BASKETBALL: Langford, Team USA win two World Cup exhibition games

By KEVIN HARRIS

kevinharris1972@gmail.com

CAIRO, Egypt – New Albany standout Romeo Langford and his USA Basketball Men’s U19 World Cup teammates competed in two exhibition games Wednesday and Thursday in preparing for the FIBA U19 World Cup that will start Saturday.

On Wednesday, Langford scored two points in Team USA’s 89-66 victory over Lithuania. Las Vegas native PJ Washington led the Americans with 18 points, followed by University of Kentucky player Hamidou Diallo with 17. Auburn player Austin Wiley added 15.

On Thursday, Team USA beat France 82-60. Langford had two points, shooting 1-of-2 from the field. He made two steals and one assist as he played 8 minutes and 52 seconds.

Diallo scored 15 points as he made 6-of-9 field-goal attempts. Washington had 13 points, four rebounds and four assists.

Team USA will face Iran in preliminary round action at 11:30 a.m. Saturday. The American will compete in Group D.

BOYS’ BASKETBALL: Langford earns roster spot on USA U19 World Championship squad

By KEVIN HARRIS

kevinharris1972@gmail.com

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – USA Basketball announced Thursday morning that New Albany incoming senior Romeo Langford has made the final 12-man roster of the USA U19 World Championship team.

Langford and his U19 teammates will play in the World Championships in July in Cairo, Egypt. The USA U19 squad is coached by University of Kentucky head men’s basketball coach John Calipari.

Langford averaged 28.7 points and 8.9 rebounds per game for the Bulldogs last season as a junior. He led New Albany to a fourth straight Hoosier Hills Conference championship and a fourth Class 4A Seymour Sectional title in a row.

As a sophomore, Langford helped the Bulldogs win the 2016 Class 4A state championship. It was the second state title in school history, with New Albany capturing its first state crown in 1973.

BOYS’ BASKETBALL: Langford trying to earn spot on USA U19 World Championship team

By KEVIN HARRIS

kevinharris1972@gmail.com

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The USA Basketball committee announced Tuesday that New Albany standout Romeo Langford is among the 16 finalists for the USA U19 World Championship team, which is being coached by University of Kentucky head men’s basketball coach John Calipari.

Langford became a finalist by performing well during 5-on-5 scrimmages at the Team USA U19 training camp this week. The final 12-man roster is expected to be determined later this week. The USA U19 team will be competing in the World Championships in July in Cairo, Egypt.

Last season as a junior, Langford averaged 28.7 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. He led the Bulldogs to a 25-4 record, a fourth consecutive Hoosier Hills Conference championship and a fourth Class 4A Seymour Sectional title in a row.

Langford’s outstanding season earned him several honors on the local, state and national levels. He is the front-runner to be named Indiana Mr. Basketball next season when he is a senior at New Albany.

FOOTBALL: Cooley named New Albany’s head coach

By KEVIN HARRIS

kevinharris1972@gmail.com

NEW ALBANY – Steve Cooley is getting another opportunity to lead a Southern Indiana high school football program.

Cooley was approved as the new head coach at New Albany on Monday by the New Albany-Floyd County school board. Cooley was the Bulldogs’ offensive coordinator last season under his predecessor Sean Coultis, who resigned as the New Albany head coach earlier this month for personal reasons.

Cooley brings 22 years of head coaching experience to the Bulldogs, as he has a career record of 127-134.

Cooley’s first coaching stint, which was his most successful, was at Harding High School in Fort Wayne. During his six seasons at Harding, Cooley posted a 58-33 record, claimed three sectional championships and won two regional titles.

Cooley became the head coach at Jeffersonville in 2000 and was at the Red Devils’ helm for 10 seasons. He accumulated a 53-55 record at Jeff and guided the Devils to their last sectional championship in 2007. Cooley’s 53 victories are the second-most in school history.

After leaving Jeff in 2009, Cooley became the boss at Clarksville. He led the Generals for six seasons from 2010-15, where he was 16-46.

Cooley had only one winning season at Clarksville. That was in 2012 when the Generals posted a 6-5 record.

Cooley’s New Albany offense last season averaged 340.5 total yards and 31.7 points per game. That production enabled the Bulldogs to post a 5-5 record.

Cooley is expected to have two of his best offensive players back in senior running back Darquan Richardson and junior quarterback Dylan Clark. Last season, Richardson rushed for 1,389 yards and 23 touchdowns and Clark had 1,182 passing yards.

