Seventh-inning rally sends Rocks past Royals

The REPORTER

Westfield rallied by scoring two runs in the seventh inning at Hamilton Southeastern on Thursday, and that carried the Shamrocks to a 5-4 Hoosier Crossroads Conference victory at Ken Seitz Field.

The Royals scored the game’s first run in the first inning. Parker O’Steen hit a two-out double then scored on Cy Cole’s base hit.

Westfield jumped ahead 3-1 in the top of the second. Maddox Novotney singled in Kasen Jessup, then Andrew Noble smacked a double to score Gabe Garcia and Novotney.

Southeastern tied the game in the fifth inning. O’Steen doubled Jackson Bixler home then scored on an error. In the sixth inning, the Royals took a 4-3 lead after Nick Bach batted Karson Seitz home.

But the Rocks moved ahead in the seventh inning. Noble scored on Aiden Grabowski’s sacrifice fly, then Nick Fero doubled in the go-ahead run, sending Beck Jordan home.

Jordan also hit a double. Starting pitcher Corey Wilhelm struck out seven in six innings, then James Kovacs pitched the last two innings and got the win.

O’Steen was 3-for-4 at the plate. Spencer Mohr pitched a complete game, striking out nine.

Both teams are 7-4 in the conference and continue the HCC series tonight at Westfield. Overall, the Rocks are 12-9-1 and the Royals are 17-8.

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Guerin Catholic started fast and cruised to a 19-4, 5-inning home win over Beech Grove on Thursday.

The Golden Eagles totaled 18 hits as a team. Ian Taylor was 3-for-3 at the plate, also scoring three runs and batting in three. Ben Canada hit two doubles, leading to three RBIs; he also scored three runs. Karson Smith smacked a triple for one of his two hits and batted in three runs.

Liam Zorger, Brody Cain and Carson Kail each hit one double. Nolan Ratcliff scored three runs. Jayce Cunningham got the pitching win.

The Golden Eagles are 18-3-1 and play at the Silver Creek Invitational on Saturday.

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University cruised past Eastern Hancock 7-0 Thursday at RoundTripper Academy.

Sterling Davis Jr. singled in Oliver Kingery in the second inning to get the Trailblazers on the board. Philip Jacobs scored in the third inning after Cooper Cammack hit a sacrifice fly.

University put up four runs in the fourth inning to take a 6-0 lead. Finn Steiner singled in Kingery, then Beckett Suh smacked a three-run double, scoring Steiner, Ethan Cutsinger and Jacobs.

Hudson Walloch scored in the sixth inning on David Gasper’s RBI fielder’s choice.

Suh had a perfect night, hitting 3-for-3. Kingery hit a double. Caleb Stocker got the pitching win.

The Blazers are 16-8 and host Arsenal Tech on Tuesday.

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Fishers picked up a home HCC win over Franklin Central, 7-2 on Thursday.

The Tigers started strong with three runs in the first inning. Carter Strole doubled in Ethan Buelt, Owen Lukac scored after David Pina reached on error, then Isaac Fernandez batted in Strole.

Fernandez struck again in the third inning with a two-run triple, bringing in Strole and Collin Bumps. Vincent Pecoraro brought Fernandez home with a sacrifice fly, giving Fishers a 6-0 lead. Pina doubled in Buelt for a fourth-inning run.

Strole was flawless at the plate, hitting 3-for-3. Buelt also hit a double. Hayden Werner threw five innings for the win, striking out nine.

The Tigers are 7-4 in the conference and 12-12 overall. Fishers completes the HCC series tonight at Franklin Central.

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Sheridan dropped a home Hoosier Heartland Conference game to Clinton Prairie 7-0 on Thursday.

Levi Gellert had two hits for the Blackhawks and Brayden Whisman had one hit. Jake Hall pitched 5.2 innings, striking out six.

Sheridan is 3-4 in conference play and 8-10 overall. The Hawks travel to Clinton Central this afternoon for another HHC contest.

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Hamilton Heights fell to McCutcheon 14-0 in a five-inning home game on Thursday.

The Huskies were held to two hits, one each from Dillon Pitts and Tyson Upchurch. Greyden Dahlstrom threw four strikeouts in two innings.

Heights is 6-13 and hosts Benton Central tonight in the Hoosier Conference placement game.