Area graduates wrap up spring football practices

While the warm, dry weather allowed for the spring sports to get going this past week, college football programs were in the midst of their spring practice schedule, culminating in intersquad games.    At the University of Pittsburgh, Marion Local grad Adam Bertke played for Team Dorsett at the Panthers' Blue-Gold Game. Bertke, entering his second season as a quarterback for the Panthers, was 1-of-5 passing for 13 yards in Team Dorsett's 19-17 win over Team Cavanaugh.

Down south in Knoxville, the University of Tennessee held its Orange-White game. The Volunteers' defensive squad, wearing orange, beat the white-clad offense 70-63 in a game where points were awarded not only for touchdowns and field goals but also for sacks, interceptions and other defensive plays.

Vols' tight end Ethan Wolf (Minster) had three catches for 67 yards for the White team. Ethan's younger brother, walk-on tight end Eli Wolf, did not record any stats during the game.

Moving to baseball, another Minster graduate, Adam Niemeyer, was back on the mound for the Ohio State Buckeyes on Sunday afternoon and dominated per usual. The redshirt sophomore returned after having missed his previously scheduled start. He shut down Rutgers, allowing just one run on three hits and striking out seven in six innings of work. Niemeyer improved to 3-1 on the season as the Buckeyes wrapped up a series victory with a 2-1 win.

Ohio State is 24-12 and 4-5 in Big Ten play. The Buckeyes travel to Champaign, Ill., for a three-game series with Illinois beginning at 7 p.m. on Friday.

Sticking with Minster, Hanna Floyd and the Wright State softball team continued their winning ways with a doubleheader sweep of Northern Kentucky on Tuesday afternoon. The Raiders won the first game 3-1 and the second 8-1 and then completed the Horizon League series sweep Wednesday with a 5-0 win.

Wright State is 29-17 overall and leads the Horizon League standings with a record of 13-2. Lurking a game behind is the University of Illinois-Chicago, with whom Wright State opens a three-game series with on April 29 in Chicago.

Floyd is hitting .275 with three doubles, two triples, a homer and 20 RBIs in 46 starts.

Kaity Kuhn (Celina) and the Defiance College softball team dropped their fourth straight game after being swept in a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader against Manchester University of Indiana on Wednesday.

Kuhn continues to tear the cover off the ball, hitting .353 with seven doubles, a homer and 18 RBIs in 21 starts for Defiance, which sits at 12-18 overall.

Ohio Dominican's Derek Thobe (Coldwater) suffered his third loss of the season on Sunday at Northwood. The freshman rebounded by picking up his first win on Wednesday at home against Tiffin. Thobe pitched two innings of relief and didn't allow a run or hit, as the Panthers held on for a 5-4 victory. Thobe has tossed 21 1/3 innings this season and boasts a record of 1-3 with an 8.44 ERA and 14 strikeouts.

Transitioning to track, Aaren Hemmelgarn (St. Henry) finished second in the 5,000-meter run for Ohio Northern at Saturday's All-Ohio Championships, hosted by Ohio Wesleyan. With a third-place team finish, the Polar Bears improved to 54-7 on the season.