NEW LONDON The Cardinal baseball team tried to rally late in a Southeast Iowa Superconference contest at New London on Thursday. The Comets scored three times in the sixth inning to pull within 7-3, then scored twice in the seventh before the Tigers finally closed out an 8-5 victory.

Marcus Olson, Cameron Honomichl and Colby Aschenbrenner all collected two hits and an RBI against the Tigers. Mason Aschenbrenner added a doubleand scored a run while Jentry Arbogast drove in Tanner Collins with an RBI single.

Cardinal (4-5, 2-5) will be back in action this weekend at the East Marshall Tournament on Saturday. The Comets hit the road again on Monday for SEISC action at Louisa-Muscatine.

Varese, Mohawks shut out Melcher-Dallas

MELCHER Mateo Varese didn't allow a single run over seven innings on the mound as the Moravia Mohawks defeated Bluegrass Conference rival Melcher-Dallas, 4-0, on Thursday. Varese allowed just one hit and struck out Sam Houston to end the game.

Moravia scored on a single by Casey Smith in the second inning. Varese earned the win for the Mohawks, striking out 14 Melcher-Dallas hitters in the victory.

Tucker Babbitt and Smith each drove in one run to lead Moravia. The Mohawks stole eight bases during the game with Varese swiping three.

Moravia (8-3), winners of six-straight games, hosts another Bluegrass Conference rival to open next week as the Mohawks welcome in Mormon Trail on Tuesday.

Sabers score fifth-straight victory

BUSSEY Senior pitcher Trace Embray allowed just one run on four hits over seven innings, lifting Twin Cedars to a fifth-straight victory as the Sabers edged Iowa Christian Academy 3-1 on Thursday night. The Sabers had just four hits of their own, including a two-run double by sophomore Broke DenBurger would bring all three runs home during the contest.

Twin Cedars (6-6) will host Bluegrass Conference rival Melcher-Dallas on Tuesday.

Warriors winwildcontest over Lone Tree

KEOSAUQUA After scoring six times in the very first inning, the Van Buren baseball team had to hold on until the very last batter. Lone Tree cut a 12-4 deficit all the way down to 14-13 and put the tying run on third base, loading the bases with two outs before Michael Schmidt was retired by sophomore Jaxon Thomas on a 3-2 pop outto close out a three-hour thriller on Thursday night.

Jonah Heckenberg scored three times in the wild contest, only bettered by a four-run night from teammate Greg Wenke thanks to three walks and two hits that allowed the Warrior junior to reach base five times, scoring four times. Van Buren (5-8) hosts the Southeast Iowa Classic throughout the weekend.

Panthers fall to Louisa-Muscatine

LOUISA Torell Washington went 2-3 at the plate and scored the second run of the sixth inning for the Pekin Panthers on Thursday night during Southeast Iowa Superconference action at Louisa-Muscatine. Those two runs, however, would be all the runs Pekin would get in a 7-2 loss to the Falcons.

Pekin (5-5) will be looking bounce back throughout this weekend joining Winfield-Mount Union and Van Buren at the opening site of the two-day Southeast Iowa Classic in Keosauqua over the weekend.

Mormon Trail outslugs Seymour

SEYMOUR It appeared as though the Seymour Warriors would battle back and forth all night with Bluegrass Conference rival Mormon Trail on Thursday. The teams found themselves tied at 2-2, 4-4, 7-7 and 9-9 before a 10-run explosion in the top of the seventh lifted Mormon Trail to a 19-13 victory.

Seymour (5-4) will look to bounce back on Tuesday night at home against Murray.

Read more from the original source:

Comets fall short at New London - Ottumwacourier

Scientists working on the European Space Agencys Rosetta probe mission have found xenon on Comet 67P a discovery that introduces a link between the cosmic rock and Earth for the first time.

The Rosetta spacecraft was launched in 2004, and its companion lander unit, Philae, arrived at the comet a decade later. Both were tasked with finding signs of how comets could uncover the origins of the solar system and life on Earth.

The latest findings have found a connection that might answer the question of how material may have been delivered to our planet, when Earth was beginning to take shape about 4.6 billion years ago.

Its all to do with xenon; a colourless, odourless noble gas that makes up less than a billionth of the volume of Earths atmosphere.

Seven different isotopes of xenon and traces of krypton were identified by the Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis. The spacecraft had to fly very close - about 5 km to 9 km from the surface of the comets nucleus - to pick up the xenon signatures, which are spread thinly.

The unique blend of the gas might match the concentrations found in the Earths early atmosphere, according to the results published in Science.

"Xenon is the heaviest stable noble gas and perhaps the most important because of its many isotopes that originate in different stellar processes: Each one provides an additional piece of information about our cosmic origins," said Bernard Marty, lead author of the study and a researcher at the Universit de Lorraine, France.

It can be formed in different ways such as the swelling of low- and intermediate-mass stars and supernova explosions, which lead to nuclear fusion reactions. Each method leads to a different isotope of xenon, allowing researchers to work out where the samples come from.

One of the hypotheses is that the xenon in the solar system comes from the protosolar cloud, a ball of gas and dust out of which the Sun and the planets were formed. The xenon on Earth, however, is thought to have been delivered at a later stage by comets.

The relative abundances of the various isotopes vary in the atmospheres of Earth and Mars, in meteorites, and the solar wind. It is believed that Earth once contained a higher abundance of lighter xenon isotopes, a primordial mixture known as U-xenon. But present concentrations have heavier isotopes, as the lighter ones have escaped Earths gravitational pull and floated off into space.

Bernard has called the discovery a potential candidate for U-xenon, which would indicate that the noble gas was indeed delivered by impacting asteroids and comets like Comet 67P.

It is estimated that comets may have brought up to 22 per cent of the xenon once present in Earths atmosphere.

The results also support the idea that comets could also have been carriers of pre-biotic molecules such as phosphorus and glycine, an amino acid, necessary components for life on Earth.

Originally posted here:

Science megablast: Comets may have brought xenon to Earth - The Register

SANDY CREEK Jasmyn Williams and Carley Stoker watched the Sandy Creek softball team play for a state championship four years ago but on Saturday, that veteran battery and the rest of the Comets are aiming to etch their own names in the annuls of the programs storied history.

Section 3 champion Sandy Creek (18-2 overall) will play Section 5s Bishop-Kearney (22-2) at 9 a.m. Saturday in the NYSPHSAA Class C semifinals at Moreau Park in South Glens Falls in pursuit of the programs third state crown.

If the Comets win, they would advance to the state championship game later that day at 1:30 p.m. in the same location against the winner of the other semifinal game between Section 2-Greenville (17-3) and Section 9-Pine Plains (17-3).

Williams, Sandy Creeks starting catcher and only senior, played for the 2013 team that reached the state final as a reserve call-up from junior varsity when she was in eighth grade. Williams said she has spoken frequently about that experience to her younger teammates throughout the season and wants to ensure they appreciate the opportunity in front of them.

We actually just had the talk about how, even though we talk about what we did in the past and what other teams did, this is our year, Williams said. This is us. Were making our mark on Sandy Creek softball and we need to understand and appreciate that.

Stoker, who was in seventh grade when the Comets reached the 2013 state final, attended to watch the event as a spectator. Her father, Jonn Stoker, was an assistant coach on that team and still holds that position.

I remember wanting to play in that and it became one of my first goals, Stoker said. I wanted to play in the state tournament just like that group was. Were all young and really just excited to go play. Every single person on this team wants it just as much as the next.