Plus the Bulldogs are expected to have 10 of their 11 defensive starters returning.

BASEBALL: Lanesville redeems itself with first state championship 5-1

By KEVIN HARRIS

kevinharris1972@gmail.com

INDIANAPOLIS – Lanesville’s year-long redemption mission to return to the IHSAA State Finals and capture the 2017 Class A state championship has ended up as a successful one.

One year after losing the Class A state title game to Daleville 4-0, the eighth-ranked Eagles claimed the long-awaited state crown Saturday at Victory Field by defeating No. 3 Rossville 5-1.

It was Lanesville’s first state championship in any sport. In addition, it was the first state title for a Harrison County school.

“It’s been our goal since we lost last year because we knew we had the potential to come back again. It’s been our No. 1 goal,” Eagles’ starter Cameron Harvey told the IHSAA Champions Network shortly after the game. “As a team, we worked harder than we’ve ever worked before. It’s just a huge accomplishment for us.”

Third-year Lanesville head coach Zach Payne mentioned in his post-game interview with the IHSAA Champions Network that his team handled this year’s state championship contest like any other game during last week’s practices. Payne feels last season’s experience in getting ready for the state finals aided in his players’ mental preparation this time around.

“We didn’t really talk about the feeling of playing at Victory Field all week,” said Payne, a Providence alumnus and former Pioneer assistant coach. “We just talked about playing a baseball game today and it was a huge difference for us.”

Arguably, the most focused Eagle was Harvey.

The 6-foot-4 senior right-hander pitched a three-hitter to complete his record at 9-2, surrendering one earned run. Harvey, a Providence transfer, struck out four and walked two.

After yielding two hits in the bottom of the first inning, Harvey gave up one knock the rest of the way. The Indiana Wesleyan University recruit retired 11 Rossville batters in a row, which was from the final out in the first to the first out of the fifth.

In his four postseason starts, Harvey allowed two earned runs on 11 hits with 37 strikeouts.

A five-run fifth inning by Lanesville (20-6) to give it a 5-0 lead helped Harvey get more comfortable on the mound.

“It’s just such a relief as a pitcher knowing you’ve got support behind you,” Harvey said. “It’s a little bit of a stress reliever on the mound. You don’t have so much pressure on you trying to hold them. If you’re up 5-0 and they score one run, hey that’s one run – it’s not going to hurt you.”

All of the Eagles’ five runs in the top of the fifth came with two outs.

The scoring spurt started with Lanesville’s No. 9 hitter, freshman Isaac Casabella, drawing a walk against Hornet starter Trevor Waggoner.

Casabella advanced to third base on a single to left field by No. 1 batter Greg Daly. That prompted Rossville head coach Brad Scott to relieve Waggoner with sophomore righty Dawson Jacoby.

But Jacoby’s luck versus the Eagles’ lineup was not much better.

Following a stolen base by Daly to put runners at second and third, catcher Evan Peele delivered a two-run base hit to center to put Lanesville up 2-0.

Courtesy runner Ethan Purdy, who substituted for Peele, moved to second on a wild pitch. The Eagles got two on base again when left fielder Ryan McCubbins drew a walk against Jacoby.

The next batter, junior Mitchell Bailey, extended the Lanesville lead to 4-0 when he smacked a double near the warning track in left to plate Purdy and McCubbins. Then Harvey helped his winning effort with an opposite-field single to right to knock in Bailey.

Hornet senior right-hander Matt Homco, who relieved Jacoby following Harvey’s hit, stopped the bleeding by forcing Eagle third baseman Noah Jones to pop out to second.

“We’ve been hitting the ball well with two outs all year. We’re confident with two outs,” Payne said. “The bottom of our lineup has started several two-out rallies for us as well. Our guys never quit. We’re always ready to hit the ball and score some runs, no matter how many outs there are.”

Rossville (24-9) got its lone run in the bottom of the fifth. With the bases loaded and two out, sophomore Mark Soiseth came home from third on a wild pitch by Harvey. The Hornets’ rally concluded, though, when Waggoner grounded out to second. Rossville only got two runners on base in the final two innings.

Lanesville did the ceremonial dogpile on the Victory Field diamond once the game’s final out – a Jacoby groundout to second – was made. While his players celebrated on the field, Payne ran into the stadium’s grandstands to be with some important people in his life.

“I had to go see my dad,” Payne said on Father’s Day weekend. “That guy has pushed me and done a lot for me. I’m so happy that he was able to experience this. And of course, I had to see my new wife.”

