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Friday, May 2

High school softball

[MAY 2, 2003] 

At Bloomington

Olympia                601 004 - 11-16-0

Central Catholic     000 000 - 0 -2-3

Game called because of 10-run rule.

Jessie Shay (W, 14-1) and Amber Lessen; Megan Mikel (L, 4-4) and Beth Telford.

Olympia (21-1, 6-0) - 2B - Lessen. Three hits - Lessen, Kami Logsdon. Two hits - Shay, Tiffany Prager, Becky Heiser. RBI - Logsdon 2, Mallory Toliver 2, Lessen, Erin Canopy, Hilary Shaffer. Pitching - Shay (6 innings, 2 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 6 strikeouts).

High school baseball

[MAY 2, 2003] 

At Stanford

Lexington     000 00 - 0-6-1

Olympia       081 01 - 10-11-0

Called because of 10-run rule.

Payne (L, 0-3), Graham (3) and McNamara. Dusty Hayes (W, 2-2), Derek Dudgeon (4), Zack Kuhfuss (5) and Rush Olson, Brad Brooks (4).

Home run - Olympia - Trevor Smith (two on in 2nd).

Hitting stars - Olympia - Olson (2 hits), Hayes (3 RBIs), Tyler Thornton (2 RBIs), Trevor Smith (3 RBIs).

Records - Olympia 14-7, Lexington 3-11.

Johnson inks new deal

[MAY 2, 2003]  NORMAL -- Illinois State Director of Athletics Perk Weisenburger announced the signing of head football coach Denver Johnson to a new contract, which will keep him on the Redbird sidelines for the next four seasons.

Weisenburger is pleased to have the agreement in place.

"I am very pleased to have finalized this new contract with Denver," Weisenburger said. "Our football program is developing solidly under his leadership, and he and his staff have worked extremely hard at recruiting quality young men, coaching and creating an environment that is conducive to winning.

"I am very excited about this season in particular, and I look forward to the continuing improvement of our program with Denver as our head coach and challenging for Gateway Football Conference championships."

University officials did not disclose the monetary terms of the four-year contract, which replaces the final year of his original agreement. The new contract has Johnson signed through the 2006 season.

[to top of second column in this article]

Johnson is also excited about extending his stay at Illinois State.

"I'm really pleased to execute this new contract," Johnson said. "I appreciate Perk's recognition of the direction that our program is headed and his support of the vision that he and I share for Redbird football. I am extremely excited about the progress that we have made, and I think that great things are just over the horizon for this program. It is going to be fun to watch this young football team grow over the four years."

The upcoming season will be the fourth for Johnson with the Redbirds. In three previous campaigns, the Seminole, Okla., native compiled a 15-18 record, including a 6-5 mark last season.

[Todd Kober, director of media relations,
Illinois State University]

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!

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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]

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