Blog

In baseball

Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond 11, LeRoy 1. Marcus Otto went 4 for 4 with two RBI at the plate to lead the Knights (8-4) to victory. John Williams added two hits and two RBI, and Kody Burdick drove in three runs while Maxton Boddy pitched six innings of one-run ball. Jack Bogema had two of the Panthers’ (4-4) three hits on the day.

Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin 6/6, Maroa-Forsyth 7/3. The Blue Devils (5-3) split their doubleheader with a tough Trojan (7-4-1) team. Cruz Dubois and Mason Brines each picked up two hits and three RBI for BHRA in the first game, but M-F scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to win it. The Blue Devils returned the favor in game two, plating four runs in the top of the seventh inning for a comeback win. Dubois had another solid game with two hits and two RBI.

Eastland 2, Tuscola 1. Evan Vearil tossed a solid six innings on the mound, and Connor Musgrave pitched one perfect inning in relief while notching a pair of hits at the plate, but the Warriors (6-7) fell just short in their first game of the day.

Monticello 14, Chillicothe IVC 11. The Sages (14-0) found a way to come out on top in a high-scoring, back-and-forth Illini Prairie Conference battle. Zeke Young did everything he could do keep Monticello undefeated, going 3 for 4, just a home run away from hitting for the cycle, and driving in seven runs. Jax Bailey also had three hits and two RBI of his own.

Ridgeview 9, Cissna Park 6. A competitive game between the Mustangs (4-5) and Timberwolves (1-4) ended in Ridgeview’s favor.

St. Joseph-Ogden 10, Williamsville 0. Bryson Houchens hit a home run, and Asher Pruemer pitched a five-inning, one-hit shutout with seven strikeouts to get the Spartans (11-1) off on the right foot.

St. Joseph-Ogden 12, Tremont 4. The Spartans (12-1) stretched their winning streak to a dozen games with their second victory of the day. Bryson Houchens homered again, just a triple shy of the cycle this time, and drove in five runs. Trevor Ames also collected three hits and had four RBI.

St. Thomas More 16, Oakwood 0. After a scoreless opening frame, the Sabers (7-6) put up five runs in the second inning and 11 in the third to pull away from the Comets (4-6). Nate Kaufmann paced the winning effort with two hits, two RBI and two runs scored out of the leadoff spot, and Brodie Grey drove in three runs. Wil Karduck pitched a four-inning shutout with six strikeouts.

Tuscola 10, Arthur Christian 0. Three hits from Jon Pettry, two hits and three RBI from Cooper Lyons and five two-hit, shutout innings pitched from Evan Englehardt gave the Warriors (7-7) a bounce-back win to end the day on a good note.

Unity 8/9, Carterville 5/3. A Saturday sweep got the Rockets (8-2) back on the right track. Game one saw the trio of Tyler Henry, Coleton Langendorf and Dane Eisenmenger combined for five hits and five RBI while Brayden Henry pitched 2 2/3 innings and only allowed one earned run. Later in the day, Tre Hoggard tossed 3 2/3 innings with only one earned run while Brayden Henry tallied three hits at the plate. Eisenmenger, Langendorf and Tyler Henry had two hits apiece and combined for another six RBI.

Villa Grove 9, Urbana 5. Three hits apiece from Jackson Gire and Gavin Taylor led the Blue Devils (2-6) to the win. Malik Lawrence had two hits and two RBI for the Tigers (2-8).

Westville 8, Aurora Christian 4. Matthew Darling and Ben Johnson collected three hits apiece to lead the Tigers (8-7) to a win and get them back over the .500 mark after a challenging start to the season.

In softball

Chillicothe IVC 7, Monticello 1. Despite getting a home run, a double and a single out of leadoff batter Thea Key, the Sages (10-4) couldn’t keep pace with their Illini Prairie Conference foe in the later innings.

Georgetown-Ridge Farm 7, Blue Ridge 4. After a seven-game losing streak, the Buffaloes (3-8) won their second game in a row by defeating the Knights (1-8) at home.

LeRoy 9/8, Sullivan 3/1. Two more wins to keep a zero in the Panthers’ (16-0) loss column. Game one saw Laila Carr go 4 for 4 with three RBI and Khloe Builta record the complete-game victory in the circle. Molly Scheuer and Nellie Smith each picked up three hits in LeRoy’s second win over the Redskins (8-8), with Scheuer adding three RBI and Jacey Hageman and Adrienne Underhill combining for a solid pitching performance.

Milford/Cissna Park 9, South Newton 0. Kami Muehling did it all for the Bearcats (6-3), striking out seven batters in a two-hit shutout while contributing a team-high three hits and three runs scored at the plate. Ainsley Niebuhr and Sydney Seyfert each had two hits and combined for five RBI, and Addison Lucht added a triple, three RBI and three walks.

