Baseball teams prep for sectional

Baseball sectional action gets started tonight at North Putnam, with the host Cougars taking on Monrovia.

Cloverdale will be in action on Thursday night, while South Putnam drew a bye and doesn't play until Monday morning.

Greencastle also drew a bye in the Indian Creek sectional and won't open play until noon Monday against Indianapolis Washington.

On Thursday, several Putnam County athletes will compete in the boys' regional at Bloomington North.

Here is a look at each sport:

Baseball

North Putnam -- The Cougars take an 11-11 record into tonight's game with Monrovia, and finished in sixth place in the Western Indiana Conference.

The teams did not meet during the regular season.

Cloverdale -- The Clovers bring an 8-20 record into the sectional, with a 1-5 and 11-place finish in the WIC.

It is safe to say the Clovers go for the stolen base when they get on, as three players have stolen more than 25 bases on the season.

Among the leaders for the Clovers have been sophomore catcher Tyce Jackson, who hits .354 and has 24 stolen bases; freshman shortstop Parker Watts, who bats .358 and has stolen 27 bases; sophomore center fielder Haiden Davis, who hits .278 with 28 stolen bases; junior third baseman Joe Martin, who hits .289 with two home runs; and sophomore pitcher Nick Winders.

"Those are the key players that have to have a great day for us to beat Southmont," coach Tony Meyer said. "We played them in the first game of the year, without three starters, and lost 10-1. We are going to have to run the bases well and be patient at the plate."

Meyer said his team's defense has improved as the season progressed.

"If we get on base early, we have a chance to make some things happen and get the momentum on our side quickly," he said. "Southmont is an incredibly well-coached team with some fantastic players. It's going to take a great effort by our young team to get this win."

South Putnam -- The Eagles are 7-16 on the season, and coach Brady Rhodes said his team has experienced a season of ups and downs.

"We have been in many of the games we have lost and are learning to battle through adversity as a team," he said. "Many of our losses have been by three or fewer runs and we have been in the position to win those games in the last inning, but just have not been able to get over the top at the end.

"Our team has responded well to these challenges and continues to fight in each and every contest."

Top performers for South Putnam have been Dylan Wood, with a .368 average, three home runs and a pitching ERA of 2.39; Brandon Gierke, with a .326 average, two homers, an on-base percentage of .586 that leads the WIC and a pitching ERA of 2.50; and Grady McHugh, who is batting .286 with two homers.

"We have the first-round bye, so we are looking to capitalize on this by utilizing our pitching to our best advantage," Rhodes said.

Greencastle -- The Tiger Cubs finished the season 3-15 and were 12th in the Western Indiana Conference.

They did not play Indianapolis Washington during the regular season.

Trey Scanland lead the Tiger Cubs at the plate, batting .319, while sophomore Jacob Harris has hit .385 in six games this season.

Baseball sectionals

Class 2A North Putnam sectional
Today
6 p.m. -- North Putnam vs. Monrovia
Thursday
5 p.m. -- South Vermillion vs. Rockville
7 p.m. -- Cloverdale vs. Southmont
Monday
10 a.m. -- South Putnam vs. North Putnam-Monrovia winner
Noon -- South Vermillion-Rockville winner vs. Cloverdale-Southmont winner
7 p.m. -- Championship

Class 3A Danville sectional
Today
5:30 p.m. -- Danville vs. Beech Grove
7:30 p.m. -- Indianapolis Northwest vs. Indian Creek
Monday
10 a.m. -- Danville-Beech Grove winner vs. Indianapolis Northwest-Indian Creek winner
Noon -- Greencastle vs. Indianapolis Washington

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Track and field

Cloverdale -- The Clovers will be led by sophomore hurdler Tyler Kaeff, who is seeded second in the 300 hurdles.

"We look for him to run a PR and advance," coach Andy Tyler said. "He should make the finals of the 110 hurdles and have a shot in that race as well."

Senior Nick Blundell is seeded fourth in the 800 meters.

"He has been working hard in practice, and I'll be shocked if he doesn't run a PR," Tyler said. "He is a tough kid, if he can push the pace of the race he has a good chance of advancing."

Ryan Heavener made it out of the sectional in the 400 meters and is looking to break 53 seconds.

"It is hard to believe this is his first year running track," Tyler said.

Tyler noted the 4x800 and the 4x400 relay teams are looking to run their best times of the year.

"It isn't easy getting a relay team to a regional, both of these teams have put in the work and deserve to be there," he said.

Greencastle -- High jumper J.T. Matthews is the only Tiger Cub who will be competing on Thursday.

"His personal best is 6-3," coach Garry Anderson noted. "He could make it to the state if he can do that."

South Putnam -- The school record-setting 4x800 relay team consisted of Lorenzo Mainetti, Logan Vandermark, Austin Rumley and Kieffer Vittetow at the sectional, but coach Nathan Aker said the lineup could change due to some of those athletes also running other events in the regional.

Aker said Dru Bottorff, Michael Crossman, Blake Clearwaters and Eric Hinkle are all possibilities to join the relay squad.

Mainetti will be competing in the 800, while Vittetow is in the 3,200.

Senior Joe Masters will be competing in both shot put and discus.

"At this point in the season the level of competition is extremely high," Aker said. "In order to place in the top three and move on to the state championship meet, each athlete would have to set his own personal best."

Aker feels his athletes have continued to rise to the occasion and have taken advantage of the opportunities that are in front of them.

"I am very proud of our young men and coaches and how they've worked together to get to this point in the season," he said.

Aker noted that Vittetow defeated Northview's Cam Trout in the 3,200 at the conference meet, but Trout will likely be seeded first in that event.

"We are looking forward to seeing our athletes compete on the big stage at Bloomington North," Aker said. "The county and conference are going to be very well represented."