Springs Valley Community High School

A pair of Springs Valley baseball players received All-Patoka Lake Athletic Conference honors on Saturday. Team captains Henry Cruz and Konner Chase were among the 15 players named to the all-conference team. Cruz, the Blackhawks’ lone senior, led the team in runs scored with 27. He also hit .337 with six runs batted in, four doubles, a triple, and a home run, also stealing 15 bases and manning shortstop defensively. He was excellent against Orange County rival Paoli, a defining trend of his career, going 3/3 with a triple, an RBI, a walk, two runs scored, and a stolen base. Chase, a junior, led the team in batting average (.422) and hits (38), also recording eight doubles, a triple, and a home run while stealing 16 bases. He was also a defensive stalwart in center field. He was a key figure in Springs Valley’s comeback win at Crawford County, finishing the game 3/5 with a double, a run scored, a stolen base, and three RBI. The honor was Cruz’s second and Chase’s first. The former will move on to Georgetown College, where he’ll compete at the NAIA level, but the latter will return for the Blackhawks in 2024, once again a team captain and All-PLAC hopeful.