The Silver Creek 11-12-year-old softball All-Stars saw their season come to an end on Tuesday in the semifinals of the state tournament in Indianapolis.

Silver Creek kept things scoreless into the bottom of the fifth, only to see Eastside Little League put up three runs in the frame and finish with a 3-1 victory.

McKenzie Bush scored an a hit by Heather Knight during Silver Creek’s final at-bat, but couldn’t capitalize after loading the bases in the sixth. For the game, Silver Creek banged out 12 hits, but left 11 runners on base.

“Pretty much since we started, we have been getting big hits with two outs or in other key situations,” said Silver Creek coach Chris Bush. “Today, we didn’t get that one big hit we needed.”

Knight was 3-for-4 with an RBI, while Bush was 2-for-3 with a double for Silver Creek. Bailee Popp also went 2-for-3 and Alexis Barnett 2-for-2 in the losing effort. Darcee Rogers took the loss on the mound, going the distance while giving up eight hits with three strikeouts. She walked none.

“Even though we didn’t get where we wanted to go, the coaches are very proud of these girls and we want every one of them to know that each of them contributed to the success of this team,” Coach Bush said.



SENIOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

• D-V splits on first day of region: The District V All-Stars — a collection of some of the area’s top high school talent — mowed down the best in Indiana to become state champion already in this postseason.

Now, it’s taken that dominance on the road.

D-V needed just one day to do what it couldn’t last year, winning its opener in the Central States Regional in Wyoming, Mich., by beating Michigan’s District 14 on Tuesday, 6-2. District V went winless at the region tournament in its previous campaign.

The victory, however, was somewhat bittersweet. District 4, the Ohio state champion, claimed a narrow 4-3 win in D-V’s second game of the day. The tournament format is two games for each team on Tuesday and Wednesday, with the two squads with the best record advancing to a best 2-of-3 series to begin on Friday.

Much of the credit for D-V’s opening victory belonged to its contingent from Jeffersonville. Recently graduated Red Devil star Neil Fertig had two hits, including a two-run home run with two outs as part of D-V’s six-run fifth inning. Fertig’s former Jeff teammate John Jacobs also had a crucial hit, a three-run double that completed D-V’s comeback from a 2-0 deficit.

“For having to play at 9 a.m., we played well in the first game,” said District V coach George Rorrer. “When we got our timing to come in, we hit the ball hard.”

Salem’s Alex Potter notched the win on the mound, going six innings and giving up six hits and four walks with three strikeouts. Jeff’s Jeremy Eger tossed the final inning for the save.

Clarksville’s Corey Bowens, who hit close to .600 during the state tourney, also doubled in the win for D-V.

The second game was close throughout, with D-V taking a 2-0 lead in the top of the third, only to see Ohio battle back to tie in the bottom half. District 4 tacked on two more runs in the fourth and then held off a D-V rally.

Clarksville’s Jon Bramer took the loss after struggling with his control. He went three innings, yielding four runs, two hits and six walks with three strikeouts.

Salem outfielder Brent Ingram scored New Albany’s Erik Winburn, who reached base on a walk to kick off D-V’s third inning. Jacobs later scored Ingram with a single.

Down 4-2, District V nearly tied things up. After Bowens singled with two outs and scored on an error to make it 4-3, New Albany’s Graham Brown hit a single to left field. Fertig, on second base, was then thrown out at the plate while attempting to deliver the tying run.

Both Bramer and his replacement, Jacobs, walked in runs to help the Ohio cause.

At 1-1, D-V will meet the Illinois state champ at 2 this afternoon and Michigan’s District 9 at 5.