Oakwood/Schlarman 9, Paxton-Buckley-Loda 0. Sophia Hart and Ashtyn Dailey each produced three hits at the plate for the Comets (10-5), combining for three RBI. Irene Rangel added two hits, and Caydence Vermillion drove in two more runs. Vermillion, Dailey and Rangel combined to pitch a four-hit shutout against the Panthers (3-8).

Unity 9, Carbondale 6. Thanks to a five-run fifth inning, the Rockets (7-5) continued their recent hot streak. Reese Frye was the team’s standout player, collecting three hits and three RBI in the win to start the day.

Watseka 19, St. Anne 1. Christa Holohan, Kyah Westerfield and Abigail Neukomm went a combined 10 for 11 at the plate for the Warriors (8-3), with Neukomm tallying five RBI and Holohan falling just a home run shy of the cycle. Lilly Kingdon completed four innings in the circle and only allowed two hits.

In girls’ soccer

At Urbana. Mahomet-Seymour won its first Urbana Invitational championship since before the COVID-19 pandemic, shutting out each opponent along the way. The Bulldogs () defeated the host Tigers () 4-0 in the quarterfinals before handing Herscher just its second loss of the season with a 2-0 semifinal win. In the title game, the Bulldogs played their best game yet, besting Bradley-Bourbonnais 7-0. M-S coach Jeremy Davis said the highlight of the tournament was that “the girls played great team soccer.”

In boys’ track and field

At Carterville. Among 10 teams at the Carterville Invite, Unity finished in fourth place, just a half-point out of third. Camden Fairbanks won the 1,600 meters for the Rockets in 4 minutes, 32.19 seconds, and Eli Crowe won the 3,200 in 9:46.38. Fairbanks also teamed up with Collin Graven, Caleb Coy and Trevor Coy to win the 3,200-meter relay (8:44.87).

At Rantoul. The host Eagles finished as the team runners-up in their Rantoul Invite, only behind Bloom Township. Monticello was just one placement point behind Rantoul in third, Clinton took fourth, Urbana was fifth and Prairie Central was sixth in the nine-team event. Event winners for the Eagles included Gabriel Gordon in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 43.31 seconds, Trey’Veonte Mendoza-Chapple in the long jump with a leap of 21 feet, 11 1/4 inches, Jaycee Carr in the triple jump (40-3) and the 400-meter relay of Romiel McGee, Gordon, Matthew Hardwell and Mendoza-Chapple (44.56). Winning for the Sages were Daniel Moore in the 100 (11.31), Eli Anderson in the 3,200 (9:41.71) and Holden Williams in the pole vault (14-10). The Maroons got wins from Cash Tanner in the shot put (47-10 3/4) and discus (148-1 1/2) and the 3,200-meter relay of Brockton Sumner, Justin Droke, Brayden Dalton and Nolan Rhodes (8:18.52). Arlin Orr won the 1,600 for the Tigers (4:32.17), and Griffin Tredennick won the 800 for the Hawks (2:03.20).

In girls’ track and field

At Carterville. Unity continued its successful season with a team victory at the 10-team Carterville Invite. Earning first-place finishes for the Rockets were Emma Swisher in the 100- and 200-meter dashes with respective times of 12.54 and 25.69 seconds, Mackenzie Pound in the 3,200 (11:46.71), Kendal Zerrusen in the shot put (32 feet, 4 inches) and pole vault (10-0), Jillian Schlittler in the long jump (17-0 3/4) and the 400-meter relay of Swisher, Grace Tempel, Grace Wherley and Schlittler (49.43).

At East St. Louis. Danville had a solid showing at the JJK/Al Joyner Classic, placing sixth out of 22 teams, just 1.25 points ahead of Centennial in seventh. Jamia Esther was her usual speedy self for the Vikings, winning the 100- and 200-meter dashes with respective times of 11.94 and 24.78 seconds. Esther also joined Samantha Brown, Yariah Shaw and Jhe’Nyi Parker to break a couple school relay records. The quartet set new program marks in the 400- and 800-meter relays with winning times of 47.67 and 1:41.49. The Chargers also got a couple first-place finishes, with Alaina Kimble claiming the 800 win (2:21.72) and Lauren Kleber winning the 3,200 (12:42.36).

At Springfield. A couple records fell for Mahomet-Seymour in the Bulldogs’ fifth-place showing at Springfield Southeast’s Thomas McBride Invite, both to Madalyn Marx. The star senior broke her own program records in the 400- and 200-meter dashes. She won the 400 with a time of 55.34 seconds, more than half a second faster than her previous best and nearly six seconds ahead of second place, and she finished second in the 200 in 24.67, just three-hundredths of a second behind the winner. Emily Anand also crossed the finish line first for the Bulldogs in the 3,200 with a season-best time of 11:30.55.