07-06-2017 Tri-City Area Sports

Stenhouse Jr. drives to Daytona win

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is certainly having one heck of a year on the NASCAR circuit. The Olive Branch, Mississippi native won his second Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race this season and his career Saturday night in the Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola.

Stenhouse Jr. started the 17th race of the 2017 season in sixth place at Dayton International Speedway after qualifying, led 17 laps, and chased down a win in the final stretch of the overtime race.

This season has been Stenhouse’s best in his seven year career on the big time circuit. In 2011, he raced in only one event. The following year he hit the track for four races, but it wasn’t until 2013 that the driver began full-time in the Cup series.

Saturday’s victory was also Stenhouse Jr.’s fourth top five of the season and seventh top 10. He has led from the pole position one time this year.

Clint Bowyer earned his fourth top five of the year with a second place finish on Saturday.  Bowyer led four of the race’s 163 laps.

Paul Menard finished in third place. He now has two top five finishes this season.

Michael McDowell took fourth place. McDowell has been on the circuit since 2008 and this marks his best career finish in a Cup race.

Ryan Newman, with one win under his belt already this year, rounded out the top five in fifth place. Newman earned his third top five this year.

Twenty-one drivers finished the race on the lead lap. There was a record 14 caution periods.

If you were watching on Saturday and thought, “Gee, has every driver led a lap?” you weren’t alone.  Fourteen of the forty drivers who started the event led at least one circuit. Drivers who led laps but did not finish in the top five include: David Ragan (4), Erik Jones (9), Jimmie Johnson (4), Ty Dillon (7), Daniel Suarez (11), Kasey Kahne (12), Chase Elliott (4), Trevor Bayne (2), Denny Hamlin (16), Ryan Blaney (9), Matt Kenseth (21), Brad Keselowski (35), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (1), and Kevin Harvick (7).

The drivers are now at Kentucky Speedway for the Quaker State 400. It’s another Saturday night race under the lights for the teams.

Brad Keselowski has won at Kentucky twice in his career. Will the third time be a charm for him? Check back next week to find out!

Hooterville Hitters fall to House of David Echoes

A team 18 members strong assembled Saturday night at 6:00 p.m. at Hays Park to open and end their 2017 season. Watervliet’s Hooterville Hitters faced the House of David Echoes in a vintage baseball match played according to 1858 rules as part of the annual Watervliet Independence Day Weekend Celebration.

MIGHTY KADEN AT BAT… Kaden Jonjevic takes a mighty swing Saturday night as the Hooterville Hitters faced the House of David Echoes at Hays Park as part of the Watervliet Independence Day Weekend Celebration. Hooterville would fall to the Echoes 19-13. (TCR photo by Kristy Noack)

Following the singing of the National Anthem by Memory Lane, a quartet with members from Watervliet, both squads assembled on the field for the coin toss, which was lost by the Hitters. The Echoes claimed the home team spot, and it was time to play ball!

The Hitters headed to home plate looking for a few good runs. The first two batters, Evan Orlando and Tony Orlando, belted singles and were aboard the bags. Unfortunately, the Hitters failed to capitalize on their talent, and both runners were left stranded on the bags.

The Echoes left no base unturned as they blitzed the Hitters for six runs in their half of the first inning. After a leadoff triple by Mike “Iron Man” Hoy, the Echoes chipped in four straight singles before the Hitters got the first out. The Hitters made quick work of the ensuing batters, as Tony Orlando pitched for Hooterville. At the end of the first inning, the Hitters trailed the Echoes 6-0.

The Hitters responded in the second inning by, well, hitting. A leadoff single by Kaden Jonjevic was followed by a single off Paul Jonjevic’s bat and the father-son duo was aboard the bases. Dave Scheuer stepped up to the plate and blasted a hit that cleared the bases.

Evan Orlando cranked a nice hit to bring in Scheuer and suddenly the Hitters were back in the game, rallying for three quick runs in the top of the second.