Ten Eagle seniors concluded their high school careers as state champions. They were Daly, Harvey, McCubbins, Peele, Tristin Brown, Brenden Bube, Dakota Fonda, Ridge Hess, Tim Oberdieck and Tommy Tidstrom. Bube, a standout player throughout his career at Lanesville, missed most of the 2017 season because of an ACL injury.

Waggoner was the losing pitcher as his record dropped to 11-2. In 4 2/3 innings, he allowed two runs (both earned) on three hits and one walk.

The Eagles will move up to Class 2A next season because of the IHSAA’s success factor rule.

CLASS A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

AT VICTORY FIELD, INDIANAPOLIS

LANESVILLE 5, ROSSVILLE 1

Lanesville              000 050 0-5 6 1

Rossville                000 010 0-1 3 1

W – Cameron Harvey (9-2). L – Trevor Waggoner (11-2). 2B – Ryan McCubbins (L), Mitchell Bailey (L).

Records – Lanesville 20-6, Rossville 24-9.

CLASS A JASPER SEMISTATE

LANESVILLE 6, INDIANAPOLIS LUTHERAN 2

JASPER – Lanesville repeated as semistate champions for the first time in program history on June 10 at Ruxer Field by defeating Indianapolis Lutheran 6-2 in the Class A Jasper Semistate.

Harvey continued his great postseason on the mound. He allowed two runs on one hit in six innings of work. Harvey posted 12 strikeouts and four walks. Bube wrapped up the semistate title by pitching a scoreless seventh inning, giving up one hit and fanning two.

Harvey helped his winning cause at the plate, going 3-for-3 and scoring twice. Lanesville freshman Zach Fink was 2-for-3 with a double, while Bailey wound up 2-for-4.

The Eagles plated two runs in the top of the second to go up 2-0. Fink drove in both runs with a double to right field to plate Bailey and Harvey.

Lanesville added four more runs in the third to extend its advantage to 6-0. The Eagles got three consecutive RBI base hits from Tidstrom, Fink and Casabella, and Peele drew a bases-loaded walk to drive in another run.

CLASS A JASPER SEMISTATE

AT RUXER FIELD

LANESVILLE 6, INDIANAPOLIS LUTHERAN 2

Lanesville             024 000 0-6 9 3

Lutheran              001 001 0-2 2 1

W – Harvey (8-2). L – Matthew Alter. 2B – Zach Fink (La).

Records – Lanesville 19-6, Lutheran 18-8.