The Comets won state titles in 1997 and 2004, and coach Kate Soluri (maiden name, Hovey) played for the programs first state title team 20 years ago. Sandy Creek also reached the finals in 2007 and 2013.

This years squad is unique in that it is significantly younger than Sandy Creeks recent state final four teams. This years group has just one senior, compared to five in 2013, and six players are at the sophomore grade level or younger, compared to just one in 2013.

The 2017 Comets are also thriving without the programs usual wealth of depth, playing most of the season with 10 players compared to 15 on the 2013 roster.

The teams from previous years had girls who all played together since they were young, but thats not the case with us, Williams said. It could have been a disadvantage but we made it an advantage. These girls are young and theyre hungry for new information, theyre ready to learn and theyre eager to learn and me being a senior, Im still learning new things every day, too. That drive really carried us through this season.

Sandy Creek won its 16th sectional title in a 23-year span during this postseason, and came of age in the state quarterfinals last Friday by beating defending state champion and previously-unbeaten Elmira-Notre Dame, 6-3, in a 10-inning thriller.

Junior third baseman Savannah Brown delivered a pair of clutch hits tying the game with two outs in the seventh inning and driving in the go-ahead run in the 10th to send the Comets to the semifinals.

The mindset this weekend needs to be positive and we need to respect all and fear none, Brown said. Thats the mindset weve had all season and thats what we need to stick to.

Hannah Dasno, the sophomore starting shortstop, added: Were playing confident, but we have to know that these other teams made it there for a reason, so obviously its going to be good competition that were playing. We cant underestimate anyone by any means.

Continued here:

High school softball: Comets begin drive for state title with Bishop-Kearney matchup Saturday - WatertownDailyTimes.com

Ohio State Universitys Big Ear Observatory caught one of the most promising SETI signals ever back in 1977. Astronomers are still debating if it came from aliens, or something closer to home. (Credit: NRAO/AUI/NSF)

In 1977, Ohio State University math professor Jerry Ehman walked into the Big Ear Observatory and looked over the past few nights observations. At the time, the radio telescope was the only observatory exclusively devoted to the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI).

It also was underfunded and had no full-time staff. That means no one was listening for aliens the night SETI had its closest call with the big one. On the night of Aug. 15, 1977, a 72-second signal arrived from deep space just at the right frequency astronomers believe aliens would use. Since no staff members were around, no one could alert other telescopes to listen in.

Without tying the radio signal to an object in the night sky, they couldnt tell how far away it originated, Ehman told me last fall.

All Ehman could do was scribble Wow! on the data printout and hope the signal from Sagittarius would repeat.

It never did. But Antonio Paris, an astronomy professor at St. Petersburg College in Florida, thinks he has the solution. Two comets passed by that region of the sky in 1977, according to his hypothesis. And this year, those comets passed by again. That created a chance to test his theory. His research was accepted for publication in the Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences. (A preprint is available on Paris site.)

The comet 266/P Christensen is the onein question. Its orbit roughly aligns with Jupiter at its farthest distance and Mars at its closest to the Sun. According to Paris research, the comet transmitted at the 1420.25 MHz radio band. Thats near where the Wow! signal came from.

We did everything we could to try to debunk our results but we kept getting a signal from the comet, Paris told Discover. That was when we said, Eureka!

Paris, who along with his teaching duties runs the Center for Planetary Science and the UFO-hunting Aerial Phenomena Institute, proposed the hypothesis last year. Ehman scrutinized that original proposal, and didnt believe it was likely to be comets.

I received a copy of their article from the Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences and I studied it carefully, Ehman said in an interview at the time. I have concluded that neither of the two comets could explain the Wow! signal, and colleagues of mine at the observatory have also concluded the same thing.

Indeed, peer reviewers on Paris paper remarked on the need to coordinate with Ohio State and others on the research, seeing that as one of the flaws in the paper.

The only response from the peer review that we were concerned about was that no one, including Ohio State University, had previous research on detecting a signal from a comet, Paris says. We had to explain to the peer reviewers that we were the first to do so thus no previous data was available.

Chris Lintott, a professor of astrophysics at Oxford University, isnt buying any of the explanation.

If real, this comet is detectable in the radio, Lintott says. But the signal isnt bright enough or rapid enough to be a good fit to the Wow! signal.

The methodology itself is flawed, according to Lintott. While staring at this region of the sky, he says there should have been about five minutes worth of signals if it were comets, but it only comes in intermittent bursts. And if it were comets, Lintott says we could expect to see Wow! signals all the time, rather than once in 1977 and once in 2017. Then theres the choice of journal in his words, its not somewhere astronomers publish.

Lintott has another problem with Paris research: He crowdfunded it.

Bad papers get written and published all the time, he says. But this author asked people for money to fund his research, and if you do that you should hold yourself to the highest standards.

Lintott isnt sure what it is. But comets it aint.

I dont know what the Wow! signal was its very hard to study something youve only seen once, he says. Lintott suggests the study authors submit their research to one of the larger astronomy journals so they can get constructive feedback.

This is just science by press release, and its depressing its picked up (by the press), Lintott says.

Paris is aware of the criticism hes receiving and believes his paper still stands up to scrutiny.

I see one or two astronomers are skeptical. They emailed me, too, he says. But they cant answer my question: Show me the evidence to refute my data. They might need to do some soul searching.

For his part, Ehman remains (relatively) agnostic on the original signal, while wanting to believe the extraterrestrial cause. He acknowledges that limited equipment of the time led to a sort of dead end to the mystery.

Its an intriguing possibility that its a signal from extraterrestrial intelligence, but its also one that Ive had to declare that I cant prove that it is, or prove that it isnt, Ehman says.

So I guess that makes two things now that some people think are aliens and others think are comets. Theres now a possibly plausible explanation for the Wow! signal, but that wont stop SETI researchers from continuing to look for something just like it, hoping for that needle in the haystack that proves were not alone.

Excerpt from:

Aliens, Comets or Crap? What's Going On With The Wow! Signal ... - Discover Magazine (blog)

CONRAD Easton Swansons three-run home run in the bottom of the first inning set the tone as the BCLUW softball team blasted Gladbrook-Reinbeck 13-0 in three innings in Thursdays NICL West Division contest.

The Comets (10-4, 4-0) followed it up by scoring 10 times in the home half of the second.

Samantha Ubben, who was hit by a pitch and scored ahead of Swanson in the first, allowed one hit and struck out five in the win.

Jenna Willett and Swanson both finished 2-for-2 at the plate. Willett stole two bases and scored twice. Leah Yantis had an RBI single and walked twice. Lauren Anderson and Kaylee Goecke also had singles in the lopsided win.

The Comets continue their homestand with the BCLUW Comet Softball Invitational Tournament today and Saturday, coinciding with Conrads Black Dirt Days festival. BCLUW meets Marshalltown at 7 p.m. tonight before squaring off with Cedar Falls and Union on Saturday.

Late triple lifts BCLUW baseball to win

IOWA FALLS Logan Manns two-run, two-out triple in the top of the seventh elevated the BCLUW baseball team to its sixth consecutive win, a 7-5 triumph over Iowa Falls-Alden here Thursday night.

The Comets (7-3) led 5-0 after the first inning, but the host Cadets (3-9) came back to tie the score with three runs in the fourth, one in the fifth and another in the sixth. BCLUWs response came two outs into the seventh, when Mann drove in Ian Showers and Brad Barkema, who both reached on walks.

Logan Mann finished with two hits and three RBIs, while Blake Mann had two singles. Caleb Engle added a double while Showers, Barkema and Clay Silver each contributed a single in the win.

