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

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

Wednesday, March 26

High school baseball

[MARCH 26, 2003] 

At Mason City

Tremont          303 001 0 - 7-8-1
Illini Central     100 100 1 - 3-8-2

Oyer (W, 1-0), Geirich (7) and Wicks; McDonald (L, 0-1), Travis Scott (3) and Travis Scott, Birch (3).

Hitting stars: Illini Central -- Trevor Scott (2 hits), Chris Norton (2 hits), Travis Scott (2 hits).

Illini Central record:  2-2

At Mount Pulaski

Taylorville           000 000 1 - 1-3-2
Mount Pulaski     031 000 x - 4-6-1

Nathan Shanks (L, 0-1), Davis (5) and Gregory; Colton McClellan (W, 1-1), Josh Blaum (6) and Cameron McClellan.

Hitting stars: Mount Pulaski -- Justin Anderson (2 hits), Cameron McClellan (2 hits, 2 RBIs).

High school softball

[MARCH 26, 2003] 

At Stanford

Metamora     020 000 0 - 2-7-1
Olympia        030 000 x - 3-3-0

Janelle Phillips (L, 0-1) and Chrissy Fisher; Jessie
     Shay (W, 1-0) and Amber Lessen.

Home run: Olympia -- Megan Rich (2 on in second).

Hitting stars: Olympia -- Rich (3 RBIs)

Olympia record:  1-0

Lincoln College baseball vs. Lewis & Clark

[MARCH 26, 2003]  Lincoln College won a pair of baseball games here Tuesday afternoon against Lewis & Clark. The Lynx won the opener 3-2 and took the nightcap 4-3. The first game was a conference game giving Lincoln a 1-3 mark in league play. The second game was a non-conference contest. LC is now 5-15 overall.

In the first game Tony Eckhart worked the first five innings to gain the victory, allowing one run and a pair of hits. Darren Lewis pitched the sixth, allowing one run on one hit, and Jake Buchanan pitched the seventh for a save.

Lincoln scored a pair of runs in the third to win the contest. Zach Rinaberger was hit by a pitch to start the rally. Jeff Harris and Dan Dunn both beat out bunts for hits to load the bases. Andrew Bartman drew a walk to force in a run, and Matt Miflin hit a sacrifice fly to score the third run.

In the second game, Lincoln College scored four times in the bottom of the first inning, and that proved to be enough.

Rinaberger started the inning with a walk, Harris doubled in a run, Dunn singled and stole second. Frank Pesce walked to load the bases, and Miflin singled in the second run. Tim McWilliams then grounded out, scoring the third run. After a walk, Brandon Snyder drew a walk, forcing home the fourth tally.

Matt Gilbert picked up the win with four innings, while Donnie Oelerich, Tino Villasenor and Buchanan each pitched on inning. Buchanan earned his fourth save of the season.

[to top of second column in this article]

First game

Lewis & Clark    010 001 0 - 2-3-3

Lincoln College   102 000 x - 3-3-0

Wyatt (L) and Jacobs; Eckhart (W), Lewis (6), Buchanan (7-S) and Bartman.

Lewis & Clark     200 000 1 - 3-6-0

Lincoln College    400 000 x - 4-6-3

Caldwell (L) and Long; Gilbert (W), Oelerich (5), Villasenor (6), Buchanan (7-S) and Pesce.

[Bill Martinie, Lincoln College
sports information director]

2003 State Farm Holiday Classic teams lined up

[MARCH 26, 2003]  BLOOMINGTON -- Several elite national basketball programs will headline the tournament field for the 2003 State Farm Holiday Classic. The largest co-ed holiday high school tournament in the nation is scheduled for Dec. 26, 27, 29 and 30, and will mark the fifth consecutive year State Farm Insurance has been the title sponsor.

The Class AA field for boys will once again take on a national flavor, as two out-of-state teams have been added to a field that saw four teams play for sectional championships recently. Clinton (Tenn.) High School, located 15 miles outside of Knoxville, Tenn., is a perennial district champion in the state's large-school division. Clinton features 6-foot-8 Division I recruit Tevah Morris, whose older brother plays for the University of Pittsburgh. Also new to the field is Jesuit High School from New Orleans. Jesuit won its state championship in 2001 and finished in Louisiana's Sweet Sixteen this past season.

The Class AA field for girls will undergo the biggest change, as the tournament welcomes four new teams in Chicago Marshall, Edwardsville, Rock Island and Marian High School from Mishawaka, Ind. Marshall is a perennial state championship favorite each year and has won seven state titles with 16 Final Four appearances in Dorothy Gaters' 28 years as head coach. Edwardsville features head coach Lori Blade, who won two Class A state titles at Carrollton, and one of Illinois' best juniors in Amber Shelton. Rock Island made it to the sectional championship this past year, and Marian is looking to improve on a 10-11 season.

"One of our goals has been to intertwine Illinois' best teams with some of the nation's best," said Dan Highland, president of the holiday classic. "With the teams we are bringing in from out of state and the tradition and history of Chicago Marshall, Rock Island and Edwardsville, we feel we have taken great strides in enhancing both Class AA fields."