But the hits didn’t stop there. Candy Evett hit a single, which moved Orlando. That was followed by a single off the bat of Mike Klein. Kaden Jonjevic hit another single – his second of the inning – and dad Paul smacked a double. Dominick Klein kept pace with his father and smacked his first hit of the game, a single.

The bat of Scheuer continued to be hot as he smacked a triple to send all the base runners home. At the midway point in the second inning, the Hitters claimed the lead, 7-6.

With the Echoes up to bat, the Hitters defense was in prime form. Although the first two Echoes hit singles, the Hitters got the following base runner out on a hopping grounder.

Iron Man Hoy, back at the plate, showed why he was the Echoes leadoff hitter. He hit another triple, his second of the contest and scored two runs.

The Hitters notched another out before a single scored Hoy, giving the Echoes three runs in the half.

The Hitters retired the side with two men left on base and retained the lead, 10-9.

The third inning found the Hitters only able to score two runs. Mike Noack cracked a single, the first hit of the inning.  Noack’s shot was followed by an inside the park homerun by Scheuer, who racked up another two RBIs. At intermission of inning number three, Hooterville led 12-9.

Scheuer, on the mound for Hooterville, held the Echoes to just one run in the third inning. He allowed three hits and struck out one batter as the Benton Harbor squad squeaked closer to overtaking the hometown Hitters. With three innings complete, the score stood 12-10 in Hooterville’s favor.

In the fourth inning, Miss Congeniality of Watervliet Maggie Lynch led off with a single for Hooterville. She was followed by a single from Miss Blossomtime Kaylee Chapin hit into a fielder’s choice, which sent Lynch off the field.

Brody Roland, in for the Hitters, hit a single. But his would be the last hit for Hooterville as the next two batters stuck and grounded out, closing the half.

There weren’t enough open spaces in the scorebook to write down all the hits the Echoes blasted in their half of the fourth inning. Suffice it to say, the Hitters’ bells were rung for nine runs, giving the lead back to the House of David, 19-12.

When they finally notched three outs, Hooterville’s Evan Orlando hit a single. Tony Orlando hit a single. Mike Klein hit a single and scored Evan, giving the Hitters their final run of the game.

When the dust on the field settled, the Echoes had topped Hooterville 19-13.

It was announced next year’s game will be held Saturday, June 30. Rick “Waterboy” Ast of the Echoes suggested the Hitters double the number of scheduled games for the 2018 season – one game at Watervliet and one game on the Echoes home field in Benton Harbor. The Hitters just might take the Echoes up on their offer.

Members of this year’s Hooterville Hitters squad were: Kaden Jonjevic, Paul Jonjevic, Mike Klein, Dominick Klein, Nick Orlando, Evan Orlando, Tony Orlando, Stacy Denton, David Robinson, Chad Worl, Allen Chapin III, Brody Roland, Dave Scheuer, Kaylee Chapin, Maggie Lynch, Katie Schultz, Candy Evett, and Mike Noack.

Results of the Gene Bednarowski Cherry 5K Walk and Run

With nearly ideal conditions of sunshine and low 70 degree Fahrenheit temperatures, the participants in Saturday morning’s Gene Bednarowski’s 5K walk and run had plenty of reasons to smile as they hit the starting line.

DAVIS SETS THE PACE OF 5K… Philip Davis of Arlington Heights, Illinois was the first 5K runner to cross the line Saturday morning in the Gene Bednarowski Cherry 5K. Davis finished the event with a time of 16:41.1 amid ideal conditions of early morning sun and low 70-degree temperatures. (TCR photo by Kristy Noack)

The overall first place finisher of the 5K run was Philip Davis of Arlington Heights, Illinois. The 23-year-old ended the race with a lightning fast time of 16:41.1. He was followed across the line by Nicholas Watson in second place; William Cadwell in third; Drew Dow of Bridgman, Michigan in fourth; and Max Rathburn of Portage, Michigan in fifth place.

