Tony Stesiak spent years wearing Rochester Zebra colors on the basketball sidelines.  Now it's on to Winamac to be a girls basketball head coach again.

Stesiak spoke with GIANT fm Sports Randy Wynn.

Warrior Youth Baseball will host opening day ceremonies Saturday, April 30 beginning at 9:30 am at the Winamac Town Park. 

All are welcome. 

This year, Warrior Youth Baseball has over 125 youth participants and will play games on ball fields in the Winamac and Star City parks. Additionally, the league will play games against opponents from West Central Youth League and Pioneer Youth League. 

T-Ball will be played in the fall. 

Pending school board approval on Monday, April 25, a former Rochester girls head basketball coach will be running the Winamac girls program.

The announcement of Tony Stesiak's hiring was announced through the Winamac athletic Twitter, again, pending board approval.

Tippecanoe Valley School Board voted not to renew the contract of Chad Patrick as boys basketball head coach.  

Patrick was an assistant for his father, Bill, for several years.  He became head coach when his father retired in 2017.  Valley was 50-68 over those years but did just complete a 14-10 season which included a 7-2 record in TRC play.

The school system posted the following information on its athletic Twitter account following Monday's school board meeting regarding its new soccer coaching hire:

Tippecanoe Valley Athletics is proud to announce Trevor Brown as the 3rd boys’ soccer coach in program history. Brown was approved at tonight’s school board meeting.

Brown comes to Tippecanoe Valley after a 14-year stint as the head boys’ soccer coach at Rochester High School. While at Rochester, Brown amassed a 122-99-24 record. During that time, Brown’s teams won two sectionals and one conference championship.

Baseball

Rochester 16, Caston 0

The Zebras scored nine times in the sixth inning to finish off a victory over Caston.

Ethan Medina led Rochester at the plate with a 2-for-4 performance and four RBI.

Aaron Huffman drove in three runs with the bat while working the first four innings on the hill.  He struck out nine and gave up just two hits in recording the win.

Bremen 9, Tippecanoe Valley 2

Bremen scored nine runs on just five hits aided by three Viking errors.

Softball

Game 1:  Caston 8, Peru 4;

Addison Zimpleman struck out nine while giving up four walks and five hits in the win over Peru.

At the plate, Zimpleman was 3-for-4 with a double and pair of singles.  Isabel Scales went 2-3 with a home run and single. 

Game 2:  Peru 6, Caston 3

Peru bounced back to win the nightcap and gain a split of the weekend doubleheader.

Game 1:  John Glenn 14, Tippecanoe Valley 13

A Molly Moriarity home run tied the game at 10 in the bottom of the fifth after the Vikings had trailed 5-0 in the opening inning.

Game 2:  Tippecanoe Valley 15, John Glenn 14  (8 inn)

In the nightcap, Tippecanoe Valley won on a walk-off fielder's choice in the bottom of the eighth.

Moriarity hit her third home run of the day in the win.  Corinna Stiles hit a game-tying two-out, two-run homer in the 7-run inning.

Rochester 13, Culver 2

Rochester scored nine times in the first and cruised to the win over Culver Community.

Tennis

Rochester 3, LaVille 2

Golf

Caston Invitational  (Pond View Golf Course, Star City)

Carroll won the event with a team-low score of 373.

Rounding out the field: 

Bethany Christian, 387

Delphi, 394

Morgan Township, 439

Clinton Central, 440

Tri-County, 455

Pioneer, 490

Caston did not field a full team.  AJ Dague finished with an 80 and was individual runner-up to Carroll's Porter Dick who shot a 77.  

Also for Caston:  Colby Pugh - 100; Bailey Zimpleman - 124

The Rochester Zebras girls basketball program may have a new head coach following the upcoming school board meeting.

Joel Burrus is listed on the Rochester school board agenda as the hiring recommendation for head coach of the girls basketball program.

Burrus coached girls basketball at Caston in-between stints as a boys head coach.  At Caston, Burrus compiled a 12-33 record over the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons.

Before that, he was 3-19 in one season at Lakeland Christian.

Burrus comes to Rochester from Trinity Greenlawn where he has put together five consecutive seasons above.500 as the boys head coach.  His team last season was 15-8.  His best mark at Trinity was in the 2019-20 season, 16-6.

Burrus has also served as JV and assistant boys varsity coach at Southwood.  He is the son of longtime Southwood boys head coach, John Burrus.

The Rochester school board is scheduled to meet Monday evening.

Baseball

Rochester 4, Plymouth 2

Zebras used a three-run 4^th inning to pull ahead and then held on for the victory.

Rochester jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first only to see Plymouth answer with two in the bottom half of the first.

Tanner Reinartz went 1-for-3 with two RBI. 

Tarick McGlothin pitched five innings, gave up two runs on three hits.  He struck out six.

Ethan Medina pitched two scoreless innings in relief.

Wabash 11, Caston 4

Wabash jumped out to a 5-1 lead after two innings and added five more over the sixth and seventh to finish off a victory at Caston (1-1).

Joey Spin had half of the Comets' hits with a 4-for-4 and two RBI.  Sam Smith and Adam Rush each had two hits on the day.

Sophomore Talon Zeider started on the hill and went three innings while surrendering six runs in taking the loss.  Only two of the runs were earned.

Zeider gave up four hits, struck out four and walked three.

Softball

Caston 12, Culver 0

Caston's Addison Zimpleman and Isabel Scales each had two hits and scored twice,  as did Maddison Smith.  Scales doubled twice.

Zimpleman pitched the complete game for the win.

