Sports Roundup (By Paul Beitler)

Bluffton golfers nipped by Panthers
The Bluffton Tigers were edged by the Eastbrook Panthers on Monday at Timber Ridge Golf Course in Bluffton.
Eastbrook defeated the Tigers 192-194.
Bluffton sophomore Tyler Mohler and Eastbrook’s Blake McQueen tied for medalist honors with a 46.
Andrew Weiland backed up McQueen with a 47, while Nick Combs added a 48 for the Panthers. Adam Bernaix and Stephen Green rounded out Eastbrook’s scoring each with a 51.
Bluffton’s Jason Cook and Nick Landrum each shot a 49, followed by Price Kyle with a 50 and Jackson Bates with a 53.

Barons down Norwell softballers
The DeKalb Barons defeated Norwell 19-2 in Northeast Hoosier Conference girls’ softball action Monday at Waterloo.
Norwell (6-10) was held to two hits, including a double by Kelsey Kline and a single by Alyssa Shutt. Kline and Shutt each drove in one run. Melissa Werling and Shutt scored. Jenny Sterrett was the starting pitcher and took the loss.
Chelsey Hartman was the winning pitcher. Chelsea Sanderson doubled twice for the Barons, who had 16 hits. Kelsey Blevins also doubled.

Norwell JV girls suffer two losses
The Norwell Knights’ junior varsity girls’ softball team recently dropped two games. On Monday, the Knights (1-8) lost 10-1 to DeKalb at Norwell. Last Friday, the Adams Central Jets beat the Knights 12-1.
Against DeKalb, the Knights were led by Kayla Hanni and Heather Miller each with two hits. Hanni doubled and scored. Miller had the run batted in. Hanni was the losing pitcher.
Hanni had both hits, including a double, against Adams Central. She scored the Knights’ run and was the losing pitcher. Wendy Meyer had the run batted in and Jenny Merryman doubled.

Bluffton jayvees lose to Jay County
The Bluffton Tigers’ junior varsity baseball team lost 9-1 to the Jay County Patriots on Monday at Bluffton. Alex Penrod was the losing pitcher.

Kunkel receives ESPN honor
Manchester College senior softball player Chelsea Kunkel has been named to the ESPN The Magazine’s Academic All-District V Softball team.
Kunkel, a designated player for the Spartans, has a 3.57 grade point average in accounting. The Norwell graduate hit .344 with six doubles, two home runs and a team-high 25 runs batted in. She was a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference second team selection.

Lady Tiger Basketball Camp set
Bluffton girls volleyball will be having a parent meeting for all current 7th through 11th grade potential players on Wednesday, May 13th, 7:00 p.m. at Bluffton High School. We will be discussing the upcoming summer program and the 2009-2010 season. Please plan to attend.

Norwell golf scramble slated
The Norwell High School golf teams will be holding a golf scramble on Saturday, May 16, at Timber Ridge Golf Course in Bluffton. Registration is at 8 a.m., followed by a shotgun start at 9. Cost is $55 per person. Golfers may register at the Timber Ridge Pro Shop, Gerber Furniture or by mail to Norwell Golf Club, 4566E-100N, Bluffton, IN 46714. For more information, call Sara Imel at 260-437-1285 or stop by the pro shop.

Junior League set at Timber Ridge
Timber Ridge Golf Course of Bluffton will be running a Junior League every Monday and Thursday morning from June 8 through July 16. For complete information call the Pro Shop at 824-2728 or Jody Ault at 824-3181.

Six middle schoolers to bowl at state
Six local youths will be representing Bluffton at the Indiana State Middle School State Finals in Anderson on Saturday. The Bowling Center of Bluffton hosted the first regional last weekend. Norwell sixth-grader Dylan Retherford won the boys’ 121-150 average division. His brother, Jordan, and Jack and Pete Williams will join Retherford on the Norwell team. Bluffton seventh-grader Ciara Lovell was the girls’ under 120 average division.

Ossian State Bank notches win
Garrett Mohler hit two home runs and Grant Hiday drilled a three-run double to lead Ossian State Bank to a 13-12 victory over CJ’s Carpet in the Norwell Junior League on Friday night at Uniondale. Mohler also was the winning pitcher. Adam Douglas homered for CJ’s.

Four win races at Anderson
ANDERSON — Markleville’s Randy Hoppes opened a lead early in the Street Stock feature and held off Ronnie Rose for the win Saturday at Anderson Speedway.
Rose was second, followed by Josh Burton, Rob Allman and Rich Boyer.
Josh Tharp led all 25 laps to claim the Figure 8 feature win. Mike Riddle Jr. was second, followed by Rickie Tharp, Bruce McFall and Elliott McKinney.
Rob Allman won the Thunder Car feature holding off Rod Phipps. Hanna Lundy claimed third place, followed by Terry Malone Jr.
Phipps broke his own track record during the Thunder Car time trials, turning a lap in 14.785 seconds.
Ronnie Phipps captured the Front Wheel Drive feature.

Coaches vs. Cancer Golf Outing on tap
The Northeast Indiana Coaches vs. Cancer Golf Outing will be held on Friday, July 17 at Brookwood Golf Course in Ft. Wayne.
Teams of four will play a scramble format. The shotgun start will begin at 1 p.m. Cost is $240 per team and includes green fees, cart and a meal following play. Registration is limited to the first 36 teams. Registration deadline is July 10.
Hole sponsorships also are available for $100, please make check payable to: Concordia H.S.—Charity Golf Outing. For additional information, contact Eric Thornton, 8744 E. Diane Dr., Ossian, IN 46777; Gary Cobb, New Haven; Dave Miller, Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran; Wayne Krieger, Columbia City or Dave Scudder, Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger.

Pacers’ Granger in line for NBA award
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The agent for Indiana Pacers forward Danny Granger says he expects the All-Star forward to win the NBA’s Most Improved Player award.
Mark Bartelstein said Monday he has been in contact with league officials, and he anticipates Granger getting the award.
The Pacers have called a news conference for Tuesday, but spokesman David Benner wouldn’t say what it was about.
At the start of the season, Granger signed a five-year, $65 million contract extension. He rewarded the team by averaging 25.8 points per game and being selected to the All-Star team for the first time.
Granger has increased his scoring average by at least five points in each of the past three seasons. He averaged 19.6 points in 2007-08.