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Lincoln begins regionals
with win number one

[MAY 21, 2002]  After several canceled games due to weather conditions, the Lincoln varsity baseball team was still ready to play. Seeded fourth in the state sectional of 16 teams, the Railers pulled together for a 6-2 victory over Champaign Central in Champaign on Monday. While accumulating only six hits, Lincoln got some scoring help from timely singles and a couple of home runs by seniors Danny Schick and Andy Knopp.

Matt Boyer, who had been fighting the flu for a few days, had enough in the tank to go seven strong innings on the mound. Boyer held Champaign Central to just five hits, three of which came in the seventh inning, when Central scored its only two (unearned) runs. Boyer struck out three and walked three, striking out the last hitter of the game with the bases loaded.

Boyer was aided early in the game with double plays in each of the first two innings. After walking a batter in the first inning, a ground ball to Blake Schoonover at shortstop became an inning-ending double play, as the ball went to Andy Knopp at second base and on to Ryne Komnick at first. In the second inning, the same circumstance arose. This time, with the walked runner stealing second, a ground ball to Knopp was shoveled to Schoonover, who just got the sliding runner and threw to first in plenty of time to complete the double play.

[Matt Boyer picked up his seventh season win for the Railers.]

Boyer faced only three batters in each of the first four innings and again in the sixth inning. In the fifth inning, although Boyer gave up two singles, he struck out a batter to end the inning with no score. In the seventh inning, with a 6-0 lead, Boyer found that Central was not going to lie down without biting. After a Lincoln error (its only one of the game) and a walk, a slicing line drive to left-center field appeared to pose a major threat to Lincoln’s run cushion. However, left fielder Ryan Williams made a diving catch, snapping the ball just before it hit the turf.

With two outs, Lincoln seemed in control again. However, three singles in a row plated two runs and left the bases loaded, with the tying Champaign run at the plate. The hitter should have been Central’s leadoff man and first baseman. However, he injured a knee in the second inning, when an errant throw by the right fielder hit off his kneecap and bounced all the way out of bounds in the air. Although he played another inning, his knee gave out again and he had to be replaced. A pinch hitter was used for his replacement in this situation, and Boyer proceeded to strike him out.

[to top of second column in this article]

Lincoln scratched out its first run in the first inning. Mitch Sheley singled and Andy Knopp was hit by a pitch. Ryan Williams moved Sheley to third but forced Knopp out at second. Williams then stole second, and although the catcher’s throw was cut off by the shortstop, Sheley was able to cross the plate and beat the throw back home.

Blake Schoonover scored Lincoln’s second run, in the third inning. He reached on an error, stole second and was driven home on a two-out line drive up the middle by Andy Knopp. In the fourth inning, Danny Schick led off with a high solo homer to left field, making the score 3-0. In the fifth inning, smart hitting and more power were coming from the Railer bats. With two outs and two strikes, sophomore left-handed hitter Mitch Sheley did little more than stick his bat out at an outside pitch to guide the ball just over the third baseman’s head — something he’s done repeatedly this season to achieve a .429 batting average. Sheley set the stage for a first-pitch blast off the bat of Andy Knopp. The ball went well over the fence in left-center field, for the Western Illinois recruit’s fourth home run and 22nd RBI of the year.

[(Left to right): Danny Schick solo homered, Andy Knopp had a two-run homer and RBI single, and Mitch Sheley had two hits and scored twice.]

Michael Aper scored Lincoln’s sixth run in the sixth inning. Aper pinch ran for Boyer, who reached on a walk. Aper stole second and moved to third on a wild pitch. After a walk to Michael Martin, Martin took off for second. The ensuing play ended up with both Martin and Central’s second baseman lying on the ground, and Aper alertly scampered home for the score.

The Railers will travel to Champaign again on Saturday to play either Champaign Centennial or Mahomet, who will face off this Tuesday. Lincoln now stands at 17-14 on the season and has won seven of its last eight games. (Due to the tournament schedule, the LCHS baseball banquet at the Knights of Columbus has been rescheduled to Thursday, May 30. Meal reservations, for $10, are due by May 22 and may be made by calling 735-4723.)

[Rich Knopp]
 

[MAY 21, 2002]

Riverton Regional

Championship Game

Olympia                  002 003 0 — 5-9-1

Williamsville            000 000 0 — 0-2-2

For Olympia: Cam Cheek (4-0), Steve Raleigh (7) and Rush Olson.

