Sports News,  Archives,  Mayfield's Mutterings,  Schedules,

Announcements,  Calendar,  Sports News Elsewhere  (fresh daily from the Web)

Tuesday, April 29

High school baseball

[APRIL 29, 2003] 

At Pontiac

Olympia     605 10 - 12-14-1

Pontiac       002 00 - 2-7-1

Called because of 10-run rule.

Trevor Smith (W, 2-3) and Rush Olson; Joe Tissiere (L, 1-2), Paul Kelley (5) and Matt Shields.

Home runs - Olympia - Rush Olson (grand slam in first).

Hitting stars - Olympia - Olson (2 hits, 6 RBIs), Ross Thompson (2 hits), Neil Birky (3 hits), Alex Frantz (3 hits).

Records - Olympia 12-7 overall, 4-0 in Corn Belt Conference; Pontiac 5-11, 1-3.

At Hartsburg

Havana      100 030 - 4-3-2

Hartem      360 032 - 14-13-1

Called because of 10-run rule.

Ross (L), Carr (3) and Haber; Ryan Anderson (W, 2-2), Drew Olson (6) and Matt Gleason.

Home runs - Hartem - Hoerbert (solo in fifth).

Hitting stars - Hartem - Hoerbert (3 hits, 5 RBIs); Anderson (two 2B); Gleason (two 2B).

Record - Hartem 8-3.

High school softball

[APRIL 29, 2003] 

At Limestone
Game 1

Olympia        200 020 0 - 4-8-1

Limestone     000 100 0 - 1-7-1

Jessie Shay (W) and Amber Lessen; Heather Post (L) and L. Lenart.

Hitting Stars - Olympia - Erin Canopy (2 hits, 3 RBIs), Jessie Shay (2 hits, 3 RBIs).

Game 2

Olympia        102 010 2 - 6-9-1

Limestone     002 100 2 - 5-5-3

Lindsay Watkins (W, 4-0), Megan Rich (6) and Katie Tucker; Bowers (L) and Sheet.

Home runs - Olympia - Erin Canopy.

Hitting stars - Olympia - Amber Lessen (3 hits).

Records - Olympia 19-1 overall; Limestone 5-8-1.

At Warrensburg

Clinton              000 000 02 - 2-6-0

Warrensburg     000 000 00 - 0-1-1

Lamren Ferguson (W, 16-2) and Heather Polen; Holly Walden (L, 10-3) and Amy McBride.

Golfers sign with LC

[APRIL 29, 2003]  The Lincoln College women's golf coach has announced the signing of four young ladies who will continue their golfing careers next fall for the Lady Lynx.

Lindsay Horath, Stacy Weaver, Carlie Facker and Ashley Spects have all signed on with Lincoln College.

"I am very excited about the quality of play these four young ladies will be bringing to our golf program," said coach Kirk Whiteman.

"Horath, a senior at Lincoln High School, has been taught under coach Jan Bowers, and I am thrilled to have a golfer of that quality.  This makes the third year in a row we have added a student-athlete from LCHS, and I look forward to continuing that trend. I am sure Lindsay is ready to build upon all the things she was able to learn from coach Bowers," said Whiteman.

Weaver hails from Warrensburg-Latham High School, while Facker is from Eureka and Spects from Geneseo.

[to top of second column in this article]

"Weaver's high school team finished second in the state last year, and she is a big catch for our program," Whiteman said. "She has experience playing in big matches, and she had an outstanding round in the state finals.

"Facker's best golf is going to be in college. She hits the long ball very well, and she is going to surprise a lot of people. I am looking forward to her being a part of our team.

"Spects will be a two-sport athlete at Lincoln College, as she plans to play softball as well as golf. She is coming off a serious heel injury, but I look for Ashley to contribute right away this fall," said Whiteman.

[Bill Martinie, Lincoln College
sports information director]

Illinois basketball has a bright future

By Greg Taylor

[APRIL 29, 2003]  Many in the Illini Nation are bumming big time with the loss of head coach Bill Self to Kansas, along with associate head coach Norm Roberts and others. Even Illinois administrative assistant Jeff Guin has resigned to accept an assistant coaching position with Western Illinois and new coach Derek Thomas. You may remember Thomas was an Illini assistant coach for about six weeks with Lon Kruger before the NBA big bucks drew Kruger from Champaign. Illinois basketball fandom is facing a serious identity crisis at a time when the future is incredibly bright and promising. My advice -- don't get caught up worrying about who is not going to be with Illinois basketball next season. Let's move on. Great days are in store for Illinois basketball, and it has nothing to do with who the coach will be in October. That said, let's look at the 2003-2004 version of Illinois basketball (with or without Charlie Villaneuva).

The strength of next year's Illini team will be the guards, led by soon-to-be sophomore studs Dee Brown and Deron Williams and junior leaper Luther Head. Throw in freshman sharpshooter Richard "King Rich" McBride of Springfield Lanphier and Illinois will have four guards who are each capable of playing 30-35 minutes each night.

It all starts with Brown, who probably should have been named freshman of the year in the conference this past season. Brown can push the tempo, plays great defense and may be the best recruiter in all of the Big Ten conference. Former coach Self challenged Brown to raise his game to the level of T.J. Ford of Texas, and we think Brown has a very high ceiling.