BCLUW hosts Gladbrook-Reinbeck tonight in an NICL West Division battle.

DES MOINES Scott McCarron broke through on the PGA Tour Champions circuit last season, rallying to win his ...

IOWA CITY University of Iowa junior Jake Adams was selected as a Baseball America third-team All-American, it ...

Excerpt from:

SPORTS SHORTS: Comets chase away GR in 3 innings - Marshalltown Times Republican

The Halifax County High School baseball team is in full swing with preparations for Fridays state tournament semi-final game against Prince George High School at Westfield High School in Chantilly.

Comets Head Coach Kenneth Day says his team has put last Fridays loss to Briar Woods High School in the 5A North Region Tournament championship game behind it and is focusing squarely on this weekends state tournament.

We just need to keep playing and see what happens this week, Day said.

Were going to be fine. We usually play pretty well on the road.

The Comets will be facing a long road trip to Northern Virginia for this weekends Virginia High School League 5A State Tournament. Fridays semi-final game against Prince George High School will be played at Westfield High School in Chantilly, which is near Washington D.C. If the Comets win on Friday, they will play in the state championship game on Saturday at James Robinson Secondary School in Fairfax.

The Comets Friday game starts at 10 a.m. Saturdays state championship game is also set for a 10 a.m. start.

Admission for both games will be $10 per person.

This weekend marks the first time in six years that a Halifax County High School baseball team has played its way into the state tournament.

In 5A South Region Champion Prince George High School, the Comets will face a Royals team that has six seniors and sports a 23-1 record.

The Royals downed Menchville High School 13-5 Friday to win the 5A South Region championship, and did the majority of its damage with one big explosive inning. Prince George High School scored 10 runs in the fourth inning to take an 11-1 lead that it never relinquished.

A pair of seniors, Tucker Majetic and Justin Nase, swung the big bats for the Royals, with Majetic having a 4-5 night at the plate and Nase having a 3-5 effort on the offensive end.

Briar Woods High School, who defeated the Comets in last Fridays 5A North Region Tournament championship game in Ashburn, will face Menchville High School of Newport News, the number two seed from the 5A South Region, Friday at 2 p.m. in the other semi-final round game.

The winners of the two Friday games will meet on Saturday in the state championship game.

See more here:

Comets prepping for state tournament opener - YourGV.com

Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, as seen by the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft.

Life on Earth may not have been possible without comet strikes.

A new study suggests that about 20 percent of the noble gas xenon in Earth's atmosphere was delivered by comets long ago. And these icy wanderers likely brought lots of other stuff to our planet as well, researchers said.

The "cometary contribution could have been significant for organic matter, especially prebiotic material, and could have contributed to shape the cradle of life on Earth," said study lead author Bernard Marty, a geochemist at the University of Lorraine and the Centre de Recherches Ptrographiques et Gochimiques in France. [7 Theories on the Origin of Life]

Marty and his colleagues studied measurements made by the European Space Agency's (ESA) Rosetta spacecraft, which orbited the 2.5-mile-wide (4 kilometers) Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko from August 2014 through September of last year.

Specifically, they analyzed xenon-isotope data that Rosetta gathered during a series of low-altitude orbits of Comet 67P between May 14 and May 31, 2016. (Isotopes are versions of an element that contain different numbers of neutrons in their nuclei. "Heavy" isotopes have more neutrons compared to "lighter" ones.)

Rosetta's observations revealed that 67P is deficient in heavy xenon. Furthermore, the team determined that the comet's xenon isotope composition matches a signature of Earth xenon whose origin had been a mystery.

Rosetta captured this photo of Comet 67Pduring the probe's final descent, which culminated in a crash-landing onto the comet on Sept. 30, 2016.

"These findings establish for the first time a genetic link between comets and the atmosphere of the Earth," Marty told Space.com via email. "This link is not only qualitative but also quantitative, as it permits [us] to decipher for xenon what was the proportion of cometary Xe added to the Earth relative to asteroidal (meteoritic) Xe."

That proportion is 22 percent cometary, plus or minus 5 percent, with asteroids providing the remainder, the researchers report in the new study, which was published online today (June 8) in the journal Science.

Scientists think asteroids delivered the vast majority of the water in Earth's oceans, and these space rocks have been regarded as the chief suppliers of the planet's other "volatiles" substances with low boiling points, such as nitrogen, carbon dioxide and noble gases as well. (Models suggest that Earth was extremely hot shortly after its formation about 4.5 billion years ago, so it probably lost its primordial volatiles early on.)

This inference is drawn partly from the isotopic similarity of hydrogen, nitrogen and other materials on Earth to that of certain asteroids known as carbonaceous chondrites, as measured in meteorite samples, Marty said.

"There was also a dynamical argument: Jupiter and the other giant planets formed early, and the outer solar system (from which comets originate) was isolated early from the inner solar system by the giant planets' gravitational fields," he said. "Now our finding calls for a revision of such models."

Comets are especially enriched in noble gases, explaining how their contribution of xenon (and perhaps other materials) to the early Earth can be outsized compared to the proportion of water these icy wanderers delivered, Marty added.

The newly analyzed Rosetta data also indicate that 67P's xenon predates the solar system that is, the comet contains samples of interstellar matter. That's an exciting result that argues for further, more detailed study of pristine cometary material, Marty said.

"Returning a cometary sample on Earth should be the highest priority, because it will permit analyses with unprecedented precision of such exotic material and could respond to questions such as: How long interstellar material can survive, which stars contributed to shape the cradle of the solar system, what is the origin(s) of the large isotopic variations of some of the elements (e.g., N, H, O), what was the role of irradiation of early solar system material, etc.," he said. (N, H and O are nitrogen, hydrogen and oxygen, respectively.)

Rosetta launched in March 2004. A decade later, it became the first mission ever to orbit a comet and the first to touch down softly on one of these bodies. (The Rosetta orbiter dropped a lander called Philae onto 67P in November 2014.)

The mission ended when Rosetta intentionally crash-landed on 67P's surface on Sept. 30, 2016.

Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published onSpace.com.

The rest is here:

Comets May Have Delivered Many of Life's Building Blocks to Early Earth - Space.com

Published Jun 8, 2017 at 4:10pm

VANCOUVER The Vancouver Canucks announced new head coach Travis Greens coaching staff on Wednesday, with one of his assistants with the Utica Comets, Nolan Baumgartner, joining him on the NHL club.

Baumgartner was named an assistant coach with the Canucks along with Newell Brown, Doug Jarvis and Manny Malhotra.

Dan Cloutier was named the goaltending coach, Glenn Carnegie was named the skills coach and Ben Cooper was hired as the video coach.

The Canucks said that Brown and Baumgartner will join Green behind the bench, taking the lead with the forwards and defensemen, respectively.

On the special teams front, Brown will oversee the power play and Baumgartner will oversee the penalty kill.

Brown joins the Canucks for his second stint as an assistant coach after serving the same capacity from 2010-2013, when he helped the team to consecutive Presidents Trophies in 2010-11 and 2011-12 in addition to an appearance in the 2011 Stanley Cup Final.

Brown spent the previous four seasons as an assistant coach with the Arizona Coyotes.

Baumgartner was alongside Green in Utica with the Comets, bringing them to a Calder Cup Final berth in 2015.

He began his coaching career in 2012-13 as an assistant coach to the Chicago Wolves.

Baumgartner also played professional hockey for 17 years, .including 143 NHL regular season games.

Carnegie will move into an expanded role, developing prospects in the system, such as the Utica Comets of the American Hockey League.