Outstanding hitters:  Raleigh, 4 hits, double; Jeff Darnall, 2 RBI.

Outstanding pitcher:  Cheek, 2-hitter, 4 strikeouts, no walks.

Lewistown Regional

Championship Game

Lewistown              000 020 3 — 5- 8-2

Illini Central            010 240 x — 7-11-0

For Illini Central: Jason Thomas (3-2), Brandon Grimsley (7) and Travis Scott.

Outstanding hitters:  Josh McDaniel, HR, 3 hits, 3 RBI; Bryce Cunningham, 4 hits; Matt Brayfield, 2 hits.

[MAY 20, 2002]

Lewistown Regional

Havana                  000 100 2 — 3-3-0

Illini Central            500 021 x — 8-6-2

For Illini Central: Bryce Cunningham (7-1) and Travis Scott.

Outstanding hitters:  Josh McDaniel, HR; Scott, HR, 3 RBI; Cunningham, HR.

Outstanding pitcher:  Cunningham, 3 hits, 9 strikeouts.

[MAY 20, 2002]

At Stanford

Eureka                   000 000 0 — 0-0-2

Olympia                 114 000 x — 6-6-1

For Olympia: Amanda Wilson (11-1) and Amber Lessen

Outstanding hitter:  Tricia Gaither, 3 hits.

Outstanding pitcher:  Wilson, 8 strikeouts, 0 walks.

[MAY 20, 2002]

Follow this links for results from the Illinois High School Association state track meet:

Girls Class A & AA

Boys Class A & AA (coming this weekend)

[MAY 18, 2002]  In Class A track sectional competition at Havana, Olympia High School boys placed first with 132 points. Following Olympia in order of team placings were Eureka, University High, Midwest Central, Lewistown and El Paso. Individual and relay winners for Olympia and Illini Central are listed below.

* Indicates state qualifiers

100 meters — 5. Tim Weaver, 11.6

200 — 2. Austin Brand*, 23.5

400 — 2. Scott Joyce, 52.3*; 6. Nick Raes, 54.4

800 — 6. Jacob Slager, 2:11.0

110 hurdles — 1. Brandon Sholty*, 13.8; 5. Thomas Neisler, 16.6

300 hurdles — 1. Sholty*, 40.5

High jump — 1. Nick Raes*, 6-0; 4. Neisler, 5-8

Triple jump — 4. Travis McClure, 38-3½

Pole vault — 2. Jacob Slager*, 10-6; 4. Neisler, 9-0

Shot put — 1. Jimmy Schultz*, 53-0

Discus — 1. Schultz*, 147-8; 3. Josh Hieronymus, 136-2

[to top of second column in this section]

400 relay — 1. Olympia*, 44.3

800 relay — 1. Olympia*, 1:34.3

1,600 relay — 2. Olympia*, 3:33.9

3,200 relay — 3. Olympia*, 8:26.9

800 — 3. Brandon Grimsley, 2:04.2

300 hurdles — 6. Scott VanEtten, 43.0

High jump — 6. (tie) Clint Wells, 5-6

Discus — 5. Josh Auxier, 127-0; 6. Josh Hayes, 125-10

1,800 relay — 6. Illini Central, 3:51.1

3,200 relay — 4. Illini Central, 8:48.9

[MAY 16, 2002]

Riverton Regional

Heyworth                  0 00 10 —   1-  4-6

Olympia                 (13)01 0x — 14-12-0

For Olympia: T. Thornton, C. Cheek (3), L. Leesman (4), R. Sherman (5) and R. Olson, D. Foley.

Outstanding hitters: Olson, 3 hits, double, 3 RBIs; R. Kendrick, triple, 3 RBIs; C. Frank, 2 doubles.

LCHS freshman baseball

[MAY 16, 2002]  Lincoln High School handed Springfield a pair of freshman baseball losses at Lindstrom Field in Lincoln Wednesday afternoon.  The Railers won the opening game 14-4 in five innings and scored a run in the bottom of the sixth to win the nightcap 3-2.

Chris Boward picked up the win in the opening game, hurling the first three innings, giving up a pair of hits and two runs while striking out three.  Paul Phillips pitched the final two innings with two strikeouts.

Andrew Gilmore and Alex Dahm had a pair of hits each for Lincoln, while Neil Rohrer, Bob Maestas, Mike McCullen and Plumier had one hit each.

