Rossville baseball returns to Loeb Stadium Saturday for the IHSAA Boys Baseball Semi-State Tournament, where they will battle No.1 Kouts for a spot in the Semi-State Championship and a chance to play for a State Title.
The winner of this game will play the winner of Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian versus North Miami in the Semi-State Championship. The Championship game will be played at 7:30.
Game Details:
Rossville (19-11) vs Kouts (29-1) – IHSAA Semi-State Semifinal Saturday, June 13, 2:00 p.m., Loeb Stadium, 2250 Wallace Ave, Lafayette, IN 47904.
Scouting Rossville:
The Hornets average 7.03 runs scored per game while allowing 3.43. Rossville is ranked No. 10 in the latest 1A poll by the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association.
Offensively, Nolan Britt leads the Hornets with a .405 batting average, while Zac Wainscott paces the team in hits (33), runs (29 and RBIs (32). Britt, Wainscott and Levi Darnell all have two home runs on the season
On the mound, Eli Barnes leads the team with a 1.78 earned run average in 55 innings pitched. Barnes and Wainscott lead the team in strikeouts with 66 and 69, respectively. Opponents are batting .212 this season when facing Wainscott and .256 when facing Barnes.
Scouting Kouts:
The Mustangs average 10.2 runs per game while allowing 2.33. Kouts is ranked No. 1 in the latest 1A poll by the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association.
Offensively, sophomore Billy Miller leads the team with a .488 batting average. Miller is also pacing the club in hits (41), runs (53) and home runs (5). Landon Garrett leads the team with 43 RBIs.
Miller has also been one of the best pitchers in the state. Across 42.2 innings, Miller has a 0.33 ERA, 77 strikeouts and just nine walks. Landon Garrett has also been effective on the mound, delivering 39.2 innings with a 1.59 ERA.
Team and Matchup History:
Rossville has one Semi-State Championship, winning in 2016-2017. Kouts also has one Semi-State Championship, winning their first last year. This is the first matchup between Rossville and Kouts.
How To Listen:
The game will be available to listen to on WILO. Tune in on the radio on 96.9, 1570 AM or Boone 102.7. Listen online via the WILO app, or at ClintonCountyDailyNews.com. The broadcast begins at 1:45 with pregame coverage before first pitch at 2:00.
Coverage Brought to You By:
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]]>Behind a complete game shutout from Eli Barnes, Rossville baseball claimed its fourth-ever Regional Championship, defeating Riverton Parke 3-0 on Saturday.
“I’m just proud of our guys,” Rossville head coach Brad Scott said. “It’s not about me, the kids put in so much work and I’m just so happy for them.”
Rossville got on the board in the second after a walk, a stolen base and a wild pitch.
“The real strength of our offense is when we can get the leadoff guy on base,” Scott said. “Then we can play our style, whether it’s running, stealing, getting a dirt ball, getting a bunt down or whatever. But I think all three innings we scored, we had leadoff guys on.”
The Hornets extended their lead in the third with an RBI double from Evan McDonald, pushing the score to 2-0.
Riverton Parke didn’t get much traffic in the first three innings, mustering just two baserunners. But the Panthers had their best opportunity to score in the fourth, when the first three batters reached base.
With the bases loaded and nobody out, Barnes enticed a ground ball that the Hornets turned into a 1-2-3 double play, allowing them to escape the jam without surrendering a run.
“I knew I had to stay calm and make my pitch every time,” Senior pitcher Eli Barnes said. “I know it might not always go our way, but I need to do what I can to not give it up for free.
Rossville got out of another jam in the fifth thanks to a heads-up play by right fielder AJ Kelly, who made a running grab and threw behind the runner at first to get the double play.
Again, the Hornets used small ball to their advantage in the bottom of the fifth, as Andrew Woolen earned a leadoff walk, advanced on a wild pitch, was bunted to third by Nolan Britt, and brought in with a sac-fly from Zac Wainscott.
Barnes made quick work of the Panthers in the final two frames, firing only three pitches in the sixth inning and striking out the final two in the seventh.
“You have to trust him,” Scott said regarding his All-Star pitcher. “He’s been in these situations so many times, he’s never getting a weaker opponent when he pitches; he’s battle-tested.”
Barnes finished with more strikeouts, eight, than baserunners allowed, seven. With the shutout, Barnes brought his season ERA to 1.78.
The Hornets only recorded three hits in the game, two coming from Nolan Britt. But registered five walks and reached once on an error.
The win marks the Hornets’ first Regional championship since 2019, and fourth in program history.
Rossville advances to the Semi-State round, where they will battle against No. 1 Kouts for a spot in the Semi-State Championship. The game will be played at Loeb Stadium in Lafayette and will take place after Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian vs. North Miami. Listen to the game on WILO.
