After a string of not-so-good nights on the diamond, the Reds turned around and had a great one last evening… In their highest-scoring home game of the season, Cincinnati rocked the Pirates in 8 ½ innings, the final 11-5. The Reds scored 5 times in the 4th inning, Spencer Steer and Stuart Fairchild each hitting 2-RBI doubles, and Levi Jordan making his major-league debut for the Reds, getting Cincinnati’s 5th run in, on a sacrifice fly. The Reds scored twice more in the 5th, then in the 6th, Elly De La Cruz capped off the 4-run Cincinnati inning with a monster 2-run homer that flew 439 feet, all the way to the center field steamboat. Jordan also racked up his first big-league base hit in the 6th, when he doubled to right field. Jonathan India, De La Cruz, and Steer combined to go 8 for 13 in the game, with 4 doubles, a home run, and 7 RBI. Carson Spiers pitched 7 innings, earning his first major-league win on the mound. The Reds and Pirates square off again tonight at the Ball Park, and we’ll again have the game for you. The broadcast comes your way at 6:40 this evening, on your Sports Voice, 103.9 WRBI.
All-league selections have been announced for the spring high school seasons just past, in the Eastern Indiana Athletic Conference. East Central captured championships in every sport, but Batesville joined the Trojans as a co-champ in boys’ golf. That made the ‘Dawgs’ golf mentor Ben Siefert the co-Coach of the Year, alongside East Central’s Jeff Spencer. Jon and Leo Moody and Ian Hixson were all-EIAC golfers for Batesville, making the top 12 in the league championship match. Girls’ track & field all-league picks for the Bulldogs were Paige & Megan Allgeier, Bayleigh Demaree, and Kaylie Raver… on the boys’ side, Ayden Eckstein, Hudson Kohlman, Cannon Clark, and Jake Chapman were honored. All-Conference in baseball– Eli Loichinger, Carson Schneider, Chris Lewis, and of course Jack Grunkemeyer. The lone ‘Dawgs’ all-league pick from softball, Calli Fletcher. Despite East Central doing so well, Batesville actually won the EIAC All-Sports Championship for 23-24, with 126 points for its boys’ sports, 105 for the girls. The Trojans ran 3rd behind Connersville in those year-long all-sports standings.
As we mentioned Monday, American swimmer Katie Ledecky, originally from Washington, DC and Maryland, who’s won 21 World Championship medals and 7 Olympic golds so far, will be one of the headliners of the American swimming contingent in Paris. Indiana, however, is also going to be well-represented after the qualifiers in Indy.
Now-3-time Olympian IU grad Lilly King of Evansville headlines that group, winning the 100-meter breaststroke final and taking 2nd in the 200-meter breaststroke. She’ll compete in both events in the Olympics. Lilly, who got engaged after a race last week, will look to add to her 5 previous Olympic medals in Paris.
Carmel is sending swimmers to France as well. The sibling duo of Aaron and Alex Shackell both qualified for their first Olympic Games. Alex will race in the women’s 200-meter butterfly and the 4×200-meter freestyle relay. She’s the first female swimmer from Carmel to ever qualify for the games. Aaron will race in the 400-meter freestyle. He won the final in that event at the trials.
Drew Kibler is headed to his second Olympics, competing in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay. He competed in the same event in Tokyo, where the relay team finished fourth, just missing the podium.
Luke Whitlock of Noblesville will race in the 800-meter freestyle. He just missed out on qualifying for the 1500-meters as well.
The nation’s and the continent’s biggest sports story overnight was the conclusion of the 23-24 NHL hockey season, as the Florida Panthers won their first Stanley Cup, defeating the Edmonton Oilers, 4 games to 3, the score of that final contest, 2-1.