Williams is a big point guard who led the conference in assists as a freshman and could become the steady, if not flashy, court leader for the Illini over the next three seasons. Williams and Brown appear to love playing with one another and seem to feed off the other's success on the court. Questions about the health of Head remain, but if his groin injury is in the past, he could move into the starting lineup on a regular basis and become a highlight favorite not seen in the Hall since Battle, Gill and Notree. The wild card may be McBride, who is yet to score a needed ACT score, but could bring the long-range bomber Illinois will need after losing the graduating Harrington. McBride is more than a long-distance shooter and might push Williams for his starting spot or force the next coach to move to a three guard lineup.

James Augustine and Nick Smith both played well as members of the supporting cast to Player of the Year Brian Cook of Lincoln, and both will need to take their low post game to new levels next season. Augustine was great when he was on the court but struggled regularly with foul trouble and will need to become wise in his aggressiveness. Smith, at 7-foot-2, could become a dominating low post scorer (don't laugh) but will need to continue to get stronger and maintain preseason weight throughout the season. Freshman Aaron Spears (who will receive a medical redshirt and have four years of eligibility remaining) was coming along great before a December injury and will be counted on for big minutes. He appears to have a high ceiling as a post player.

[to top of second column in this article]

Freshmen Brian Randle of Peoria Notre Dame and Warren Carter of Dallas will probably need to step up and give serious minutes at times as freshmen. If McDonald's All-American Charlie Villanueva decides to hold off on the NBA and attend Illinois instead of the Self-led Kansas Jayhawks, he will step right in for the departed (and soon-to-be-wealthy) Brian Cook. My guess is no one, including Villanueva himself, knows what the future holds for the stud from Blair Academy, but I'll take Dee Brown's words of persuasion over the appeals of Self and Roberts. However, I think it is 40-60 at best that Villanueva ever plays for the Illini.

A wild card for the talented Illini will be junior Roger Powell. The Joliet native has a legit small forward's body at 6-foot-6 and played really well offensively down the stretch against Ohio State, Michigan State and Indiana. If Powell becomes a consistent force at the 3 spot, he will have a chance to bring Nick Anderson-like results for a team that will have great talent and depth at both guard spots and 20-25 fouls a game in the post. It is possible Illinois could have a very rare 10-man rotation, giving them the best depth in the conference this side of East Lansing, and have the moxie and determination to move beyond the postseason results of the past two seasons.

Let me close with the words of that great philosopher Sheryl Crow -- "It's not having what you want, it's wanting what you've got!" No Bill Self? So what. Whether it's Altman or Judson or Weber or Sampson, never forget this, Illini fans: You've got one of the best returning teams from a talent standpoint in all of college basketball heading into the 2003-2004 season. Don't worry -- get excited -- Illinois basketball is here to stay!

[Greg Taylor]

Articles from the past week

[APRIL 28, 2003]  The Lincoln Railers put up a nice 4-3 win over Lanphier after losing to them 9-4 earlier in the week. These were two real Jekyll and Hyde performances, but according to coach Pat Hake, if the Railers come to play every night, they can expect more winning outcomes. With the victory Lincoln was able to even their league mark to 3-3 and push their season record over the .500 level at 8-7.

The Lady Railers track squad also took an impressive triad win over Pekin and Peoria Manual last week.

CONGRATULATIONS to Chris Bunch as he has inked with Parkland College. Also, to Matthew Stoltzenburg, who was named District 15 Coach of the Year!

The St. Louis Cardinals pulled out an epic 7-6 win over the Florida Marlins at Pro Player Stadium on Sunday. The win enabled the Birds to take the series, to move one game under the .500 mark and most importantly move within two games of the Cubs. Fernando Vina, who had gone 0-for-9 in the game, not the series, went from goat to hero as he knocked in the winning run. Hopefully, that will get him and his mates started back in the right direction. The Redbirds will be entertaining the pond scum, otherwise known as the New York Mets, starting on Tuesday.

Illinois' Eugene Wilson was drafted by the New England Patriots after the Bears passed on him. Don't know what the thinking was there, as he seems like an excellent fit for them. Brandon Lloyd went to San Francisco, as the Niners are anticipating pass catching needs. Two Illini O-lineman went in the fifth round, as Dave Diehl ended up with the Giants in New York and Tony Pashos was selected by the Baltimore Ravens. And the Carolina Panthers nabbed Walter Young in the seventh round. After the two-day draft event was over four more Illini inked free agent deals, with Greg Lewis to Philadelphia, Antoineo Harris to San Diego, Aaron Moorehead to Indianapolis and Jerry Schumacher to the Bears!

[to top of second column in this article]

All in all, it was a great weekend for Fighting Illini gridders. While I'm happy to see them realize their dreams in the NFL, I am sad to see them go, as I get way too attached to them while they are playing for us! They have all treated the LDN staff with great respect as they have given us tremendous accessibility. The LDN wishes them all great success at the next level!

How 'bout that Fred Couples winning the Houston Open? It's great to see a superstar coming back, after injuries and losing his edge, to recapture the swing and return to glory. Judging by the fans' reactions, they were glad to see him back on top!

Have a great week, everybody!

[Jeff Mayfield]

• Last week: Easter mutterings

• Archived columns

Announcements

Back to top