View original post here:

Comets assistant Baumgartner joins new coach Green on Vancouver bench - Rome Sentinel

BASEBALL

Cole Reams was 3 for 3 with two RBI and a run scored Tuesday night in Charles City. Elliott Sinwell was 2 for 3 with two runs scored and an RBI. The Comets broke the game open with a five-run sixth inning.

Theo Arndt picked up the win, striking out three and allowing both Waukon runs. Sinwell struck out two in an inning of relief.

The Comets broke a 6-all tie to win the game of the bottom of the seventh inning.

Drew Mitchell went 2 for 4. Cole Reams was 2 for 5 with two RBI and a run scored. Reams also pitched the last five innings, striking out six.

Mason City 7, Indianola 6

Trailing 5-3, the Mohawks rallied with a four-run seventh to pick up the road win Tuesday night.

Hunter Dingman was 2 for 4 with two RBI and two runs scored. Mac Skogen drove in two on 2 of 4 hitting.

Weston Schultz picked up the win, striking out one in the seventh.

It was a total team effort," said Mason City coach Troy Rood. "Indianola was 10-3 coming in and on the verge of being in the top 10.

Hitting is definitely contagious. We just need one or two guys to get hot and the whole group will get hot. We did it in dramatic fashion tonight.

OTHER SCORES: Clear Lake 8, Central Springs 3; North Iowa 9, West Bend-Mallard 8.

Rockford 12, West Hancock 0 (3 innings)

Marissa Norby was 3 for 3 Tuesday with three runs scored and an RBI. Amber Staudt was 1 for 2 with two RBI and a run scored. Emma Ramon struck out four in the winning effort.

Charles City 10, Forest City 0 (5 innings)

Samantha Heyer spun a no-hitter Tuesday in Forest City, striking out 11 batters. The Comets put five runs on the board in second inning, added a run in the fourth, and the capped the night with a four-run fifth inning.

Osage 14, GHV 1 (3 innings)

Autumn O'Malley earned the win Tuesday, stiking out three and holding GHV to just two hits. Kourtney Chambers finished the night with three hits, including a double.

CAL 8, Northwood-Kensett 7

CAL picked up its second win of the season Tuesday night. Dusti Bratrud was the losing pitcher.

Clear Lake 12, St. Ansgar 11 (8 innings)

Macy Mixdorf led off the eighth inning with a triple and scored on a hit by Michaela Niles.

Niles finished the night 2 for 5 with three RBI and three runs scored. Mixdorf was 2 for 5. Rachel Barillas went 3 for 4 with four RBI.

OTHER SCORE: West Bend-Mallard 4, North Iowa 2.

Rottinghaus and VandenBerg take fourth at state co-ed

ANKENY | Sydney Rottinghaus and Josh VandenBerg faced along day of co-ed tennis but emerged with the best finish by a Mason City High School doubles team at the state co-ed tennis meet on Tuesday.

Rottinghaus and VandenBerg played six matches on the day two of which went three sets en route to a 4-2 overall record and a fourth-place finish.

A more complete story will appear in Thursdays Globe Gazette.

The Saints scored twice in the fifth to pick up the road win Monday night. Lily Walk earned the win, striking out two and surrendering one hit. Kylie Juenger was 1 for 3 with a run scored.

Jamie Schuster Schuster struck out six for Rockford. Emma Ramon and Skylar Schmitt each went 1 for 3.

Riceville 3, North Tama 2

The Wildcats scratched out three runs on three hits Monday at North Tama. Tommu Bauer pitched the win, striking out six. Kyler Bauer struck out one and earned the save in an inning of relief.

Read the original here:

Roundup: Comets sweep Waukon - Mason City Globe Gazette

Even though Emery Podowicz has graduated from Central High School, she has left her imprint on the school in a number of ways. When someone with that talent has played for a program, its inevitable that a legacy is created.

The Lady Comets coach, Rebecca Swigert-Fenton, was conducting a girls basketball camp for about 25 high schoolers Tuesday morning and through the rest of the week. She hopes to find players to emulate that legacy.

Podowicz was one who pushed her younger counterparts and it was effective.

I have seen some of my sophomores start to do things as juniors that Emery and her class did, Swigert-Fenton said. Clearly, they have paid attention. I dont remember them doing those things before and yet now I see that today.

Read the full story in the print edition or by subscribing online to the E-edition.

See the original post:

Coach conducts Lady Comets camp to create confidence - Newsbug.info

Too young? Guess again.

In Rowan County baseball year one A.P. after Planck a lineup including five sophomores and a freshman held off West Carter 6-3 on Wednesday night for the Vikings first 16th Region championship since 1983.

Matthew Gagliano, part of the sophomore gang, pitched into the seventh inning for the victory.

Im just stunned, said Gagliano, who posted five no-hit innings while the Vikings built a 5-0 lead. At the beginning of the season, we werent even looked at as a contender.

Rowan County graduated star pitcher Cameron Planck, who was an 11th-round draft pick by the New York Mets.

But the Vikings young talent meshed with senior starers Harlan Carter, Peyton Fannin and Ethan Ratliff. Rowan County, a 25-game winner, rolled through the 61st District tournament and never trailed during its three-game region run at Larry Addington Field.

We are playing well, Rowan County coach Keith Prater said. Were seeing the ball at the plate, were making plays and the pitching has been really good. I couldnt be more proud of this team. To be honest, nobody gave them a chance after we lost Planck.

Sophomore Shane Taylor played a key role in the late innings. He doubled and scored in the Vikings three-run fifth and hit a sacrifice fly the next inning to make it 6-0.

Its the greatest feeling I've ever had in my life, Taylor said. I'm so happy right now.

West Carter (20-15) made the Vikings earn it. The Comets, playing in their first region title game, came alive with three hits in each of the final two innings to slice the lead in half. Dalton Brown, JT Johnson and Kaden Rose hit consecutive singles to produce the first run.

We have to give West Carter props, Prater said. They hit the crap out of the ball. Fortunately, several of them were right at us.

Gagliano exited with one out in the seventh inning to a round of applause from Rowan Countys fans. Fellow sophomore Cory Binion surrendered RBI singles to Albert Mercado and Dalton Brown allowing West Carter to bring the potential tying run to the plate with two aboard and two outs.

JT Johnson hit a sinking liner to left field that a diving Taylor plucked off the top of the grass.

I saw it hang up in the air a little bit and I knew I could get it, Taylor said. It was instinct for sure.

Said Binion: I love that dude, man. I love that dude. We've played baseball since we were 3 years old. We've been together all this time and I knew he was going to make that catch when I saw him dive for it.

The catch foiled the Comets latest final-inning comeback. The previous night, they scored four in the seventh to rally past Boyd County 9-8.

I'd take that swing 100 out of 100 times, West Carter coach Tim Johnson said. He hit it right on the button, on the barrel. The kid made a good play in left field. If you smoke a line drive into left field, that ain't nothing to hang your head at there.

Johnson praised his teams never-say-die attitude.

Hey, it's not over until the last out's made, he said. That's one thing I'll say about this team. All year long, we've lost some games by a large margin of runs, but we never quit in one game. When the last out's made, you see our guys in the dugout, Oh, I can't believe it's over. We think, as long as there's an out left, we got a chance. We played really hard tonight.

Rowan County players rushed to celebrate the last out by mobbing each other behind shortstop.

This is a dream, Binion said. I wanted to do this this year, next year and the next year. But this year, heck, everybody said we weren't gonna do it, but we did it.

Carter had another big game, going 2-for-3 with a double and used some smart baserunning to score the first run.