In the second game, Kevin Carroll pitched the first five innings and left with a 2-0 lead; however, Springfield tied the score with two runs in the top of the sixth against Jaron Harnacke. Paul Phillips came in to get the final out in the sixth and was the winning pitcher, when Lincoln scored a run in the bottom half of the inning.

McCullen drove in the winning run with a wind-blown single, one of only three hits for Lincoln. Rohrer and Phillips had the only other Lincoln hits.

[to top of second column in this section]

Springfield   002 02 —   4-1-4

Lincoln        181 31 — 14-8-0

Boward (W), Berger (4) & Rohrer.

Springfield   000 002 — 2-4-2

Lincoln        010 011 — 3-3-0

Carroll, Harnacke (6), Phillips (W-6) & Rohrer.

[Bill Martinie]

Qualifiers for girls state IHSA track meet

[MAY 16, 2002] 

Follow these links for information on the Illinois High School Association state track meet:

Girls Class A

Girls Class AA

Timetable:  May 17 & 18

Local winners in IESA state track

[MAY 15, 2002] 

Girls

Eighth grade

High jump — 1. Courtwright (WLB); 6. Ely (Elkhart); 20. Conaway (MP)

Long jump — 21. Presswood (WLB); 36. Anderson (MP)

Shot put — 12. Beavers (CEL); 21. McLaughlin (CC)

100 hurdles — 1. Conaway (MP)

200 — 16. Ely (Elkhart); 21. Courtwright (WLB); 23. Sparks (WLB)

800 — 1. Presswood (WLB); 18. Clark (WLB)

1,600 — 1. Presswood (WLB)

4x100 relay — 1. WLB (Ramlow, Hobler, Browning and Courtwright); 6. MP

4x200 relay — 27. Elkhart; 34. CEL

4x400 relay — 6. WLB (Presswood, Clark, Boward and Elliott); 11. CEL; 29. MP

[Photos by Rick Hobler]

Seventh grade

High jump — 17. McFadden (CEL)

Long jump — 8. Ramlow (WLB); 6. Boward (WLB); 18. Robertson (MP); 38. Bonaparte (CEL)

Shot put — 2. Olson (HE); 19. Curry (Elkhart); 31. Schonauer (CC); 34. Kutz (Elkhart)

Discus — 6. Olson (HE)

100 hurdles — 4. Gallagher (CEL)

100 — Finals: 8. Bonaparte (CEL); semifinals: 6. Bonaparte (CEL); 12. Ramlow (WLB); prelims: 7. Ramlow (WLB); 9. Bonaparte (CEL); 12. Robertson (MP); 19. Hobler (WLB); 28. Hyde (CEL); 37. Rankin (HE); 43. Cowan (MP)

200 — 2. Bonaparte (CEL); 8. Boward (WLB); 19. Robertson (MP); 42. Reed (MP)

400 — 25. Cowan (MP); 42. Durchholz (Elkhart)

800 — 37. Hudson (Elkhart)

4x100 relay — 4. WLB (Boward, Curry, Sparks, Atteberry); 35. Elkhart

4x200 relay — 1. CEL (Gallagher, Bonaparte, Fellars and Hyde); 23. Carroll Catholic

[to top of second column in this section]

Boys

Eighth grade

High jump — 6. Oller (CC)

Long jump — 1. Courtwright (CEL)

200 — 6. Courtwright (CEL); 15. Moehring (HE)

400 — 9. Detmers (HE)

800 — 21. McQuellon (CEL); 31. Conrady (HE);

4x200 relay — 3. HE; 8. CEL; 18. MP

4x400 relay — 28. WLB

Shot put — 28. Wilson (MP)

Seventh grade

Pole vault — 6. Farmer (WLB)

High jump — 2. Umphryes (HE); 15. Ritchhart (CC)

Long jump — 36. Schoonover (CEL); 42. Davis (Elkhart)

Shot put — 4. Ritchhart (CC)

Discus — 7. Ramsey (MP); 32. Sanders (WLB)

200 — 26. Toft (CEL)

400 — 8. Umphryes (HE); 20. Schick (CC)

800 — 23. Conrady (HE)

1,600 — 11. Farmer (WLB)

4x100 relay — 18. CEL; 25. WLB

4x200 relay — 19. HE; 29. CEL

4x400 relay — 7. WLB; 10. CEL

[Compiled by Rick Hobler]

[Click here for more pictures]

[Click here for related article]

Railers win conference victory
number eight

[MAY 15, 2002]  The Lincoln Railer varsity baseball team hosted Springfield Southeast at Lincoln College Tuesday afternoon. The senior-laden Railers notched their eighth conference victory (against five losses). Lincoln gained control early and held on for a 9-5 win.