[to top of second column in this article]

The lone new team added to the field of Class A boys is Keystone High School from LaGrange, Ohio. Keystone features two possible Division I recruits in Brett Bartlett and DJ Shaw, as well as 6-foot-8, 325-pound Chase Clowser, who is being recruited by national champion Ohio State University to play football. LaGrange is located about 25 miles southwest of Cleveland.

The most competitive field should remain the Class A girls, but it will only get tougher with the addition of Prairie Central. The Lady Hawks have won regional titles in each of the last four years and are one of eight Class A teams that won a regional championship this season.

"Prairie Central will be a great addition not only talentwise, but also with the fan base they have," said Highland. "With the addition of Keystone, this will be the first time an out-of-state team will be playing in a Class A field. They actually found us through our Web site about two years ago, and we have kept in touch since then."

All four tournament champions from 2002 will return to the 2003 State Farm Holiday Classic. Among the boys’ teams, Quincy Notre Dame will return the core of its starting lineup to defend its back-to-back Class A titles, while South Holland Thornwood has won four consecutive Class AA titles and is currently in the state’s Sweet Sixteen. On the girls’ side, all-stater Ashlee Pistorius and Normal U-High will seek a second Class A title, while Peoria Richwoods comes off one of its best seasons in school history to defend its Class AA championship.

Click here for a list of the 64-team tournament field.

More tournament information can be found at www.theclassic.org.

[News release]

2003 State Farm Holiday Classic tournament field

(Teams listed in bold are new to the tournament in 2003.)

Class A boys

[to top of second column in this section]

Class AA boys

1. Buffalo Grove
2. Chicago Marshall
3. Chicago St. Rita
4. Clinton (Tennessee)
5. Galesburg
6. Grayslake
7. Jesuit (New Orleans, La.)
8. Lincoln
9. Mount Zion
10. Normal Community
11. Peoria Notre Dame
12. Rock Island
13. Rockford Boylan
14. Rockton-Hononegah
15. Thornwood
16. Tinley Park Andrew

Articles from the past week

[MARCH 24, 2003]  Of all the scripts Lincoln's Brian Cook has authored through the years, none were even close to what actually materialized Saturday in the stinkin' RCA Dome. Who ever heard of a team nailing 11 3-point shots in a first half? Much less the team being a basketball team from Notre Dame! I've heard the phrase "luck of the Irish," but that was ridiculous! But give ND some credit; they came out and played the game of their lives, when Illinois wouldn't have hit water if they had fallen out of a boat.

Too bad it was at the expense of one of our favorite sons, Brian Cook. When Cook's shots failed to drop he tried to will his team to victory. Especially judging by a career-high 16 rebounds.

And while the SCORE, especially most of their nut-case callers, and several other distraught fans throughout Illini nation want to blame this loss on one scapegoat, believe me, there's plenty of blame to go around for the entire team. I will say that you're not going to beat many people when they convert 13 treys. In fact, why don't I just go to the summation right now: Notre Dame hit their shots, Illinois didn't… end of story!

Stray arrows (boy, does that sum up the game or what?)

--Cook became the third highest point scorer in Illini history with his 19 versus the Irish. He finishes with 1,748 points.

--He's also fifth all-time on rebounds with 815 and fourth in blocked shots with 136.

--He and his teammates went 51-2 in the Hall during his four years -- an all-time record and the best home record in the country over that four-year span.

--He and his mates were one win away from advancing to the Sweet Sixteen for an unprecedented third straight time.

--I still think he will be a top 15 pick in the NBA draft and maybe even a lottery pick.

[to top of second column in this article]

[photo by Tom Seggelke]

--The Big Ten still has two teams alive in the final 16. Not bad for a weak, soft conference in supposedly a down year!

--Bracket busters… I've still got three Final Four teams left, but I'm not winning any bracketology awards.

--The Lincoln Railers for having the most wins in the state of Illinois! Did you notice that Peoria Central and Thornwood just happened to be two of the teams that were able to upset Lincoln this year?

--The Lincoln College Lynx for finishing seventh at the national juco tournament in Danville with a thrilling 95-73 victory over Bevill State Community College from Louisiana. The Lynx lost a heartbreaker by two on opening night or, who knows, Lincoln might have won it all!

--Hartsburg-Emden, the 7A state volleyball champions!

--In 8A action, Hartem and Mount Pulaski have advanced to the Final Four round!

If you're going to disappoint me, disappoint me when the weather's like this and we can all enjoy being outside… Are there even any basketball games left???

We'll sort it all out on "FANdamonium" tonight at 6 on the LDN live link, CITV Channel 5 and FIX 96.3 FM radio.

Have a great week, everybody!!!

[Jeff Mayfield]

• March 21 column: "Cook's NCAA double-double leads Illini to victory"

• More columns...

Announcements

[MARCH 6, 2003]  The Lincoln PONY Association will have its annual spring sign-up this year beginning March 9 and running until March 29. Sign-up sheets can be obtained at the front desk of the Lincoln Rec Center. On Saturday, March 29, representatives of Lincoln PONY will be on hand to assist with signups.

Lincoln PONY ball is for both boys baseball and girls softball, ages 8 through 14.

Additional information can be obtained at the Lincoln PONY website and at http://www.pony.org/.

Back to top