Phoebe Bates, 15, participated in the race for the second year in a row and was the first female finisher. She ran the course in a time of 20:30.8. Coming in second for the ladies was Marie Halpin. Crystal Cowgill of Hartford, Michigan took third, while Amy Adams of Dowagiac, Michigan finished fourth. Rounding out the top five for the female runners was Megan Danielson of Kalamazoo, Michigan.

There were 199 runners who participated.

Nada Kramp of Stevensville continues to dominate local 5K walks. She finished first with a time of 33:15.4.

Nancy Nelson took second place overall and for the females, while Elizabeth Maxwell finished third. Therese Guntz ended the event in fourth place in the women’s division, and Janet King of Watervliet took fifth place.

The top male finisher in the walk was Dave Waaso. Waaso laced up his sneakers and finished the race in 39:35.8. He was followed across the line by Bruce Gelbaugh of Plainwell, Michigan in second place; Kenneth Willer of Hartford, Michigan in third place; Jim Grabowski of Hickory Hills, Illinois in fourth place; and David Conklin of Stevensville, Michigan in fifth place.

PHOEBE IS FIRST FEMALE FINISHER… Phoebe Bates of Carmel, Indiana was the top female finisher in Saturday’s Gene Bednarowski Cherry 5K run. Bates, 15, had a time of 20:30.8. (TCR photo by Kristy Noack)

A total of 53 walkers participated in the event.

Tim Lynch, long-time organizer of the 5K, and his wife Carla, announced they are stepping down as co-organizers of the event.

Lynch shared that Watervliet High School varsity cross country and track coach Aaron Weber would begin acting as organizer with the 2018 race. “We’ve been a part of it for nine years. (Carla) does most of the work,” Tim Lynch said, smiling. Although he and Carla are sure to miss the hustle and bustle, Carla shared, “It will be nice to be a spectator.”

Girls’ All-Star tourney ends in Hartford

The final games in the Hartford Rec Council’s Girls’ All-Star tourney were played Wednesday, June 28 and winners were crowned in four divisions.

The 8U champion was South Haven. They topped Watervliet in the final game, giving Watervliet runner-up honors. Watervliet earned a 2-2 record. Watervliet notched two wins over Bloomingdale and two losses to South Haven.

Hometown Hartford won the 10U division by defeating Dowagiac. The Indians were 4-0 for the tourney. Hartford topped Gobles, South Haven, and Dowagiac twice.

Hartford was also crowned the champion in the 12U division. The young ladies were 4-0 after beating South Haven, Dowagiac, and Paw Paw twice.

Coloma battled their way out of the loser’s bracket in 14U to triumphantly claim the championship title over Hartford.

The Comets started the tourney with a win over Watervliet before being bested by Buchanan. From the bottom of the bracket, Coloma tallied wins over Gobles, Bloomingdale, and Buchanan before meeting up with Hartford in the finals. It took the Comets two games to get the win, but they did it!

MCQUILLAN TAKES TWO… Mady McQuillan leads off second base after slicing a hit during Coloma’s All-Star game against Buchanan at Indian Pride Park Tuesday, June 27. McQuillan would go on to score, Coloma would go on to defeat the Bucks 17-4, and the Comets would claim the 14U championship. (TCR photo by Kristy Noack)

Hartford’s only loss in the tournament was to Coloma. The Indians notched victories over Gobles, Bloomingdale, and Buchanan before ending their run at 3-1.

Watervliet lost to Coloma, defeated Bloomingdale, but was sent home after a loss to Gobles.

It was a successful tournament hosted at Indian Pride Park by a dedicated Hartford Rec Council staff. Organizers and volunteers should be commended for their hard work. Great job!!!

Paw Paw Lake Association Meeting

 The Paw Paw Lake Association will meet on Saturday, July 8, 2017 at 9:00 a.m. at Watervliet Charter Township Hall, 4959 M-140.  Guests are welcome.