With the exception of one inning, Lincoln’s pitching and defense were superb. Starting senior pitcher Matt Boyer had another strong outing, going 5 1/3 innings, giving up nine hits, five runs (two earned), two walks, and striking out three. In the first three innings, Southeast had runners in scoring position (with two on in the first inning, one in the second and two in the third), but by striking out a batter to end each of those innings, Boyer allowed no score.

[Jeremy Ohmart had three hits and six RBIs against Southeast.]

In the top of the sixth, with the score 9-1, Boyer and the Lincoln defense (which had played without an error at that point) ran into a little difficulty. After one out, the next four Southeast hitters ended up scoring, thanks to a single, an error on the shortstop, a single, a double, an error on the third baseman, a single and a fielder’s choice. Senior lefty Ryan Williams relieved Boyer, faced two batters and got two outs to end the sixth inning. Williams pitched through the seventh inning, striking out one, walking one and holding Southeast scoreless.

The big-stick-of-the-day award went to Jeremy Ohmart. As leadoff (and designated) hitter, he generated six RBIs on the day with two singles and a bases-loaded, two-out double. Sophomore Mitch Sheley, batting second in the lineup, also had three hits (singles) during the game. The contest boosted Ohmart’s conference batting average to .435 and Sheley’s to .429.

[to top of second column in this article]

Two Railers had two hits in the game: senior Ryan Williams (with an RBI and one run) and junior Ryne Komnick (scoring twice). Senior Andy Knopp contributed to the 11-hit Railer attack with an RBI triple that landed right at the fence in straightaway center field. In conference play, Knopp leads the team in RBIs and is hitting .359 with a team-leading .590 slugging percentage.

[Matt Boyer picks up his fifth conference win of the season.]

One anxiety-ridden play occurred with a Southeast base-runner stealing second. Lincoln catcher John Peters threw to shortstop Blake Schoonover, who ended up chipping a bone in his left hand trying to make the tag. Schoonover, who had to leave the game, was hitting at a .406 conference pace when he took off for the hospital. He was, however, given the medical go-ahead to play in upcoming games. He is a right-handed starting pitcher.

The Railers (16-14) will play their last conference game at Springfield Southeast on Thursday and their last regular-season game at home against East Peoria on Monday, May 20.  (The Railer baseball banquet will be at the K of C Hall on Wednesday, May 29, and is open to everyone. The $10 meal reservations are due by May 21 and can be made at 735-2866 or 735-4723.)

[Rich Knopp]

Box score and stats for Lincoln vs. Southeast

LCHS sophomore baseball vs. Southeast

[MAY 15, 2002]  Chris Matson threw a one-hit shutout to lead the Lincoln High School sophomore baseball team to an 8-0 victory over Springfield Southeast at Lincoln Tuesday afternoon. The victory gives the Railers an 11-10 record for the season with two games remaining. Lincoln plays at Southeast Thursday and closes out the season with a home game against Olympia Friday.

Matson took a no-hitter into the top of the seventh and retired the first batter before Wiese connected for a clean single to right for the only Southeast hit. Matson struck out 13 and walked one while hitting two.

Lincoln scored four times in the first inning on a single by Bob Maestas, a stolen base, a throwing error, a walk to Jason Williams, a two-run single by Sean Ferguson and a run-scoring single by Matson.

Lincoln scored a run in the second on a double by Maestas and a run-scoring single by Jason Melton. In the third Ferguson drew a walk, moved to third on a hit by Trent Kavelman and scored when the second baseman mishandled the relay throw. In the fourth, Brandon Babbs doubled and came around to score on a throwing error. The final Lincoln run came in the fifth on a walk to Matson, a passed ball, a single by Kavelman and a sacrifice fly by Kyle Atteberry.

[to top of second column in this article]

Southeast 000 000 0 — 0 - 1 - 3

Lincoln  411 110 x — 8 - 8 - 0

Bateman (L), Mabley (5) & Wiese; Matson (W) & Melton.