Oh my goodness, its fantastic, Carter said afterward. Our team has been 100 percent heart. We battled all year for this. Its surreal.

Carter hit a leadoff double in the third inning and later got trapped between third and home on Fannins one-hopper back to Rose. As soon as Rose threw to third, Carter quickly broke for the plate and slid in safely without a throw.

He didnt hesitate, Prater said. He made a commitment to go. It was a great play. Harlan became a complete player for us this year. Its been fun to watch.

Fannin also chipped in two hits and sophomore AJ Hacker scored twice and drove in another run with a sacrifice fly that West Carter dropped for a two-base error.

Rowan County advances to meet Third Region winner Muhlenberg County Thursday (1:30 p.m.) in the opening round of the State Tournament at Whitaker Bank Ballpark in Lexington.

Gagliano said he would have never guessed at the beginning of the season that he would be pitching in the region final.

Im glad they chose me, he said. Getting ahead in the count was big for me. Im just blown away right now.

WEST CARTER 000 001 2 3 6 3

ROWAN CO. 002 031 x 6 6 1

Rose, Thornsberry (6) and McGlone; Gagliano, Binion (7) and Fannin. WGagliano. LRose. 2BCarter (RC), Ratliff (RC), Taylor (RC).

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Comets make Vikings earn 16th Region baseball championship ... - Journal-Times

DUNMORE One and two in the lineup gave Abington Heights the two-one punch it needed.

Leadoff hitter Mara Hamm sparked a two-run first and Alison Kane legged out an inside-the-park homer in the second, and that was just enough offense to send the Lady Comets into the PIAA softball quarterfinals with a 3-1 win over Great Valley in Mondays Class 5A first-round game at Penn State Worthington Scranton.

Abington Heights will play Donegal, a 3-2 winner over District 1 champ West Chester Henderson, on Thursday at a site and time to be determined.

It wasnt the gaudy offensive show that was the Lady Comets forte all season, but it was more than enough, as pitcher Meghan McGinley worked out of a couple jams, and her defense made the tough plays behind her.

Its important to get the momentum in the first inning, Hamm said. It helps us get that head start. I just wanted to get the momentum going.

I was going to hit the ball hard wherever it was pitched. Outside, I was going to right and inside I was going to turn on it.

Hamm sizzled the third pitch of the game for a double to right.

Ive never seen the kid intimidated as a freshman, Abington Heights coach John Kelly said. Thats tough to teach. Some seniors dont have that kind of confidence.

I hope the team sees a freshman has that kind of confidence in her ability. Shes done that every game.

A wild pitch moved Hamm to third and Kane followed with a four-pitch walk and took second on defensive indifference.

Cassidy Bartkowski drove in Hamm with a groundout and Kane sprinted home on another wild pitch to provide the Lady Comets (15-2) with an early cushion.

Its very important to start out strong, Kane said. Weve been on the flip side and then youre in the hole.

After two quick outs in the second, Kane ripped a ball through the hole at short. When the left fielder couldnt get there in time to cut it off, the ball continued to the fence, and Kane continued to circle the bases.

I knew I hit it hard and my coach kept waving me around, Kane said. He wasnt stopping me so Im glad I made it home safely.

I was a little surprised, but we work with speed in our game, stealing, sacrificing, everything. Thats my game and I got to put it on the field with an inside-the-park home run, so thats pretty cool.

Kellys advance scouting paid off on the play, too.

The biggest thing was we had two outs, and we saw them play last week and I saw where they really didnt hit their cutoffs, Kelly said. I told the girls we were going to be aggressive because their outfielders come up and just throw the ball. She did hit the cut, but Kane is so fast that with two outs we were taking a shot.

When the relay to the plate short hopped the catcher, Kane scored easily. But that was the end of the offense for Abington Heights as pitcher Morgan Orlowski settled down for Great Valley to allow only a third-inning single to Kaylee DeMatteo and Kanes double in the fifth.

She got better as the game went on, Kelly said of Orlowski. I think we got a little anxious and swung at a couple pitches we should have. We didnt play our best game but we pulled it out.

Meghan pitched a great game and kept us in. Thats what won it.

Great Valley (11-10) got three consecutive two-out singles off McGinley in the fourth, but she made big pitches when she needed them.

When we were in situations where I needed to throw strikes, I think I threw good strikes and threw them harder, McGinley said. I did a good job hitting my spots tonight.

Its really important because if you miss a spot just barely, you can end up giving up hits. The one inning, I missed spots and they ended up with a couple hits and a run.

But Abington Heights got a couple solid defensive plays, with Bartkowski making two sparking plays to keep the Patriots at bay.

Defensively we played very well, and Cassidy has been playing very well the last three or four games, Kelly said. If we keep up that defense and our bats come alive, well be alright.

Contact the writer:

mmyers@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100, ext. 5437;

@mmyersTT on Twitter.

Great Valley Abington Heights

ab r h bi ab r h bi

Bryan c 3 0 1 0 Hamm dp 4 1 1 0

Rubin 2b 2 0 0 0 Kane cf 2 2 2 1

Bevec 3b 3 1 1 0 Bartkowski ss 3 0 0 1

Orlowski p 2 0 1 0 Kozar 1b 2 0 1 0

Nadwodny ss 3 0 1 1 Kupinski c 3 0 1 0

Armand 1b 3 0 0 0 DeMatteo 3b 2 0 1 0

Bullock rf 3 0 0 0 Solan 2b 3 0 0 0

Barlow cf 2 0 0 0 McGinley p 3 0 0 0

McGarvey ph 1 0 0 0 Olevnik rf 3 0 0 0

CaMcCarthy dp 2 0 0 0 Fiorillo lf 0 0 0 0

CoMcCarthy lf 0 0 0 0

Totals 24 1 4 1 Totals 25 3 6 2

Great Val 000 100 0 1

Abington Heights 210 000 x 3

2B: Nina Kozar (AH), Mara Hamm (AH), Allison Kane (AH). HR: Alison Kane (AH).

Great Val IP H R ER BB SO

Orlowski, LP 6 6 3 3 2 1

Abington Heights IP H R ER BB SO

McGinley, WP 7 4 1 1 1 5

Records: GV 11-10, AH 15-2

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PIAA SOFTBALL: Hamm, Kane pace Lady Comets win over Great Valley - Scranton Times-Tribune

COLLINS After starting the season 2-2, the Collins-Maxwell/Baxter softball team appears to be hitting its stride.

The Class 2A No. 4 Raiders won their sixth straight game following a 7-4 victory over 3A No. 12 North Polk during Heart of Iowa Conference play Monday.

The Raiders led 7-1 after four innings before holding off a late Comet rally.

Freshman Mikayla Houge improved to 5-0 in the circle. She allowed four runs on three hits, two walks and two hit batters. She also fanned six. North Polk scored all four of its runs on two home runs.

The Raiders (8-2 overall, 5-1 in the HOIC) scored two runs in the first inning. Senior Megan Ritter reached on an error and then junior Katie Camp walked. Both runners moved up a base on a Houge sacrifice bunt.

Senior Abbey Kahler drove in Ritter with an RBI groundout, and then senior Mikayla Eslinger made it 2-0 with an RBI double.

North Polk, which has lost three straight, pulled within a run in the top of the second when Sophie Swygman hit a solo home run.

CMB extended its lead to 6-1 in the bottom of the second.

Freshman Holly Jessen got a lead-off single. Ritter and Camp both drew two-out walks. Houge drove in two runs with an infield single after Ritter scored from second base. Kahler then drove in two more runs with a two-out double.

