Area players fuel Ohio softball’s hot start

Helped by four central Ohio players, Ohio University’s softball team is off to its best start in history.

Redshirt pitcher Savannah Jo Dorsey of Central Crossing is 16- 6 and is among the national leaders in earned run average ( 1.44) and strikeouts ( 249) in 160 innings pitched.

Sophomore third baseman Alex Day of Hilliard Bradley leads the Bobcats ( 27- 14) in batting (. 345) and runs scored ( 30 runs) and also has 21 RBI.

Junior shortstop Mikayla Cooper of Delaware is batting .328 with five homers and 19 RBI, and junior infielder Taylor Saxton of Logan Elm is hitting .277 and has 14 stolen bases.

Baseball

• After missing 13 of the first 26 games due to physical ailments, Kentucky junior first baseman Evan White of Gahanna has returned to form of late. The preseason All- American is batting a team- high .389 with five homers and 18 RBI for the Wildcats ( 25- 12).

• Vanderbilt sophomore pitcher Chandler Day of Watkins Memorial is 5- 1 with a 3.44 ERA and 46 strikeouts in 36 innings.

Track and fi eld

• Malone sophomore Ashton Dulin of Reynoldsburg was named Great Midwest Athletic Conference indoor athlete of the year after setting a conference record in the 400- meter hurdles ( 53.83 seconds) and also winning the 110 high hurdles ( 15.08). Malone freshman Michelia Tanner of Canal Winchester broke a three- year- old GMAC record in the weight throw ( 136 feet, 3 inches).

• Austin Peay sophomore Savannah Amato, a River Valley graduate, won the Ohio Valley Conference indoor pole- vault title with a leap of 12- 9. She recorded the top four marks in the OVC.

Basketball

• Senior 6- foot- 4 swingman Matt Bingaya of Delaware was named first- team All- America after leading Fairmont State ( West Virginia) to a Division II national runner- up finish and a 34- 3 record. Bingaya averaged 19.0 points and 7.1 rebounds, and shot 58.8 percent from the field.

• Six- nine sophomore Akiean Frederick of Franklin Heights had a breakout season for Sinclair Community College and is receiving numerous Division I scholarship offers. Frederick averaged 22.4 points and 11.3 rebounds. Freshman teammate Jaquan Harrison of Africentric averaged 12.2 points and 4.9 rebounds and was regarded as the team’s defensive stopper.

• Senior forward Ryan Logan of Centerburg capped his career at Stonehill ( Massachusetts) by being named firstteam All- Northeast- 10 Conference for the second straight season. He led the team in scoring ( 17.8 points per game), rebounding ( 6.6) and assists ( 3.7). He finished fifth in program history in scoring ( 1,757 points).

• Ohio Wesleyan junior point guard Nate Axelrod of Dublin Coffman was selected second- team AllAmerica by D3hoops. com and the National Association of Basketball Coaches. He averaged 17.6 points and 4.7 assists in leading OWU to a 21- 7 record.

• Freshman guard Dayuna Johnson of Africentric helped North Dakota State College of Science win district and regional championships and reach the National Junior College Athletic Association women’s tournament. The 5- foot- 2 Johnson averaged 9.5 points and 4.0 assists and shot 40.5 percent from threepoint range and 85.7 at the free- throw line.

• Redshirt junior Connor Kern of Pickerington Central helped Arkansas State to a 20- 12 record by averaging 4.4 points in 17 minutes per game and shooting a teambest 45.8 percent ( 38 of 83) from three- point range.

• Senior Josh Ashwill of Dublin Scioto made second- team All- Crossroads League after averaging 13.6 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game for Mount Vernon Nazarene ( 19- 12).

• Several area players had a hand in Ashland’s 19- 10 record. Senior Adrian Cook of Westerville North led the team in scoring ( 14.4 points per game). Senior Boo Osborne of Centennial averaged 12.3 points and 4.5 rebounds, sophomore Nick Bapst of Grove City 8.1 points, junior Teddy Metzen of Newark 5.4 points and junior Phil Frentsos of Delaware 4.9 points.

Wrestling

• Notre Dame College freshman Kameron Teacher of Central Crossing was a vital cog in the team’s first Division II national championship. He lost in the heavyweight title match to finish 18- 10.

• Another freshman from Central Crossing, Jackson Lakso, went 21- 9 for Otterbein. Other area wrestlers for Otterbein were freshman Willy Plaisir of Dublin Coffman ( 19- 10 at 157 pounds), freshman Corbin Bunsold of North Union ( 29- 11 at 184), freshman Gage Archer of Westerville North ( 16- 7 at 285) and sophomore Jake Vaughn of DeSales ( 10- 7 at 149). Vaughn and Bunsold each placed fifth in the Midwest Regional.

Swimming and diving

• Redshirt freshman David Dinsmore of New Albany gained redemption in winning an NCAA title on the 10- meter platform for the University of Miami on March 25. With a personal- best score of 528.20 points, Dinsmore outdueled Purdue sophomore Steele Johnson, who had edged him at last summer's Olympics Trials for the final spot on the U. S. team.

“It was a legendary night,” Miami coach Randy Ableman said. “We’ve had a lot of success over the years, but this ranks right up there, with the guys he was up against, and in this pool where the Olympic Trials were. We’ve been talking about it, and we knew he had to bring his ‘ A’ game. There was no room for error. He brought it, and it took all of that to become a national champion.”

• Hartley graduate Andrea Cottrell capped her senior season at Louisville by helping the Cardinals finish sixth in the NCAA championships. Cottrell took fourth with the 400 medley relay team, fifth in the 100 breaststroke, eighth in the 200 breaststroke and 10th with the 200 medley relay. Cottrell, who won the 200 breast in the Atlantic Coast Conference championships, still holds the U. S. record as part of the 400 medley relay ( 3: 25.6) with Team USA.

• Stanford’s Cameron Thatcher, a freshman from Olentangy Liberty, placed 15th in 3- meter diving at the NCAA championships.

Gymnastics

• Connor Lewis, a freshman from Grove City, is specializing on the vault for No. 2- ranked Stanford.