Logan Wendel knocked in three hits in the loss for All-Circuit. Kohen Stephan, Benson Armstrong and Corbin Butler had two hits each.