Birds 2, Cats 0.

The feathers tickled the furs in both semifinal matches of the Delta Sectional on Wednesday evening.

The Delta Eagles blanked the Yorktown Tigers 5-0 in one match.

In the other match, the Burris Owls won 5-0 over the Muncie Central Bearcats.

The Eagles and Owls will battle for the sectional title today (Thursday), starting at 4:45 p.m.

Sixth-ranked Delta improved its record to 18-2.  The Eagles have shut out their opponents in 14 of their 18 victories this season.

Yorktown was limited to only four games as Delta was sharp at every position.  It was the ninth time this fall that an opponent managed to win fewer than 10 games against the Eagles.

9 — Lake Central

9 — Western

8 — Mt. Vernon

7 — Lapel

5 — Peru

5 — New Castle

4 — Yorktown (sectional)

4 — Richmond

1 — Yorktown (regular season)

At No. 1 singles, Jackson Darby defeated Aaron Buehler 6-0, 6-0. Darby extended his winning streak to 10 straight matches and is now 17-5 this year.

At No. 2 singles, Charlie Vannatter also won 6-0, 6-0 over Gavin Bailey, who was subbing for an ill Nolan Clark.  Vannatter has won 13 in a row and is 19-4.

At No. 3 singles, Luke Atkinson defeated Jackson Ambler 6-0, 6-1 for his 18th consecutive win dating back to August 29.  Luke is 21-2.

At No. 1 doubles, Tyce Dishman and Brandon Grubbs also are 21-2 for the season.  They beat Colton Nichols and Jackson West 6-0, 6-2 for their 13th straight win.

At No. 2 doubles, Easton Duckworth and Roman Ashcraft completed the sweep by winning 6-1, 6-0 over Ethan Hellems and Hudson Coats.  Duckworth, Ashcraft and Kiptyn Schwartz all have won five consecutive varsity matches.

Delta will pursue its 34th straight sectional championship this evening.  That streak began in 1993.  The sectional was played at Yorktown’s former courts in front of the high school back in those days.  The last team to beat Delta was Union City in the 1992 sectional.

Delta’s streak is the third-longest sectional streak in Indiana currently.  Both of the other schools face stiff challenges in this year’s sectionals.  Up north, Munster has won 45 sectional titles in a row, but both Lake Central and Iliana Christian are capable of ending Munster’s dominance this season.  And in the south, Floyd Central owns a 38-year sectional streak, but undefeated Salem will try to end that streak in the finals tonight.

In other sectional news last night, No. 2 Zionsville knocked off No. 4 Carmel 4-1 in the finals of the Carmel Sectional.