Voege’s no-hitter sends Blackhawks to win

The REPORTER

Sheridan’s Dayne Voege started the Blackhawks’ baseball sectional quest in the best way possible.

Voege pitched a no-hitter for Sheridan, driving the ‘Hawks to a 3-0 win over Frankton Wednesday in their first-round Sectional 39 game at Lapel. The senior threw 11 strikeouts and had four walks on 107 pitches for Sheridan, which committed no errors in the game.

“This is my first one,” said Voege. “I had a Tommy John (surgery) my sophomore year, so being able to do this with this team is pretty special to me.”

Frankton only threatened in the fourth inning, when three consecutive walks loaded the bases. But Sheridan turned a double play, with first baseman Gavin Schwerdtfeger throwing to catcher Caleb Alexander to get an out at home plate. Voege then threw a strikeout for the third out.

Voege said his defense getting the double play “allowed me to trust my teammates more. I expected them to make a play. They really executed and it took a lot of stress off of me.”

The Blackhawks scored all three of their runs in the sixth inning. Chance Spencer hit a one-out double, then Voege smacked a double into center field to send Spencer home. Voege later scored on an error after Jacob Hall hit a single, then Hall scored on Schwerdtfeger’s center field single.

Spencer and Schwerdtfeger both had two hits, while Braden Whisman also hit a double.

Sheridan is 11-13 and plays Tipton at 5:30 p.m. tonight in the first semifinal game at Lapel. Elwood takes on the host Bulldogs in the second semifinal game afterwards.

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University cruised past Monrovia 9-0 Wednesday to win a first-round game in Sectional 42 at Park Tudor.

The Trailblazers scored five runs in the second inning. Cooper Burnett got the first run on Oliver Kingery’s sacrifice bunt. Ryan Castetter doubled in Phillip Jacobs and Ethan Cutsinger, then Beckett Suh blasted a right field home run, also scoring Castetter.

University put up two more runs in the third inning. Charlie Ranek singled in Burnett, then Ranek scored on an error. Burnett scored another run in the fifth inning on an error, then Ranek doubled in Cutsinger in the seventh inning.

Burnett was 3-for-4 at the plate, while Ranek and Kingery both had two hits, including a double for Ranek. Caleb Stocker pitched five innings for the win.

The Trailblazers are 17-11 and play Cardinal Ritter at 9 a.m. Saturday in the sectional semifinals. Covenant Christian and Park Tudor play the second semifinal at 11:30 a.m.