[Bill Martinie]

[MAY 15, 2002]

Delavan Regional at Delavan

Tremont                 040 410 0 — 9-13-2

Hartsburg-Emden   001 000 1 — 2- 4-2

For Hartem: R. Anderson. Fletcher (5), and Matt Gleason

Outstanding hitter: K. Herbert, 2 hits

[MAY 15, 2002]

Olympia Regional at Stanford

Central Catholic     000 000 0 — 0-2-2

Olympia                 012 042 x — 9-11-0

For Olympia: J. Shay and A. Lessen

Outstanding hitters: E. Canopy, 3B; J. Shay, 2B; T. Gaither, 3 hits; J. Shay, 2 hits; T. Prager, 2 hits

Deer Creek- Mackinaw Regional at Mackinaw

Hartsburg-Emden  000 102 0 — 3-4-2

Midland                110 050 x — 7-12-1

For Hartem: N. Chapman and Moehring

Athens Regional at Athens

Mount Pulaski     000 000 000 001 — 1-8-2

Athens                000 000 000 000 — 0-2-1

Mount Pulaski winning pitcher: B. Tobias

Outstanding hitters: Doubles by M. Gleason (2), C.C. Hudson (1), J. Smith (2)

[MAY 14, 2002]  Recipe for a state championship team: Take two doses of Christine Presswood and two doses of Kylie Courtwright. Add in Melissa Ramlow, Chelsay Browning and Hilary Hobler. Mix in Rachel Clark, Natalie Boward, Stacey Elliott and Kylie Sparks. Mix in their other teammates, families and fans. Add plenty of rainwater and cook over four days. When finished, serve up the 2002 IESA Class A state track-and-field first-place team trophy to the eighth-grade girls from West Lincoln Broadwell and congratulate the "cook," coach Gordon Lanning. WLB won the team title with 43 points, while Bureau Valley South came in second with 32 points.

And that’s just the beginning of the story!

The seventh-grade girls from Chester East Lincoln also had some pretty nice hardware on their bus last night — the fourth-place team trophy in the Class 7A competition. CEL’s victory came from a well-balanced team performance and the strong performances of two of its athletes.

Individual awards also were in abundance for many Logan County athletes. (Check back tomorrow for a complete listing of local winners.) Several state records were also broken and new standards of excellence accordingly set.

Neither sun, nor cold, nor rain, nor lightning and wind could prevent some 2,000 dedicated and determined young athletes from their appointed rounds over a "loooong," extended four-day track weekend. The 2002 Class A IESA state meet, at the EastSide Centre in East Peoria, began under bright sunny skies Friday, was canceled by a drenching rain and lightning on Saturday, and concluded with chilling temperatures, rain, wind and more lightning late Monday night. In fact, many courageous young men and women in the 4x400 relays ran the final races of the evening in a cold, driving rain.

But this weekend will not be remembered by Logan County track fans for the weather. What will be remembered are the outstanding and determined performances of its young women and young men.

In the competition for eighth-grade girls, Christine Presswood of WLB won two individual state championship medals with record-breaking performances in the 1,600-meter (5:19.14) and 800-meter (2:25.26) runs. Kylie Courtwright of WLB won her own individual state championship by repeating as the state’s best high jumper among the girls, clearing 5 feet, 2 inches in the end.

Also, Kylie and her teammates Melissa Ramlow, Chelsay Browning and Hilary Hobler ran to a state championship in 4x100 meter relay with a WLB record-breaking time of 54.43.

Mount Pulaski also had an eighth-grade state champion in Beth Conrady, who sped to a 16.71 finish in the 100-meter hurdles.

CEL’s fourth-place finish in the division for seventh-grade girls was led by excellent performances from Jordan Gallagher and Ashley Bonaparte. Jordan hurdled to a fourth-place finish in the highly competitive 100-meter hurdle race and literally smoked her competition on the third leg of the 4x200 relay event. Jordan passed most of the field ahead of her on the backstretch, and, after a handoff to Ashley Bonaparte, the rest of the field was watching from behind.

Bonaparte sped to a second-place finish in the 200-meter dash, with a time of 28.27. Ashley also finished eighth out of a large, competitive field in the 100-meter dash competition.

CEL’s state champion 4x200 relay team consisted of Gallagher, Bonaparte, Bridgette Hyde and Amy Fellers. The champion foursome finished with an official time of 1:56.90.