FINAL POSTSEASON UPDATE

BASEBALL

IHSAA STATE FINALS

At Victory Field, Indianapolis

Friday, June 16

Class 2A: Indianapolis Ritter 10, Wapahani 4

Saturday, June 17

Class A: Lanesville 5, Rossville 1

Class 3A: South Bend St. Joseph 4, Jasper 0

Class 4A: Indianapolis Cathedral 4, Penn 3, 8 innings

SEMISTATES

SATURDAY, JUNE 10

CLASS 4A

At Kokomo: Penn 6, Zionsville 2

At Plainfield: Indianapolis Cathedral 6, Columbus North 0

CLASS 3A

At Plymouth: South Bend St. Joseph 8, NorthWood 5

At Jasper: Jasper 3, Northview 2, 10 innings

CLASS 2A

At Kokomo: Wapahani 9, Hebron 2

At Plainfield: Indianapolis Ritter 5, Providence 1

CLASS A

At Plymouth: Rossville 3, South Newton 0

At Jasper: Lanesville 6, Indianapolis Lutheran 2

REGIONALS

SATURDAY, JUNE 3

CLASS 4A EVANSVILLE REITZ REGIONAL

AT BOSSE FIELD

SEMIFINALS

Evansville Central 3, Bedford North Lawrence 1

Columbus North 3, Martinsville 0

CHAMPIONSHIP

Columbus North 7, Evansville Central 1

CLASS 3A NORTH HARRISON REGIONAL

SEMIFINALS

Jasper 13, Silver Creek 3, 6 innings

Lawrenceburg 7, Boonville 5

CHAMPIONSHIP

Jasper 4, Lawrenceburg 2

CLASS 2A PROVIDENCE REGIONAL

SEMIFINALS

South Spencer 8, Linton-Stockton 1

Providence 9, Austin 1

CHAMPIONSHIP

Providence 3, South Spencer 1

CLASS A LOOGOOTEE REGIONAL

SEMIFINALS

Lanesville 6, Loogootee 0

Northeast Dubois 6, Trinity Lutheran 1

CHAMPIONSHIP

Lanesville 7, Northeast Dubois 1

SECTIONALS

CLASS 4A BEDFORD NORTH LAWRENCE SECTIONAL

FIRST ROUND

Thursday, May 25

New Albany 1, Jeffersonville 0

Floyd Central 5, Seymour 1

SEMIFINALS

Saturday, May 27

Floyd Central 6, New Albany 5

Bedford North Lawrence 7, Jennings County 1

CHAMPIONSHIP

Monday, May 29

Bedford North Lawrence 9, Floyd Central 3

CLASS 3A SILVER CREEK SECTIONAL

FIRST ROUND

Thursday, May 25

Silver Creek 3, Charlestown 1

Friday, May 26

Brownstown Central 9, North Harrison 7

Corydon Central 6, Salem 1

SEMIFINALS

Monday, May 29

Silver Creek 2, Scottsburg 1

Corydon Central 4, Brownstown Central 0

CHAMPIONSHIP

Monday, May 29

Silver Creek 13, Corydon Central 5

CLASS 2A PROVIDENCE SECTIONAL

FIRST ROUND

Thursday, May 25

Providence 16, Eastern 2, 5 innings

Henryville 7, Paoli 1

SEMIFINALS

Saturday, May 27

Providence 11, Henryville 1, 5 innings

Clarksville 9, Crawford County 2

CHAMPIONSHIP

Monday, May 29

Providence 12, Clarksville 2, 5 innings

CLASS A SOUTH CENTRAL SECTIONAL

SEMIFINALS

Saturday, May 27

Borden 4, South Central 1

Lanesville 14, New Washington 1, 5 innings

CHAMPIONSHIP

Monday, May 29

Lanesville 1, Borden 0

SOFTBALL

IHSAA STATE FINALS

SATURDAY, JUNE 10

At Indianapolis Ben Davis

Class A: Tecumseh 3, Tri 0

Class 2A: Indianapolis Scecina 6, Elwood 2

Class 3A: New Palestine 13, Kankakee Valley 6

Class 4A: Crown Point 2, Avon 1

SEMISTATES

SATURDAY, JUNE 3

CLASS 4A BEDFORD NORTH LAWRENCE SEMISTATE

SEMIFINALS

Avon 7, Greenfield-Central 3

Gibson Southern 4, Center Grove 1

CHAMPIONSHIP

Avon 2, Gibson Southern 0

CLASS 3A JASPER SEMISTATE

SEMIFINALS

New Palestine 16, Edgewood 0, 5 innings

Evansville Memorial 6, Silver Creek 0

CHAMPIONSHIP

New Palestine 10, Evansville Memorial 1

CLASS 2A FOREST PARK SEMISTATE

SEMIFINALS

Indianapolis Scecina 1, South Spencer 0

Henryville 5, Northeastern 4

CHAMPIONSHIP

Indianapolis Scecina 10, Henryville 4

CLASS A NORTH DAVIESS SEMISTATE

SEMIFINALS

Indianapolis Lutheran 2, Edinburgh 1

Tecumseh 2, Lanesville 1

CHAMPIONSHIP

Tecumseh 8, Indianapolis Lutheran 2

REGIONALS

TUESDAY, MAY 30

CLASS 4A

Gibson Southern 2, Floyd Central 1

CLASS 3A

Silver Creek 6, Connersville 5

CLASS 2A

Henryville 4, Milan 3

CLASS A

Lanesville 6, Orleans 0

SECTIONALS

CLASS 4A FLOYD CENTRAL SECTIONAL

FIRST ROUND

Monday, May 22

Seymour 9, Jeffersonville 5

Jennings County 11, Bedford North Lawrence 0, 6 innings

SEMIFINALS

Tuesday, May 23

Seymour 3, Jennings County 1

Floyd Central 10, New Albany 0

CHAMPIONSHIP

