Greencastle zips past South Putnam in county girls' tennis match

Two nights, two victories for Greencastle’s girls’ tennis team.

The Tiger Cubs made it two-straight evenings of straight-set tennis Thursday night with a 5-0 win at South Putnam.

“We brought back our entire varsity roster from last year and are very excited to have so many girls to chose from for positions,” Greencastle head coach Annette Munoz said about the 2-0 start. “It’s a good problem to have.

“We have 10-12 girls who can fill in several roles and some strong freshmen that have come in with a lot of experience.”

“For our first time out, we did really well,” South Putnam head coach Johnnie Briones said. “A lot of them had the first-match jitters and with Greencastle having their first match already under their belts, it showed a little bit.

“Coach Munoz does a good job with her kids, they come ready to play and they have a lot of talent there. The final just doesn’t indicate how the match goes, though.

“A lot of the girls got to deuce throughout the night but that’s where the first-match jitters showed,” Briones added. “I’m glad with what I saw and we have a lot to work with.”

Three of the five matches saw the visitors roll through without giving up a game as Allie Landry defeated Ava Watson at No. 1 singles, Addie Fowler won over Maddy Newby at No. 3 singles and Caroline Gooch and Sophie Riggle downed Amelia Jester and Kaitlyn Phillips at No. 1 doubles all by 6-0, 6-0 scores.

Maddie Landry added a 6-1, 6-0 win over Alie Newby at No. 2 singles while Liberty Amis and Bella Monnett won 6-1, 6-3 over Elena Emmerich and Lilly Stanley at No. 2 doubles.

“Allie has played close to as much tennis as the rest of the girls combined; that’s just her thing,” Munoz said when talking about the squad. “We put a doubles set back together played two years ago in Sophie and Caroline, who played strong, aggressive and put balls away.

“Liberty and Bella played No. 1 doubles last year and to move down to No. 2 and still play competitively is nice to see. Addie came from No. 2 doubles and, while it’s a different game, is a smart player who puts the ball in the right spot and works very hard.

“Maddie was at No. 2 singles as a freshman and again now as a junior,” Munoz added. “It’s nice to see her compete with her sister for the school and she played outstanding tonight, finishing points quickly, served well and is a leader for this group.

“Even though the JV tonight, we have good sportsmanship, team unity and good attitudes. It’s a season I’m very excited about. We have goals, which I won’t say for now, but we’re excited for what’s ahead.”

Softball

Bloomfield 7, Cloverdale 2

The Clovers struck first in the top of the first inning as a two-out Andrea Nees double plated a pair of runs but the Cardinals got both runs back in the bottom half of the inning on a sac fly and error.

A sac bunt in the second plated two more runs for Bloomfield to make it 4-2 for the hosts, a score that remained until the sixth inning.

Following a walk, three-straight hits and an error allowed the home side to add three insurance runs, handing Cloverdale its first loss of the season.

“We got off to a good start offensively in the first inning, but the difference between this game and our last two was we couldn't string together enough hard hits,” Cloverdale head coach Jamie Steffy said. “We had some girls gone tonight so new players in new positions and we struggled in our defensive rotations which led to four of their runs, then a late error on which they scored two more."

Sydney Bernard had two hits on the night while Nees drove in both Clover runs. Callie Smith took the loss, pitching 1/3 inning, giving up five hits, giving up a pair of runs in the opening frame. Hailey Caulkins pitched the remainder of the contests, allowing five runs, two earned, while striking out four batters.

"Bloomfield is a good team that's going to win quite a few games this year, but we were right there and they gave us chances to win this that we just couldn't take advantage of tonight,” Steffy added. “Tonight was a good learning experience for us.”

Cloverdale 200 000 0 — 2 6 2

Bloomfield 220 003 X — 7 8 2

WP — Berretta 4 1/3 IP, 6 H, 2 R (2 ER), 4 K

LP — Smith 1/3 IP, 3 H, 2 R (2 ER)

3B — Miller

2B — Nees; Bucher, Koontz

RBI — Nees (2); Pegg (3), Miller (2), Berretta, Koontz

Baseball

Southmont 5, North Putnam 4

A late Cougar rally was not enough to overcome the Mounties as North Putnam was 0-for-2 on its trips to Montgomery County this week.

A pair of passed balls allowed Conner McKinney to move from first to third, scoring on a Chayce Howell groundout for a 1-0 Southmont lead.

Alec McKenzie would score Braxton Woodall on a single in the second to tie the game at 1-1 but a pair of errors would allow the Mounties to tack on runs in the third to take a 3-1 lead.

Adam Cox singled to tack on another run for the hosts in the fourth, a run Ian Patrick pulled back on a fielder’s choice in the fifth.

Carter Hubble drove a run in in the fifth to make it 5-2, a score that remained until the seventh inning.

North Putnam loaded the bases and while Patrick popped out, Woodall hit a single that plated two runs but the throw to third got pinch runner Jackson Andrews, ending the game.

Griffen Starr took the loss, pitching four innings, allowing four hits, four runs, one earned, while striking out five. Christian Kramer pitched two innings, giving up a run on two hits.

North Putnam 010 010 2 — 4 7 2

Southmont 102 110 X — 5 6 1

WP — Hubble 5 2/3 IP, 5 H, 2 R (ER), 2 BB, 11 K

LP — Starr 4 IP, 4 H, 4 R (ER), BB, 5 K

S — Thornburg 1 1/3 IP, 2 H, 2 R (2 ER) 2 BB, K

2B — Howell

RBI — Bra. Woodall (2), Patrick; Howell, Cox, Hubble