Sports

After sweeping the Yankees in the Bronx, I was more than optimistic with a 10-game home stand approaching. Win seven of those and you’re above .500 before the All-Star Break. However, the Reds once again let us down and failed to take a single game from the Tigers at home.

Twenty-eight kids turned out Saturday for the annual Hillsboro Elks Youth Golf Clinic. The clinic was started 35 years ago by Gerold “Buzzard” Wilkin, who has been assisted for the past 30 years by Joe Shelton. Instruction was provided by Joe Shelton, Wilkin, Rick Shelton and Matt Sharkey. Papa John’s, Ponsderosa Steakhouse and the Elks provided free food and drinks for those participating this year.

Jonathan India is the best batter in all of baseball over the last few weeks and is having the best stretch of baseball in his entire career, including his rookie of the year campaign. As of Monday morning he was 17-30 with seven singles and 10 doubles in his last seven games. He hit a double in seven straight games, which is a new Cincinnati record. Among National League second basemen, he ranked fourth in batting average (.279), first in OBP (.383), and first in BB% (12.9%).

The Lady Mambas, a southern Ohio AAU girls basketball team, represented Ohio at the 2024 National Basketball Teammate Championship Tournament in Rock Hill, South Carolina and came away with a national championship.

Want to become a buyer by the deadline and try to make a run, Reds fans? Well, this Reds team needs to win these next two series against the Pirates and Cardinals or we might just find our beloved team as sellers before the deadline. This will now be a massively tall task with Friedl back on the injured list, but Marte will be returning to this lineup very soon from his PEDS suspension.

I’ll start off this column by stating that I am tired of Cincinnati losing to Milwaukee. After outplaying Milwaukee for two out of three games and coming out of there with a series loss is brutal when trying to chase down the first-place team. Cincinnati put themselves in a hole and right when they came into striking distance, they failed to capitalize. The mismanagement of Sims during game three and taking out Candelario when he would’ve had another at-bat still hurts 24 hours after the game. I do believe Cincinnati outplayed Milwaukee during this series. While this one may sting for me for quite some time, the Reds need to get over it fast, as they have a series against the Pirates who hold the same record as Cincinnati at 34-37. With Skenes and Keller in their rotation this series, Cincinnati will need to be sharp to come away with a series victory.

Just like the undertaker would come out of the casket, the Cincinnati Reds are back from the dead and approaching .500 baseball. At 32-34 as of Monday morning, they were in a wild card playoff spot, but have eyes on still winning the National League Central. It is very much still in play and with a road trip against the Brewers approaching this weekend, the most important series of the season thus far is about to begin.

All-FAC baseball — The Frontier Athletic Conference held its 2024 Spring Sports Banquet at the Grace Community Church in Washington C.H. on May 15. Pictured are the first team, All-FAC baseball players (front, l-r) Mason Brown, Chillicothe; Will Miller, Washington; Nolan Johnson, Noah Ernst and Gaven Jones, all of Jackson. Jones was the FAC Player of the Year; (back, l-r); Kaden Penwell, McClain; Evan Lynch and John Wall, Washington and Boston Campbell, Jackson. Not pictured: Brady Armstrong and Cooper Enochs, Miami Trace.

With about a lap and a quarter to go in the 3200 meters last Friday at the OHSAA Division III State Track and Field Championships at Welcome Stadium in Dayton, Whiteoak junior Landon Eyre decided to pick up the pace and left his competitors behind on the way to an individual state championship — the first in the school’s history.

As we all know, May was a horrific month of baseball for the Reds as Cincinnati finished the month with a record of 11-18. Their overall record as of Monday morning sat at 26-33 and things have finally started to look a bit brighter. A sweep over the Dodgers, the recent series victory over the Cubs, and the pitching continuing to keep us in games and gives the Reds hope that they can right this ship before the end of June.