Coverage of the Regional Championship was brought to you by:
Milner Community Healthcare
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]]>Tomorrow on WILO, Rossville baseball takes on Riverton Parke in the Regional Championship at Loeb Stadium.
The Hornets, 18-11 on the year, advanced to the Regional with a 5-2 win over No. 2 Clinton Prairie in the Sectional Championship.
Rossville, ranked No. 10 in 1A, takes on Riverton Parke, who won Sectional 53 by defeating Fountain Central 5-0.
The Panthers are 17-12 on the season, and won the Wabash River Conference with a 12-2 record.
Rossville has had strong pitching all season from Indiana All-Star Eli Barnes. Barnes delivered with nine punchouts in the Sectional Championship.
Riverton Parke’s Eli Roberts leads the way with 32 hits, 24 RBIs and a .348 batting average.
On the mound, Brody McConnell leads the Panthers with 50 strikeouts and a 3.43 earned run average.
Zac Wainscott paces the Hornets’ offense with 33 hits and 31 RBIs.
The game begins at 11 a.m. at Loeb Stadium in Lafayette. Tune in at 10:45 for pregame coverage.
Listen live on WILO 96.9/1570 AM/102.7 or online at ClintonCountyDailyNews.com or on the WILO app.
Coverage brought to you by:
The Farmers Bank
Milner Community Healthcare
Wampler’s Services, Inc.
Treece’s Restaurant and Lounge
]]>The Rossville Hornets defeated the Clinton Prairie Gophers 5-2 in the Sectional 54 Championship game on Monday night.
“We build our schedule to prepare for this,” Rossville coach Brad Scott said. “We’ve been tested throughout the entire year. There’s no rollover with this team and this senior class.”
Rossville trailed early, giving up two runs in the first inning, but shut out the No. 2-ranked Gophers the rest of the way.
Pitching was the key for Rossville, as Indiana All-Star Eli Barnes held Clinton Prairie scoreless from the second through the sixth inning.
“I think going into the first inning, I was a little bit amped up, a little nervous,” Barnes said. “But I just trusted my defense, trusted my stuff, and went out there and pitched like I have all year long, not overthinking it.”
Barnes struck out nine in six innings of work, including retiring the final eight batters he faced. 
“He’s (Barnes) been lights out for us since his freshman year, really,” Scott said. “We knew coming in, it’s such a big game, that he was going to be a little amped up, and it would take him a little bit of time to find his groove. But once he settled in, he was what we expected him to be. He’s such an anchor at the top of our pitching staff.”
After stranding runners in the first and second innings, the Hornets broke through in the third as Ashton Abbott delivered a two-out single that scored two and gave Rossville a 3-2 lead.
Later in the fifth, Abbott was one of two Hornets to convert on a sacrifice and add some insurance runs as Rossville pushed the lead to 5-2.
In the bottom of the seventh, Zac Wainscott came in to close the game out.
After two quick outs, the Gophers got a pair of singles and a walk to load the bases and bring a potential winning run to the plate.
The next Gopher popped it up, and Hornet third basemen Brogan Lanum made the squeeze for the final out, giving Rossville the Sectional Championship.
“These boys are so bought in,” Scott said. “These guys have been with me for four years: Zac Wainscott, Eli Barnes, Levi Darnell, and Ashton Abbott. Those guys are four-year starters for me. So this one means the world, it’s special.”
Abbott led the way with three RBIs, while Lanum and Darnell contributed one each. In the loss, Wyatt Harshbarger had three hits, Gaige Kuzmicz finished with two hits and an RBI and senior All-Star Kye Jacobs had two hits, scored a run and fired three scoreless innings in relief.
The Hornets advance to the Regional Championship game, where they’ll take on Riverton Parke at Loeb Stadium in Lafayette on Saturday at 11 a.m.
Coverage of baseball and Softball Sectionals on WILO is brought to you by:
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Wampler’s Services, Inc.
Home National Bank
Davis Comfort Solutions
]]>Tonight on WILO, Rossville battles Clinton Prairie in the baseball Sectional 54 Championship.
Rossville defeated Bethesda Christian 21-3, while Clinton Prairie took down Frontier 10-0.
The matchup pits two top-ten teams in 1A against each other for the Sectional Championship.
The Gophers got the best of the Hornets in last year’s Sectional, winning 12-10. They also defeated Rossville in the regular season 8-2.
Listen live on WILO 96.9/1570 AM/102.7 or online at ClintonCountyDailyNews.com or on the WILO app.
Coverage of baseball and Softball Sectionals on WILO is brought to you by:
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Collisions Unlimited
Milner Community Health Care
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Home National Bank
Davis Comfort Solutions
]]>The boys’ track and field Regionals took place on Thursday at Lafayette Jefferson High School.
Here is how the local athletes performed and who is advancing to the State Finals.