Hartsburg-Emden got another great performance from Abby Olson in the division for seventh-grade girls. Abby threw the shot put 31.7 feet for a second-place medal and gathered more honors with a sixth place in the discus at 82.03.

The seventh-grade WLB girls also shone in the 4x100 meter relay, the long jump and the 200-meter dash. Natalie Boward performed exceptionally well in the long jump competition, breaking the WLB record with a leap of 15 feet, 8.5 inches. Her long jump performance was good enough for sixth place in the state. Natalie also ran to an eighth-place finish in the 200-meter dash and was an essential part of the fourth-place 4x100 relay team.

[to top of second column in this article]

Melissa Ramlow jumped 15 feet, 1.25 inches in the long jump to take home an eighth-place medal. The fourth-place 4x100 relay team, consisting of Boward, Leslie Curry, Katelyn Atteberry and Kylie Sparks, ran exceptionally well against tough competition to finish with a time of 56.00 seconds.

Turning to the eighth-grade boys, CEL’s Curt Courtwright leaped to a state record-breaking performance and first place in the long jump. Curt, with his arm raised high over his head in his trademark jumping style, skied over the competition with a final mark in the sand at 19 feet, 7.5 inches. Courtwright also took home a sixth-place medal in the 200-meter dash.

The H-E 4x200 relay team was successful, finishing with a hard-fought third-place victory in the division for eighth-grade boys. The victorious H-E relay team consists of Jacob Moehring, Billy Detmers, Zak Flatley and Curtis Conrady. In the same 4x200 relay race the CEL team of Aaron Meyrick, Troy Tolan, John Toft and Curt Courtwright ran to an eighth-place finish.

Also, Jeff Oller of Carroll Catholic was sixth in the high jump. I was standing near Jeff when he was about to attempt the 5-foot, 6-inch height. I asked him if he had cleared that height, and his great response was, "Not yet, but I will!" Confidence pays off.

Rounding out the weekend state finals, the seventh-grade boys had a very spirited and very competitive meet in all events. Most notable of the local athletes was Wes Umphryes from H-E. Wes took home a second-place medal in the high jump, clearing 5 feet, 4 inches before ending his day, and garnered an eighth-place finish in the 400-meter run. Other top-eight local finishers in this division were Justin Ritchhart, from Carroll Catholic, with a fourth-place finish in the shot put with a heave of 37.5 feet; Brandon Farmer, also from WLB, with a sixth-place finish in the pole vault; the 4x400 WLB relay team, consisting of Brandon Farmer, Seth Fink, Ryan Sanders, Matt Schreiber and alternate Jonathan Lessen, which ran to a seventh-place finish; and Noah Ramsey, from Mount Pulaski, with a discus throw of 109 feet, 3 inches, which was good enough for seventh place in that event.

After the lights went out at the EastSide Centre around 9:30 p.m. last night and I was headed home, I had a chance to reflect a little on the events of the weekend. I and other parents and fans followed two buses all the way to Lincoln, and there were several bus loads of other teams that passed us going to places unknown to me. They contained, in total, a couple of thousand young men and women ages 11 through 14 from towns all over Illinois.

I recalled the athletes in multi-colored uniforms, with multi-cultural faces, all giving their all and doing their best, to reach a goal. I can still hear the encouraging roar of the crowd as the "home kids" ran by — regardless of whether the athletes cheered were in first or in last place. There were also some who went home with state champion medals who, because of hearing impairments, didn’t hear the crowds but still felt the excitement of being cheered for.

And driving along, rain-soaked, hungry, cold and tired, I thought to myself, what a great weekend! And as one mother said to me about such events: "This is a piece of pure Americana." I agree.

Congratulations to all who were there.

[Rick Hobler]

(Reporter’s note: Photos of some of the events also appear on this website.)

[MAY 20, 2002]  As sure as I write this column about how well the St. Louis Cardinals have looked of late, they will probably go into another nosedive! However, just as I wrote passionately that it wasn’t the fact that they were losing that bothered me, it was the way they were losing that really tripped my trigger; in the same way, I’m not just jumping back on the bandwagon just yet!

And yes, they have been winning of late — somewhere around seven of their last nine. But it’s the way that they’ve been winning them that makes me the happiest. I love to see guys bunting runners over and getting them in scoring position. I don’t care what Chip Carey and Mike Shannon say. If you want to play for big innings, move to the American League. Over here where real baseball is played, we play for a couple of runs, get six or seven solid innings from our starters and turn it over to the bullpen before we head to dinner.