Annie Harsh, Hailey Logan, Macee Hinderlider and Kinzie Mollenkopf each had two RBI.  Bailey Harness and Makena Middleton also added an RBI each.

Golf

Caston didn't field a full squad in a match with Winamac and Covenant Christian.

Individual scores for Caston:  AJ Dague 39; Colby Pugh 45; Bailey Zimpleman 66

Tennis

Rochester 3, LaVille 2

1. Kylie Houston (R) won 1-6, 6-4, 7-6 (8-6 tiebreak).

2. Ella McCarter (R) won 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3 tiebreak).

3. Lilli Eaton (R) won 6-0, 6-0. 

1. Rily Holloway/Emily Hughes (R) lost 6-4, 2-6, 1-6.

2. Makenna Beall/Rylee Clevenger (R) lost 3-6, 2-6.

A man who grew up with Winamac football has now left the program to retire from the sidelines.

Coach John Hendryx was a kid when Winamac began football with his father, Jack, as the head coach.  After three seasons back home, Hendryx, the 1980 Winamac grad, has announced his retirement.

Athletic Director Bryan Leverenz issued the following statement:

Winamac Athletics would like to thank Coach John Hendryx for this work with the Warrior Football Program.  Coach Hendryx posted a 15-4 record in three years, while also bringing a HNAC championship and sectional championship back to Winamac Community High School.

Coach Hendryx did a tremendous job not only on the field but also building relationships, being a mentor and a role model to mant student-athletes during his Hall of Fame Career.  Coach Hendryx was the ultimate professional and Winamac Athletics is thankful he was a part of our community and our school district.

In a written statement, Hendryx told GIANT fm Sports that he has four grandkids that are growing up and getting involved in things and it's just very difficult as a head football coach to see them as much he'd like.  Also, his son-in-law is the head coach at Carroll and his nephew is the head coach at Kokomo- so he'll still be involved with football somewhere, just won't have all the time and obligations of a head coach. 

Hendryx posted a 232-97 record in 30 years as a head coach.  It started with 14 seasons at Carroll (Flora) that included a 1A state title in 1995 and a runner-up in 1996.  Carroll was 13-1 each season.

From there, Hendryx spent eight years at Northwestern where he won a sectional title in his first season.  Then, it was years at Knox and another sectional in his final season there.

Hendryx has been selected to the Indiana Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Leverenz says the school would really like to get someone in place before summer starts.

The weather might be dark and overcast this spring sports season.  It hasn't prevented the Rochester softball lineup from lighting up the scoreboard.

Coming off a 25-run performance in the season opener the Zebras put another 16 runs on the board in a 10-run, five-inning win over Plymouth, 16-6.

Rochester (2-0) actually trailed 2-1 after both teams scored in the first inning.  The Zebras grabbed control with a 10-run third and four more runs in the fourth.

With Rochester leading 15-4, Plymouth plated two in the fifth inning to keep the game alive, 15-6.  But Rochester pushed across a run in the bottom of the fifth to finish the game by ten-run rule.

Junior Kylie Coleman led Rochester with five RBI on 2-for-3 at the plate.

Rochester benefitted from 11 walks handed out by Plymouth pitching.

A Rochester student - athlete was nominated for a sportsmanship award by an opposing coach.

Zebras Athletic Director Kevin Renie explains what happened with a quick offer of help at a recent track and field meet by Rochester senior Peyton Hiatt.

Rochester flexed its muscle in a 25-run, 24-hit season opening softball win at Triton Tuesday.

That didn’t mean the game wasn’t close.  The Zebras led 11-0 after a nine run top of the third only to see Triton answer with seven runs of its own in the bottom half of the inning to trail after three innings, 11-7.

Rochester added a run in the 4^th for a 12-7 advantage.  But Triton again narrowed the gap with four runs in the bottom of the 4^th.  Rochester’s lead was down to 12-11.

Triton wouldn’t score again.

Rochester added three runs in the 5^th and blew the game open with a 10-spot in the 7^th and a season opening win, 25-11.

Sydney Haughs had a monster day at the plate.  Haughs was 6-for-6 and accounted for nearly half of the Rochester 12 extra-base hits.  Haughs homered twice and doubled three times to drive in six while scoring three times.

Emma Howdeshell was also 6-for-6 at the plate.  Howdeshell homered, tripled and doubled.  She recorded five RBI and five runs scored.

Kylie Coleman was 3-for-5 with a triple, three RBI and three runs scored.

Kallie Watson added three hits and four runs scored.

In relief, Emma Sells was outstanding.  She surrendered just a hit, one walk and struck out five while shutting out Triton over the final three innings.

Logansport scored in each of the first three innings against Caston softball to lead 5-0.  

But the Comets would rally.  Two runs in the 6th and three more in the top of the 7th and Caston had drawn even, 5-5.

Logansport managed to score the winning run in the bottom half of the frame to escape with a win, 6-5.

For Caston:  Addison Zimpleman 2-run home run.  Kinzie Mollenkopf had two hits.

Isabel Scales, Annie Harsh and Bailey Harness also recorded hits for the Caston offense.

Rochester scored in each of the first four innings and downed Delphi 10-3 in the Zebras baseball season opener.

Right fielder Evan Elliott homered and drove in four with three hits in five plate appearances.  He also scored twice.

Center fielder Ethan Medina also picked up three hits.  He drove in one and scored three times.

Aaron Huffman started and recorded the win with four innings of work.  He gave up three runs but just one was earned.  Huffman struck out four and walked just one.

Tarick McGlothin worked the final three innings.  He struck out five while surrendering just one hit.