Ritter went back to work in the fourth inning. She walked with two outs, stole second and third and then scored on an error.

Rebecca Rimathe blasted a three-run homer in the sixth to pull North Polk (7-4, 5-1) within 7-4. Houge was able to shut the door with two groundouts and a strikeout in the seventh.

Houge went 2-for-2 with two RBIs and a sacrifice. Sophomore Hannah Caple had two hits, including a double off the fence.

Kahler had one hit and three RBIs, Eslinger had an RBI double and Holly Jessen singled and scored a run.

Ritter impacted the game without getting a hit. She walked twice, stole three bases and scored three runs. Camp had two walks and scored twice.

CMB plays BCLUW in a non-conference game at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in Conrad.

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Raiders down Comets in battle of ranked teams - Newton Daily News

ACKLEY Samantha Ubben surrendered only one hit and the BCLUW softball team improved to 3-0 in NICL West Division play with a 3-1 victory against Class 1A No. 12 AGWSR here Monday night.

Ubben struck out eight, walked one and allowed only one Cougar hit. It was an Anna Jaspers home run, however, that cut AGWSRs deficit to 2-1 in the bottom of the fourth.

BCLUW (8-4, 3-0) struck for two runs in the top of the first inning and another in the seventh, using its trademark small-ball tactics to turn five hits into three runs. Sara Sharp led the Comets with two hits, scoring an insurance run in the seventh on a grounder off the bat of Leah Yantis.

Taryan Barrick struck out six from the circle for AGWSR (8-3, 1-2), which saw a five-game winning streak snapped.

BCLUW hosts 2A No. 4 Collins-Maxwell/Baxter tonight in Conrad, while AGWSR goes to Aplington-Parkersburg.

Mustangs make quick work of Spartans

GRUNDY CENTER The East Marshall softball team scored in each of its five at-bats, rattling off a 13-3 win against Grundy Center in an NICL West Division pairing on Monday night.

The Spartans (2-4, 0-3) managed four hits against East Marshall hurler Kodie Hoskey, who struck out four and walked none.

Madison Farrington doubled and homered, driving in three for the Mustangs (6-5, 2-1), while Maria Rasmusson had a double among her three hits. Melinda Puumala added two hits and Hoskey had a double among her two hits.

Brittany Burroughs got the loss in the circle for Grundy Center (2-4, 0-3).

Mann drives in three as BCLUW wins

ACKLEY Logan Mann hit a run-scoring single in the fifth inning and a two-run homer in the seventh, providing the BCLUW baseball team with enough offense to ward off AGWSR 4-2 in Mondays NICL West Division contest.

The Comets (6-3, 3-0) went in front 1-0 on Manns RBI single, driving in Ian Showers with the first run of the game in the top of the fifth. Troy Dolphin singled and scored ahead of Manns round-tripper in the seventh, which made it 4-0 Comets before AGWSR scratched together two runs in the bottom half.

Blake Mann went 6 1/3 innings for the win, striking out 11 and walking two. Brad Barkema came on for the save, getting the final two outs as BCLUW ran its win streak to five games.

Luke Starr got the loss for AGWSR (1-4, 0-3), which issued a combined nine walks to Comet batters. Starr had two hits and Nathan Karsjens the only other for the Cougars.

AGWSR goes to East Marshall in divisional play Wednesday, while BCLUW visits Iowa Falls-Alden on Thursday.

East Marshall baseball nets first victory

GRUNDY CENTER Three four-run outbursts helped the East Marshall baseball team chart its first win of the season, defeating Grundy Center 13-8 in an NICL West Division showdown here Monday.

Justin Ridout pitched five innings for the win, allowing six runs on eight hits and three walks while striking out six.

Jordan McAnulty led the East Marshall bats, going 4-for-5 with two RBIs and three runs scored. Ridout helped his own cause, going 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. Zane Johnson, Lansin Lacina, Colton Weese, Jacob Svendsen and Gage Hulin each added a hit for East Marshall (1-7, 1-1).

Travis Kuester allowed eight runs in four innings for Grundy Center (1-4, 1-2).

Mohawks sweep Bobcat softball

MASON CITY The Mason City softball team (4-6, 2-2) swept Marshalltown (0-9, 0-4) in Mondays CIML Iowa Conference doubleheader, 5-1 and 6-5. No other details were available as of press time.

HOUSTON Connor Wong hit a tiebreaking homer in the ninth inning and Houston advanced to the final round of its ...

MASON CITY Wyatt Himes drove in the only run in the first game and scored the go-ahead run in the second, ...

GILBERT Kallie Malloy tossed a three-hit shutout in the first win and 6 1/3 innings of one-hit relief in the ...

HUXLEY The BCLUW softball team bowed twice to opponents at the Ballard Tournament on Saturday, splitting their ...

HOUSTON Cole Bedford hit a three-run homer in the fourth inning, Corbin Martin struck out nine in seven innings ...

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SPORTS SHORTS: Comets topple No. 12 Cougars, 3-1 - Marshalltown Times Republican

Less than 24 hours earlier, second-ranked Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont couldn't buy a big hit.

Saturday morning at Oskaloosa, senior Haegen Boyer had three run-scoring hits of her own in the very first game of Indian softball team's home classic. Boyer cracked three home runs in the first of three wins for second-ranked (2A) EBF (8-3) as the Rockets beat Pella (12-2), Mount Vernon (10-9) and Newton (15-0).

The victories were the perfect remedy for the state championship hopefuls, who suffered a disappointing South Central Conference home loss on Friday night to Centerville. Freshman pitcher Alyssa McElvain worked around eight hits by EBF, stranding 12 Rocket baserunners in a 1-0 Redette victory.

"That loss kind of opened our eyes a little bit and that we need to focus in to get what we deserve," Boyer said. "I was just focused from the first pitch I saw. Those are the kind of things that can happen when you're focused."

Cardinal, however, had a much different day at Oskaloosa. The Comets (1-13) lost to three teams from the Little Hawkeye Conference falling to the top-ranked (4A) Indians (13-0), Knoxville (13-1) and Pella Christian (8-2).

"The girls have gained something from every game they've been a part of. The biggest thing is that they've learned how to play together," first-year Cardinal head softball coach Sabrina Morrison said. "We've got young girls that just need to gain some more experience. We're just working on improving one game at a time."

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Rockets 3-0; Comets 0-3 at Osky Classic - Ottumwacourier

Matthew Lounsberry mlounsberry@hillsdale.net mlounsberryHDN

UNION CITY Jonesville softball is the champion of District 79 in Union City after wins over Homer and Bronson on Saturday.

The Lady Comets defeated Bronson 7-2 in the championship game to claim the title.

They never gave up. They came here today to play. I've been telling them all year long, we play Jonesville softball, said Jonesville coach Chelsea Wright.

I told them I didnt care what we did this season, [because] a new season starts at districts. They worked hard, they left it all on this field today.

Each team scored a run in the opening inning, before the Vikings took a 2-1 lead with a run in the second.

Jonesville struck for three runs in the top of the third, and three more in the fifth to pad their lead. The Comets stayed sharp defensively, holding Bronson scoreless through the remainder of the game.

Koryn Playford was in the pitching circle for the Comets, throwing a complete game while allowing six hits and a walk, allowing only one earned run.

Shes been working hard for me all season. Weve been working on hitting her locations, Wright said.

Thats our biggest thing. We cant be pitching them down the middle. She did a great job tonight working the batters and making them pop up.

