The Reds held on for a victory last night, topping the Yankees 5-4 in New York. The winning pitcher was the Reds’ Graham Ashcraft, who’s now 5 & 4 on the season. New York’s Luis Gil taking the loss. Elly De La Cruz tripled for the Reds leading off the 4th inning, then crossed the plate for Cincinnati’s first score on a ground ball to 2nd base. Stuart Fairchild was hit by a pitch leading off the 5th, and that set up Will Benson’s home run. Jonathan India was then also hit by a pitch from New York’s Gil, and De La Cruz followed that with his 15th homer of the year. Ashcraft started on the mound for Cincinnati and kept New York off the board for 5 innings, but gave up 3 runs in the bottom of the 6th. Fernando Cruz and Alexis Diaz combined late in the game, to shut the Yankees down in the final 2 innings, Diaz chalking up his 18th save of the season. The series continues tonight at Yankee Stadium. We’ll again have all the action for you, beginning at 6:35, on the Sports Voice, 103.9 WRBI.
Several local baseballers are doing well too, these young men chosen for the Academic All-State team, by the state Coaches’ Association. From Batesville High, Eli Loichinger and Carter Bohman are on that list, along with Adam Kunkel of South Dearborn, and Ty Litmer from North Decatur. Each player in that elite group had to be strong in several factors, including high standardized test scores and grade point average, plus ranking among their class.
South Decatur pitcher Devin Pate has also been recognized for his skills, and been named to the Coaches’ Class Single-A All-State baseball team. From Class 3A, Batesville’s Jack Grunkemeyer got an Honorable Mention.
There’s of course a lot of basketball going on in the state, one of each summer’s top events being the Charlie Hughes Shootout in Indianapolis. Our Rob Lafary reports the South Ripley Raiders really did well this year. Cole Henry earned a spot on the all-tournament team, and his Ripley teammate Blaine Ward, who scored 42 points in a hard-fought 81-72 upset of Southport, was named to the shootout’s “All-Get-Buckets” squad. Ward and Henry were also named by the Indy Star as a pair of the top talents in the entire event. Raider freshman Blake Gunter also got a spot on the all-frosh team there, and that 9-point South Ripley win over Southport was called one of the best games and biggest upsets of the shootout.