First, second and third place regional winners in all individual events and relays, plus any individual or relay team meeting the 3 Participant Standard in the regional finals of their event.
Congratulations to Owen Hudspith of Frankfort, who won the Regional Championship in Pole Vault.
100 Meter Dash
5th – Francisco Luyindula, Lebanon
200 Meter Dash
2nd – Francisco Luyindula, Lebanon
400 Meter Dash
15th – Aiden Duff, Carroll
800 Meter Run
12th – Spencer Dunn, Clinton Central
3200 Meter
10th – Leo Hernandez, Delphi
13th – Carter Cline, Clinton Central
110 Meter Hurdles
3rd – Daniel Richards, Lebanon
300 Meter Hurdles
3rd – Daniel Richards, Lebanon
7th – Matthew Dunn, Clinton Central
15th – Levi Jacobs, Clinton Central
4×100 Meter Relay
3rd – Lebanon
4×400 Meter Relay
12th – Carroll
14th – Frankfort
4×800 Meter Relay
12th – Clinton Central
High Jump
9th – Brody Ray, Carroll
Long Jump
9th – Connor Rios, Clinton Prairie
Pole Vault
Champion – Owen Hudspith, Frankfort (16-0 PR)
15th – Niko Trepcos, Lebanon
Discuss
5th – Kingston Ayres, Carroll
Shot Put
8th – Kingston Ayres, Carroll
]]>Tonight on WILO, listen to a pair of Sectional 54 Baseball games at Carroll.
Up first, the Clinton Prairie Gophers take on the Carroll Cougars at 5:00 p.m.
Game two is the Rossville Hornets against the Bethesda Christian Patriots.
The winners advance to Monday’s Sectional Championship.
Listen live on WILO 96.9/1570 AM/102.7 or online at ClintonCountyDailyNews.com or on the WILO app.
Coverage of baseball and Softball Sectionals on WILO is brought to you by:
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Wampler’s Services, Inc.
Home National Bank
Davis Comfort Solutions
The Clinton Central Bulldogs and Clinton Prairie Gophers won their softball Sectional semifinal games last night, and both advanced to the Sectional 54 Championship tonight.
The Bulldogs took the field first and jumped out to an early lead on Bethesda Christian. Clinton Central led 4-0 after two innings.
Nuriah Harvey carried a no-hit bid late into the game before the Patriots scored three in the sixth.
Clinton Central added insurance runs in the fourth, sixth, and seventh to win 8-3.
Clinton Prairie took on Carroll in the second semifinal matchup. The Cougars defeated the Gophers 8-4 just over a week ago, but the Gophers got revenge, reversing the score and winning 8-4.
Sadie Weliver started the game off with a bang, crushing a double to right center and kicking off a two-run first for Clinton Prairie.
Keera Grizzle had a strong game for Clinton Prairie, going 3-3 with three RBIs.
Weliver delivered in the circle, giving up just one base runner in the first four innings.
The Cougars got the bats going in the fifth, scoring two. They added two more in the sixth and had the first two runners on in the seventh, but back-to-back strikeouts ended things, and the Gophers clinched the win.
The Bulldogs and Gophers will face off in the Sectional 54 Championship game tonight at 6:00 p.m. Hear live updates throughout the game on WILO.
Coverage of baseball and Softball Sectionals on WILO is brought to you by:
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Tonight on WILO, listen to two Sectional 54 Softball games starting at 4:45.
First, the Clinton Central Bulldogs take on the Bethesda Christian Patriots. Then at 7:30, the Carroll Cougars battle the Clinton Prairie Gophers.
Winners advance to the Sectional 54 Championship game tomorrow at 6 p.m.
Listen live on WILO 96.9/1570 AM/102.7 or online at ClintonCountyDailyNews.com or on the WILO app.
Coverage of baseball and Softball Sectionals on WILO is brought to you by:
The Farmers Bank
Collisions Unlimited
Milner Community Health Care
Wampler’s Services, Inc.
Home National Bank
Davis Comfort Solutions
The Girls Track and Field Regional round took place last night.
Several local athletes competed at the Lafayette Jefferson Regional, which included Regional qualifiers from the following Sectionals: Kokomo, Harrison (West Lafayette), Lafayette Jefferson, and Hamilton Southeastern.
First, Second, and Third place regional winners in all individual events and relays, plus any individual or relay team meeting the 3 Participant Standard in the regional finals of their event.
Here are the results:
100 Meter Dash
10th – Jesuoteme Soter ODU, Lebanon
13th – Rhianna Billups, Rossville
400 Meter Dash
6th – Madison Cearlock, Clinton Central (59.63, Clinton Central record)
4×100 Meter Relay
10th – Lebanon
12th – Rossville
4×400 Meter Relay
11th – Rossville
4×800 Meter Relay
11th – Carroll
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