At the plate, Playford went 4-for-4 with an RBI. Lauren Mains was 1-for-2 with two RBI, and Payton Back added an RBI.

To reach the championship, Jonesville first had to overcome a stiff test from rival Homer.

After taking a 1-0 lead into the seventh inning, the Comets exploded for eight runs in the top of the seventh and went on to win, 9-1.

Teya Nichols pitched a strong game for Jonesville, allowing a single earned run across six and two-thirds innings. The junior allowed three hits and five walks, but limited the damage with five strikeouts.

Teyas been hurt for the last part of our season. Shes gotten mad at me for not playing her, but I kept telling her I needed her for districts. I needed to have her 100 percent, not 80-90, I needed 100. She gave it all today for me, Wright said.

With Jonesville leading 1-0 in the bottom of the sixth, one of the biggest moments of the game was provided by Comet junior Kelsey Magda.

With a Homer runner on base, a ball was hit to deep centerfield. Magda kept the game-tying run from scoring by making a spectacular catch in centerfield.

Kelsey always takes that first step in, but somehow she still manages to track it down, Wright said.

Shes been playing great for us all season in the field. I couldnt ask for anything better out of her right now.

In the top half of the seventh, the Comets loaded the bases for Back, who smacked a grand slam home run over the centerfield wall, sparking Jonesvilles eight-run inning.

Payton has been struggling at the plate, but when shes on, shes on, Wright said.

I just had that feeling that something was going to happen because she was struggling during the first couple at-bats today. So I knew she was going to get ahold of something.

Back led the offensive effort for Jonesville, going 2for-4 with four RBI. Playford was 3-for-4 with two RBI. Magda had a hit and two RBI.

Also for the Comets, Miranda Masarik had a hit and an RBI, while Samantha Dunn added two hits.

Jonesville now turns its attention to Regional 20 at Napoleon this upcoming Saturday. The Comets will square off with Saranac in the semifinals.

Weve just got to keep working hard, Wright said. Well leave it all on the field.

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Lady Comets top Bronson, win district - The Hillsdale Daily News

For the second consecutive game, the Lady Comets scored a goal in the last few seconds of the game. This time, however, it was the icing on the cake, rather than the games only goal as it was Thursday.

The Comets put early and consistent pressure on the Lawton defense in the first half. They almost put one in 3 minutes into the game off a corner kick, but the Lawton keeper made a nice save. With 24 minutes remaining in the half, the Comets passed the ball around nicely and missed a shot a few feet wider right.

A minute later, however, Haley Balkema scored off a Lawton turnover to give the Comets the 1-0 advantage. Two minutes later, Lawton had a turnover at the midfield and the Comets turned it into a 3 on 1 and Kayla Beebe finished the play to extend the lead to 2-0. The Lawton keeper made a great save a few minutes later to prevent 3 quick goals. The keeper made several other nice saves to keep the game 2-0. Beebe scored her second goal, this time from just inside the 18, with just over a minute remaining when Sarah Miller forced another Lawton turnover.

The Lady Comets continued to maintain possession of the ball for large portions of the second half. Kayla Beebe completed a hat trick with a penalty kick with 17 minutes remaining. The Comets finished the scoring with an own goal from Lawton off of a beautiful corner from Meagan Laaksonen with 12 seconds remaining to end the game at 5-0.

The Lady Comets improve to 18-2-2 overall. They advance to the regional semi-finals Tuesday at 5:00 at Kalamazoo College against Grand Rapids Covenant Christian.

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Kalamazoo Christian Lady Comets Win 7th Consecutive Soccer District Title - MLive.com

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CHRISTOPHER DOLAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Crestwood freshman Anthony Caporuscio (17) passes the ball as Lansdale Catholics Pat Burnham defends during Saturdays state quarterfinal game at Emmaus High School. Caporuscio scored five goals in Crestwoods 12-9 loss.

CHRISTOPHER DOLAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Crestwood attacker Zach Anderson (13) sends the ball over Lansdale Catholics Seamus Horan for a goal during their PIAA Class AA boys lacrosse quarterfinal game Saturday.

EMMAUS The Crestwood boys lacrosse team is always looking to learn something when it takes the field.

Saturday, the Comets discovered that they can go toe-to-toe with the best teams in Pennsylvania even though they are still a relative newcomer to the sport.

Making their first-ever appearance in the PIAA Class AA quarterfinals, the Comets gave perennial power Lansdale Catholic all it could handle before the Crusaders pulled away late for a 12-9 victory.

The win propelled Lansdale Catholic (17-5) into the state semifinals opposite Springfield, which also won 12-9 in its Saturday quarterfinal against Allentown Central Catholic.

Crestwoods season just its seventh in school history ended with its deepest playoff run yet.

Weve had a hard season with a lot of really good teams up in District 2. Thats what helps prepare us, and it would have prepared anybody that was in our shoes to come down here and start to run with some of the best teams in the state, Comets head coach Brian Zabroski said. These teams that are from the Lehigh Valley and the Philadelphia area, they have a long history of lacrosse. With us its still somewhat new to our group.

But to come down here and be in the game 10-9 with a few minutes left, were running with them. Were real proud of that.

The District 12 champion Crusaders opened the contest with a flurry, knocking in three goals during the games first three minutes to put the Comets on their heels. Ryan Flanegan scored two of the goals and Nick Heiler added the third.

The District 2 champs were hardly fazed. The Comets answered at the 6:04 mark of the opening quarter when Owen Grigas crossed in front of the net and buried a one-timer to put his team on the board. Then, with 39 seconds remaining in the quarter, freshman Anthony Caporuscio took a Matt Tirpak feed and sent it home for the first of his game-high five goals, cutting the deficit to 3-2 after 12 minutes.

After killing off a three-minute penalty, Lansdale Catholics Joe Walsh scored unassisted to make it 4-2 three minutes into the second quarter. But Caporuscio and Tirpak again teamed up for Crestwood just 11 seconds later, and two minutes after that Caporuscio weaved his way through traffic and scored again to knot the game at 4-4 midway through the period.

We were down a quick three goals, but that goes to the guys for having a lot of heart, Zabroski said.

Kyle Richards gave the Comets their first lead (5-4) with an unassisted tally, only to see the Crusaders run off three more goals in a span of 90 seconds to go back on top 7-5. Grigas capped the first-half scoring by bouncing one in off the turf following a Caporuscio pass to slice the Lansdale Catholic lead to 7-6 at intermission.

Caporuscios fourth goal 24 seconds into the second half was a thing of beauty, as he went behind his back to score a backhand goal and pull the Comets even at 7-7.

Anthony is an experienced player, hes dynamic, Zabroski said. He never stays still and hes creative with the ball, and that makes him a very hard player to defend.

Later in the period, Zachary Anderson and Caporuscio scored back-to-back goals, the latter with 2:07 remaining, giving the Comets their final lead at 9-8.

However, a crosscheck penalty gave the Crusaders a power play opportunity, and they took advantage as Michael Basilli scored to tie the game (9-9) for the fifth and final time.

Flanegan put the Crusaders on top to stay at 8:39 of the fourth, scoring an unassisted goal to make it 10-9. While the Comets had several scoring chances in the fourth quarter, they were unable to convert.

After getting a turnover with 1:07 to play, Crestwood had the ball back. However, a Flanegan steal led to a breakaway for Grady Kelly, whose goal with 38 seconds left all but clinched the victory.

It was awesome, Kelly said. Our middies and defense did a good job on the ground ball and Ryan Flanegan had his head up and all I had to do was put the ball away with a one-on-one.