Friday, May 26

Floyd Central 1, Seymour 0

CLASS 3A SCOTTSBURG SECTIONAL

FIRST ROUND

Monday, May 22

Silver Creek 9, Scottsburg 0

Tuesday, May 23

Salem 9, Brownstown Central 0

Corydon Central 5, Charlestown 0

SEMIFINALS

Friday, May 26

Silver Creek 10, North Harrison 0, 5 innings

Salem 6, Corydon Central 1

CHAMPIONSHIP

Monday, May 29

Silver Creek 3, Salem 2, 8 innings

CLASS 2A PAOLI SECTIONAL

FIRST ROUND

Tuesday, May 23

Crawford County 17, Eastern 3

Paoli 14, Clarksville 2, 5 innings

SEMIFINALS

Thursday, May 25

Paoli 8, Crawford County 1

Henryville 13, Providence 0, 5 innings

CHAMPIONSHIP

Friday, May 26

Henryville 8, Paoli 0

CLASS A LANESVILLE SECTIONAL

SEMIFINALS

Monday, May 22

Lanesville 16, New Washington 0, 5 innings

Borden 10, South Central 0, 6 innings

CHAMPIONSHIP

Thursday, May 25

Lanesville 3, Borden 2

GIRLS’ TENNIS

SILVER CREEK REGIONAL

SEMIFINALS

Tuesday, May 23

New Albany 5, Silver Creek 0

Providence 5, Floyd Central 0

CHAMPIONSHIP

Thursday, May 25

Providence 5, New Albany 0

JASPER SEMISTATE 1

Saturday, May 27

Providence 3, Columbus North 2

JASPER SEMISTATE 2

Saturday, May 27

Jasper 4, Evansville Memorial 1

IHSAA STATE FINALS

QUARTERFINALS

FRIDAY, JUNE 2

At Carmel

Providence 3, Center Grove 2

South Bend St. Joseph 3, Jasper 2

At Center Grove

Carmel 5, Terre Haute South 0

Indianapolis Cathedral 4, Fort Wayne Carroll 1

SEMIFINALS

SATURDAY, JUNE 3

At Indianapolis North Central

Providence 3, South Bend St. Joseph 2

Carmel 4, Indianapolis Cathedral 1

CHAMPIONSHIP

SATURDAY, JUNE 3

At Indianapolis North Central

Carmel 5, Providence 0

BASEBALL REGIONAL ROUNDUP: Lanesville repeats as Class A Loogootee Regional champion June 3

By KEVIN HARRIS

kevinharris1972@gmail.com

LOOGOOTEE – Eighth-ranked Lanesville repeated as the Class A Loogootee Regional champion June 3 with a 7-1 victory over Northeast Dubois in the regional championship game. It was the Eagles’ third regional title in program history and the first time they have ever claimed two consecutive regional crowns.

Lanesville pitcher Cameron Harvey got the win. In his first four postseason games this season, Harvey allowed a combined two runs.

The defending Class A state runner-up Eagles (18-6) defeated host Loogootee in the semifinals 6-0. Lanesville pitchers Brendan Bube, Mitchell Bailey and Greg Daly combined to throw a no-hitter with 16 strikeouts.

The Eagles’ Tommy Tidstrom smacked a home run in each game.

CLASS 3A NORTH HARRISON REGIONAL

SEMIFINAL: JASPER 13, SILVER CREEK 3, 6 INNINGS

RAMSEY – Silver Creek got down 7-0 after four innings and proceeded to suffer a 13-3 loss to No. 2 Jasper in the Class 3A North Harrison Regional semifinals June 3.

The Dragons (23-10) collected just six hits. Dylan Whitt was Creek’s lone multihit player, going 2-for-3 with an RBI. Dragon starter Tyler Wheeler got his first loss of the season, giving up six runs (five earned) on seven hits in one-plus innings

The Wildcats’ Trevor Krapf and Austin Simmers each had three hits. Teammate Reece Kleinhelter was the winning pitcher.

Jasper                     330 106-13 13 2

Silver Creek           000 030-  3   6 2

W – Reece Kleinhelter (8-2). L – Tyler Wheeler (8-1). 2B – Trevor Krapf 2 (J), Austin Simmers (J), Evan Aders (J), Justin Brown (SC).

Records – Silver Creek 23-10, Jasper 28-4.

CLASS 4A EVANSVILLE REITZ REGIONAL

SEMIFINAL: EVANSVILLE CENTRAL 3, BEDFORD NORTH LAWRENCE 1

EVANSVILLE – No. 6 Bedford North Lawrence only collected two hits off Evansville Central starter Cory Bosecker in its 3-1 semifinal loss in the Class 4A Evansville Reitz Regional semifinals June 3 at Bosse Field.

Bosecker allowed one earned run, struck out seven and walked six in a complete-game performance. The Stars’ record wound up 22-5.

Bedford NL               100 000 0-1 2 1

Ev. Central                001 002 x-3 5 0

W – Cory Bosecker (7-2).

Records – BNL 22-5, Evansville Central 21-8.