You know, I even saw Fernando Vina lay down a suicide squeeze! They’re hitting behind the runners and moving them all around. They’re playing better defense. And now, some of the walking wounded have returned to the lineup. But how well will Woody Williams, Garrett Stephenson and the others hold up? Only time will tell. But it sure has been a better product to watch the last week or so.

I have to admit, it was just too painful for me to watch the two weeks previous to last, so my boy and I have put on our parkas to work on our golf swings in the back yard. A much better use of our time, if you ask me.

The Cubs, on the other hand, won a thrilling extra-inning contest north of the cheese curtain over those pesky Brewers. Did they save Don Baylor’s job for another week? Only time will tell on that front as well.

Cub fans are buzzing about the major league debut of rookie sensation Mark Prior, which is scheduled for this Wednesday. Not only can this kid pitch, he can also hit, which may be even more important to the north-siders at this point in the season.

I still think that the Cubbies will rebound in time to get into this race, but maybe not before some kind of a shake-up.

And just when you thought it was safe to get back into the division race, some idiot woke up the Houston Astros. Boy, do I NOT want to see them coming on like gangbusters?!

And on top of all that comes the ridiculous news of yet another pending baseball work stoppage? ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? I really wish I was. I don’t know where Donald Fehr lives, but it is apparently nowhere near where the other 6 billion people on our planet live! How you could even remotely consider a baseball strike after everything the American public has been through the past year is totally beyond me! And then when you consider that baseball attendance is already lagging 6 percent behind where it normally is on this date, you have to question the intelligence of even considering such a move.

[to top of second column in this article]

Some people think that the fans will keep going back no matter how many times they strike. If that’s true, where are the 6 percent of people that have yet to show up this season? I know I used to go out to the ballpark 10 to 12 times a year. After the last strike I reduced that number to one or two times a season, and I will not go back more than that until my son gets old enough to drag me to the ol’ ball yard himself! Even that’s a long shot at this point, as he thinks that hockey is about the greatest thing his little 17-month-old eyes have ever seen. He especially likes the celebrations surrounding a goal and when somebody high-sticks his opponent in a friendly manner!

Here’s hoping that somebody with a little common sense can get both sides together, minimize the greed a little bit and get this thing resolved before they kill the golden goose — or, as my son calls him, the golden duck (right now, to him any bird is a duck)! If not, we’ll take our parkas off and go out in the back yard and work on our home run trots without the concern of all of those stinkin’ prima donnas!

With all the rain we’ve been having, I’m not sure we’ve been given any local or area scores or updates in any sport. IF you are a coach or an athlete and would like some special mention, please call us or e-mail us with your info. Or better yet, call Greg Taylor and me tonight TOLL FREE at (877) 963-9669 on the new FIX 96.3! Tonight will be our last radio show for the 2002-3 school year… at least in this time slot. We may re-emerge at a different time and day!

Thanks to all of our loyal readers here at the LDN and to our loyal listeners on the call-in program. Have a great week, everybody!!!

[Jeff Mayfield]

Announcements

[MAY 2, 2002]  Starting this summer, the Lincoln Area YMCA will offer a coed track-and-field program for youth 5 to 12 years old and teens 13 to 18 years old. Participants will learn the fundamentals of track and field, as well as stretching, warm-up and cool-down.

LCHS track-and-field coach Michelle Aeilts, along with other volunteers, will teach participants the benefits of building a strong body, mind and spirit through running.

This new program will be offered in two six-week sessions. Session A, June 3-July 8, is for teens, and Session B, July 15-Aug. 19, is for youth. The program will meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the LCHS track.

For more information, call 735-3915 or (800) 252-3520.

[APRIL 17, 2002]  Central Illinois Select Soccer Club will have open tryouts for all interested players May 13-17, May 20-24, and June 17 and 19. Tryout dates and times for specific age groups are shown at www.cis-soccer.org/Tryouts/Tryouts.htm.   

All tryouts will be at Nord Field, located on Six Points Road, two miles west of Morris Avenue in Bloomington. More detailed directions are available at www.cis-soccer.org/Clubfolder/Facilities.htm. 

For more information about tryouts and CIS traveling soccer, visit the club’s website, www.cis-soccer.org.; e-mail Steve Berry, director of coaching and player development, at cissocceracademy@hotmail.com; or call (309) 378-4699.

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