Seconds later, the Crusaders won the faceoff and Basilli scored unassisted to complete the hard-fought win.

It was two great teams in the quarterfinals of states. Probably this was our best game of the year, the hardest fought, Kelly said. They came out and competed the entire game right to the last minute. When we came in we knew it was going to be a close game like this. We knew it was going to come down to the wire, but we always felt we were going to pull it out.

The loss marked the end of the Comets 13-8 campaign, one that included their second district championship and a state playoff win over District 4 champ Lewisburg.

Were always developing. Being able to get this far, this deep into the playoffs shows that the guys have a good firm commitment on working hard and trying to learn the game, Zabroski said. Lansdale Catholic is one of the best teams in the state, and here we are hanging around and on June 3, were still playing lacrosse. Theres only eight other teams in Double-A still playing right now, and were one of them, so were real proud of that.

With several underclassmen returning next season, Crestwoods program is on firm ground heading into season No. 8.

The future looks bright, Zabroski said. Were always developing, weve got a lot of new players out here. The next couple of years were just going to continue to work and play the good games. Were going to win some, were going to lose some, but we try to learn something from every game and were going to learn a lot from this game, and take that into next season hopefully.

Crestwood goals: Anthony Caporuscio (5), Owen Grigas (2), Kyle Richards, Zachary Anderson.

Crestwood assists: Matt Tirpak (2), Kyle Richards, Anthony Caporuscio, Wyatt Malia.

Crestwood saves: Reed Karaska (11).

Lansdale Catholic goals: Ryan Flanegan (4), Joe Walsh (3), Nick Heiler (2), Michael Basilli (2), Grady Kelly.

Lansdale Catholic assists: Grady Kelly (2), Joe Walsh, Michael Basilli, Ryan Flanegan.

Lansdale Catholic assists: Seamus Horan (10).

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Comets fall to Lansdale Catholic in state quarterfinals - Standard Speaker

Ben Birnell

A former Utica Comets broadcaster has earned a call up to the National Hockey League.

Alex Faust, who served as the Comets' radio broadcaster while filling in for then-announcer Brendan Burke during parts of the team's first three seasons, was named the Los Angles Kings' television play-by-play announcer Thursday.

Faust is the second broadcaster with ties to the Comets to reach the NHL. Burke was the main Comets' broadcaster for the first three seasons until last August when he took the role as MSG Network's television play-by-play role for the New York Islanders. The current Comets broadcaster is Andy Zilch, who called each game during the 2016-17 season.

Faust called various Comets' games from 2013 to 2015, including the team's first game. Faust also served as a reporter for 2015 American Hockey League's All-Star Game in Utica, and did play-by-play for a few games during the team's run to the Calder Cup finals in 2015. Faust has also worked as hockey broadcaster for games on NBCSN, NESN and Westwood One Radio.

The 28-year-old New York City native takes over for Bob Miller, who retired in April after calling Kings games for more than 40 years. The team agreed to a multi-year contract with Faust, according to a news release.

"It is an incredible honor to join the LA Kings as their next play-by-play broadcaster," Faust said in the release. "The Kings have set a standard for excellence on and off the ice and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to serve fans in this role. I can't wait to work with Jim Fox and the entire FOX Sports West and Kings broadcast crew on the whole.

"With all that in mind, it is a true privilege to be following a legend like Bob Miller. Bob is still very much the 'Voice of the Kings,' and his legacy goes well beyond the booth: He built a rapport with Kings fans not only on-the-air but away from the rink, helping grow the sport of hockey in Los Angeles through active involvement in the community. My goal is to bring the same class and professionalism to work each day, especially as I get to know Kings fans over the coming weeks, months and years."

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Former Comets broadcaster Faust lands Kings gig - Utica Observer Dispatch

Winning baseball games for his Halifax County High School teammates is becoming something of a habit for senior leftfielder Josh Barker.

For the second game in a row Barker came up with a clutch hit to give the Comets a win, this time with a single through the middle of the infield in the bottom of the 12th inning to score teammate Tyler Duffer to give the Comets a 2-1 win over North Stafford High School Wednesday night at Halifax County High School in a semi-final round of game of the 5A North Region Tournament.

I got a good pitch to hit, Barker said with a huge smile.

I just made contact and drove the ball. I got a fastball. Thats what I wanted to hit. I went up to the (batters) box looking for a fastball to drive.

While Barkers hit in the bottom of the 12th inning was big in the Comets win, his defensive play in the outfield came up big as well. The Comets senior made a diving catch of a difficult-to-handle fly ball to get the first out in the top of the 11th inning.

Later, with the bases loaded with North Stafford High School runners, Barker made a spectacular running catch against the fence of a towering fly ball to get the Comets out of the inning.

I had to run in pretty hard to catch it, Barker remarked, but I made the play. On the second one, I caught the ball, turned around and hit the fence.

The win gives the Comets a berth in next weeks VHSL 5A State Tournament and sends the Comets on the road to Ashburn, Virginia for Friday nights 5A North Region Tournament championship game against Briar Woods High School. Game time is 6 p.m.

This marks the first time since the 2011 season that a Comets baseball team will compete in the VHSL 5A State Tournament.

Wednesday nights win was the 20th victory of the season for the Comets who improved their record to 20-2 with the win. This season marks the third time in four years that a Comets baseball team has reached the semi-final round of the 5A North Region Tournament.

Its almost unbelievable, Comets Head Coach Kenneth Day said of the win.

We just trust our kids to play for us and come through for us. Josh had great at-bats all game. We were counting on him to do it. We made the right plays when we needed to make the right plays, and our pitchers have done well year. We just continue to put faith in our pitchers.

Comets senior hurler Andrew Abbott, making his final start in front of his hometown Comets fans, struck out 15 Wolverine batters including eight of the first nine batters he faced in the game, and yielded four scattered hits and one run in his seven innings of work.

I felt really good tonight, Abbott said.

I was definitely pumped up. I knew this was a big game and that the guys were counting on me to go out there and throw strikes. We got hitting when we needed it and the defense was playing well behind me.

Drew Harlow followed, fanning six batters and allowing seven scattered hits in his four and two thirds innings on the mound. Carlton Redd went to the mound in relief of Harlow in the top of the 12th inning and faced one batter.

North Stafford High School took the early lead at 1-0 in the top of the fourth inning, which started with a single by Elliot Blake. Justin Cherry reached base on a Comets error and a double by Dawson Sims scored Blake to give North Stafford High School the early lead.

The Comets tied the game in the bottom of the fifth inning when Harlow walked with one out, moved to second base on a wild pitch and scored on a single by Brayden Moore to make the score 1-1.

For the next six and a half innings the game remained scoreless, with the Comets turning back possible scoring threats when the Wolverines had two runners on base with just one out in the top of the 11th inning and had the bases loaded with two out in the top of the 12th inning.

The Comets threatened to end the game in the bottom of the 10th inning when Eric Brandon, running for Holt Powell who had opened the inning with a hit, attempted to score on a hit by Barker. Brandon was tagged out at the plate by North Stafford High School catcher Kevin Ledford after taking a throw from rightfielder Samari Broven, ending the inning.

Halifax County High School had seven hits in the game, with Barker leading the team with two hits. Abbott, Clay Lloyd, Duffer, Powell and Moore had a hit each.

The Wolverines had 11 hits in the game with Sims leading the team with three hits. Blake, Ledford and Vince Munoz had two hits each. Logan Sanders and David Miller had one hit each.

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Comets top North Stafford HS 2-1 in 12 innings; punch ticket to state ... - YourGV.com