BOYS TENNIS: Berries top Kings 3-2 to win sectional crown

It was about as close as possible and Logansport came away with a 3-2 victory against Lewis Cass in Thursday’s championship match of the Logan Sectional.
For the second straight night Shane Pearson decided the match with a close match at No. 3 singles. The Logansport junior defeated Cass freshman Luke Salyers 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 to secure the championship.
“I feel like I didn’t play my best, but at the end there I came through and won it for the team,” Pearson said. “And it felt amazing.”
Lewis Cass’ freshman gave Pearson all he wanted with a defensive game plan.
“He hit back very well. He was very consistent,” Pearson said. “I just had to get it to the net, make him force an error.”
Salyers led 4-3 in the third set when it started raining. It was a light rain, but it was enough to seem to change the momentum.
“The rain actually helped me on my drop shots because it was hard to get to them because he slid,” Pearson said. “So that helped a lot. And every time he came to the net, just hit it around him and went from there.”
Pearson also tipped his cap to his cousin, Blake Pearson, for helping him win a sectional title.
“He actually got me into tennis, so that’s why I started freshman year,” he said. “And I played throughout the summer going into sophomore year. I got varsity my second season.”
Blake Pearson got the Berries on the board with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Jaden Figueredo.
The Berries’ other point came at No. 1 doubles, where Taylor Albright and Kaleb Loman defeated Sam Hull and Myles Johnson 3-6, 6-2, 6-4.
“Taylor and Kaleb didn’t get a win last night (against Twin Lakes), but they pulled it together in the third set tonight and that’s what they’re capable of,” Logansport coach Travis Nolte said. “They’re good, just getting them to believe it is usually our biggest issue. So once they believe in themselves, we usually do pretty well.”
Lewis Cass senior Liam Ellington defeated Logansport junior Owen Hankins 6-4, 6-3 at No. 1 singles to get the Kings on the board. Ellington improved to 2-1 on the season against Hankins and 18-3 overall at No. 1 singles.
“It’s always fun playing him because I know it’s gonna be close,” said Ellington. “Definitely my lobs were on point for sure — and going after every ball.”
Ellington’s season will continue to the IHSAA Individual State Tournament next week. His only losses this season are to Logansport, Eastern and Peru.
Cass also won at No. 2 doubles, where Jayden Ramer and Brody Skiles defeated Easton Sweet and Trace Young 6-4, 0-6, 6-2.
The Kings finish 11-8. They were seeking their second sectional title in three years.
“The guys did what they needed to do,” Cass coach Matt Hurst said. “They came out and I always ask them to play with heart, and they did every match we played. This is our third time against them and every match kept getting closer and closer.”
When Cass opened the season with a 5-0 loss to Logan on Aug. 20, it didn’t look like they’d have much of a chance at the sectional, but that was certainly not the case Thursday.
“That comes from them working,” Hurst said. “The guys have put a lot of time in this season, which got us right where we needed to be. But it was tough. Logansport did a good job and they ended up winning it at the end.”
Salyers put up a great fight in the No. 3 singles match.
“Couldn’t have asked for more,” Hurst said. “He fought through everything even with the courts being wet, so he did great.
“The court’s not too bad, but the lines get slicker than anything. So then it causes you to kind of double check your footwork and moving and it’ll get in the back of your head and make you wonder.”
The Berries will take a 13-6 record into the Harrison Regional. They won their first sectional title since 2021 and 15th all-time.
“It was one of those matches, I just knew that Lewis Cass improves every year throughout the year and I try to communicate that to our boys that they’re gonna have to bring it for us to win,” Nolte said. “It wasn’t gonna be given to us. And Lewis Cass gave us every bit of a fight and we took it at the end. But they gave us everything they had.”
Logan will play Seeger (15-1) at 5 p.m. Tuesday at the Harrison Regional. Kokomo (21-3) plays West Lafayette (18-3) in the other semifinal.
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