CONNERSVILLE – East Central sprinter Cade Knueven qualified for the boys track and field state finals in two events in Thursday's IHSAA regional meet.

Knueven, a junior, placed second in both 100-meter dash (10.90 seconds) and 200 dash (22.55) to earn top-three berths necessary to punch his tickets to this coming Friday's IHSAA boys state championships at Indiana University's Robert C. Haugh Complex.

SHELBYVILLE – East Central baseball was staring down the barrel of a 3-2 Class 4A sectional first round exit with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning Wednesday.

But wildness on the part of the Golden Bears' bullpen allowed the Trojans (18-8) to accept a two-run gift for the 4-3 victory, propelling them into Saturday's semifinals.

With one out in its last at-bat, struggling EC (4 errors, 7 hits) drew a four-pitch walk to catcher Austin Holloway from Shelby reliever and losing pitcher Chase McColley (one inning, 2 unearned runs, no hits, 3 walks).

H.S. baseball

Class 4A Sectional

First Round

Wednesday, May 22

At Shelbyville

Trojans 4

Golden Bears 3

EAST CENTRAL AB R H BI

Werner, cf 3 0 1 1

Merkin, ph 1 0 0 0

Stonefield, lf 2 2 1 0

Schomber, ss-p 3 0 2 1

Tallon, 1b 3 0 0 0

Holloway, c 2 0 1 1

Dudley, pr 0 0 0 0

DeZarn, p 4 1 2 0

Kramer, rf 2 1 0 0

Schuman, 3b 2 0 0 0

Romie, pr 0 0 0 0

Gruen, dh 3 0 0 0

Broughton, 2b 0 0 0 0

Gutapfel, ph 0 0 0 0

TOTALS 25 4 7 4

SHELBYVILLE AB R H BI

Kuhn, cf 4 1 1 0

Cox, c 3 0 1 0

McColley, 1b 4 0 0 0

Peugh, p 0 0 0 0

Larrison, p-3b 2 0 0 1

Munger, ph 0 0 0 0

Simmerman, 1b 4 0 1 0

Savage, pr 0 0 0 0

Mathies, lf 2 0 0 0

Eads, ss 3 1 3 0

Hasecuster, 2b 3 0 1 1

Campton, rf 2 1 1 0

TOTALS 27 3 8 2

East Central 0 0 1 0 1 0 2 – 4-7-4

Shelbyville 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 – 3-8-1

2B – Stonefield, Eads. 3B – Hasecuster. HR – None. SB – Schomber, Kuhn. SAC – Schomber, Kramer, Schuman, Larrison. E – Werner, Holloway, DeZarn, Schuman, SH. LOB – EC 13, SH 8. HBP – Mathies (by DeZarn), Tallon, Holloway (by Larrison).

WP – DeZarn (5-0) 6-2/3 IP, 3 R, 3 ER, 8 H, 3 K, 3 BB

LP – McColley 1 IP, 2 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 K, 3 BB

SV – Schomber 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 K, 0 BB

SH – Larrison 5-2/3 IP, 2 R, 2 ER, 6 H, 6 K, 4 BB

SH – Peugh 1/3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 K, 0 BB

RICHMOND – East Central's barrier-breaking girls tennis season took it to the next level with the program's first regional team championship Wednesday night.

Now 19-3, coach Scott Kluener's Lady Trojans dispatched semifinal round foe Shenandoah 5-0 Tuesday, then followed with a 3-2 title victory over host Richmond Wednesday – after a one-hour rain delay.

“I'm extremely proud of our girls and how we were able to have the patience to wait out the rain delay and come out strong,” Kluener said.

H.S. girls tennis

IHSAA REGIONAL

At Richmond

Tuesday, May 21

Richmond 5, Rushville 0

EAST CENTRAL 5, Shenandoah 0

Wednesday, May 22

EAST CENTRAL 3, Richmond 2, final

IHSAA SEMISTATE

At Center Grove

Saturday, May 25

Greenwood vs. Terre Haute South, 10 a.m.

EAST CENTRAL vs. Plainfield Winner, 10 a.m.

IHSAA REGIONAL

At Richmond

Semifinal

Tuesday, May 21

East Central 5,

Shenandoah 0

1ST SINGLES – Abby Sweeney (EC) def. Jalen Phelps 6-0, 6-0

2ND SINGLES – Connor Struewing (EC) def. Kassy Pierce 6-0, 6-1

3RD SINGLES – Alyssa DiFiglio (EC) def. Courtney Byer 6-2, 6-2

1ST DOUBLES – Kelly Weigel/Clare Struewing (EC) def. McKenna Resler/Conli Prichard 6-2, 6-2

2ND DOUBLES – Abby Ashton/Claire Kern (EC) def. Hannah Sanders/Shelby Lockhart 6-0, 6-2

Championship

Wednesday, May 22

East Central 3

Richmond 2

1ST SINGLES – Peyton Young (R) def. Abby Sweeney 6-2, 6-1

2ND SINGLES - Katy Robinson (R) def. Connor Struewing 6-7, 7-5 (injury default)

3RD SINGLES - Alyssa DiFiglio (EC) def. Kaitlin Kramer 6-3, 6-1

1ST DOUBLES - Kelly Weigel/Clare Struewing (EC) def. Julia Hays/Kaitlyn Harrison 6-1, 6-1

2ND DOUBLES - Abby Ashton/Claire Kern (EC) def. Krissy Kramer/Emma Lady 4-6, 6-4, 6-2

EC record: 19-3

ST. LEON – Bloomington South didn’t get a hit off East Central pitcher Paige McQueen until the fourth inning in Tuesday’s Class 4A softball sectional semifinal.

Both teams, having played extra innings in Monday’s first round, combined for just seven hits. But the Panthers bunched their three in the home fourth inning for the 3-0 victory.

BROOKVILLE – After leading the Eastern Indiana Athletic Conference baseball race all season, East Central lost out in a final day title slugfest at Franklin County Monday.

FC's Wildcats swept the season series with a late-inning rally to win 17-11, relegating EC (17-8, 7-3 EIAC) to second place.

ST. LEON – Paige McQueen belted her first home run of the season to salvage East Central's messy 10-9 Class 4A softball sectional first-round win over Shelbyville in eight innings Monday.

“Survive and advance – that's all that matters in the postseason,” said EC coach Heather Zins, whose 18-8 host Lady Trojans dodged a big-time bullet thanks to winning pitcher McQueen's high-fly no-doubt shot to left-centerfield in the top of the eighth.

AURORA – East Central girls tennis captured its first sectional championship since 1993 – just the second in school history - with a 5-0 victory over Milan Saturday.

Dodging raindrops most of the weekend - with Thursday’s semifinal round bumped to Friday and Saturday's championship contested only after parents brought in leaf-blowers to help dry the South Dearborn courts – EC's title wasn't exactly a sure thing.

ST. LEON – Taking advantage of a favorable weather window Thursday night, East Central boys track and field came through with its seventh consecutive sectional championship.

Coach Steve Cotherman’s homestanding Trojans marked their 19 title overall, - all on Cotherman’s watch - outpointing top challenger Batesville in a tight 139-125 battle.

Junior Cade Knueven, the first EC runner to convert the 100-200-400 sprint triple in the Eastern Indiana Athletic Conference meet one week earlier, just missed in his attempt to repeat at the first state tournament level.