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College baseball

[JUNE 15, 2001]  Josh Becker, a graduate of University High School in Normal, has joined the baseball team at Lincoln College, according to an announcement by coach Tony Thomas.

Becker had an outstanding senior season for U. High this past year.  He hit .444 with 52 hits, including 11 doubles, four triples and two homers. He scored 36 runs and had a total of 41 runs batted in.

As a pitcher for U. High, Becker had a 6-4 won-lost record with a 3.33 earned run average.  He worked a total of 61 innings, striking out 47 and walking 25. U. High finished with a 25-13 record.

Becker said, "When I visited the campus, I liked what I saw, and I was impressed with coach Thomas."

The LC coach said, "Josh will be counted on as a pitcher and catcher for us next season.   He also has the ability to play the outfield. It will remain to be seen just how we use him next season."

Becker is the son of Tony and Sharon Becker of Normal.

[Bill Martinie]

Legion JV baseball

Lincoln Cobras vs. Twin City Twins

[JUNE 14, 2001]  The Lincoln junior varsity Legion baseball team suffered a pair of defeats at the hands of the Twin City Twins Wednesday night at Lincoln.  The double setback drops the Lincoln record to 5-7.

Lincoln lost the first game 11-2 and dropped the second game 11-1 in five innings.   Jason Williams started the first game and pitched well, giving up four runs, two earned, on five hits while striking out two and walking three. The Twin City Twins put seven runs on the board in the top of the seventh inning to break the game open. Jason Bednarko had three hits, including a double, and scored a run to lead the Lincoln Cobras at the plate. Blaen Fletcher had a pair of hits and drove in one run.  Miles Musick, Jason Williams and Chris Matson each had one hit.

In the second game, starting pitcher Bryce Cunningham permitted four runs, two earned, in four innings. He fanned six and walked one. Leading the Lincoln hitting was Fletcher, with two hits. Mitch Sheley, Cunningham and Matt Brayfield had the only other Lincoln hits.

First game

Twin City       000 220 7 – 11-8-2

Lincoln           000 002 0 – 2-8-5

Burger (W) & Paschold; Williams (L), Brayfield (6), Matson (7) & Bednarko.

Twin City        100 0 (10) – 11-8-1

Lincoln            000 0 1 – 1-5-6

Theobald (W) & Essman; Cunningham (L), Gosda (5), Musick (5) & Peters.

[Bill Martinie]

Bronco League

Graue Pharmacy vs. Images by James Coop

[JUNE 12, 2001]  Graue Pharmacy 16, Images by James Coop 8

Graue Pharmacy pounded out 13 hits to six hits from Images by James Coop as Graue Pharmacy improved their record to 6-0.

Graue Pharmacy was led by Matt Schick with three hits, three runs scored and three RBIs. Matt also helped himself on the mound as he improved his pitching record to 4-0.

Other team members contributing were Cale Dahm with one hit, three runs scored, three RBIs; Justin Mason with two hits, two runs scored and two RBIs; and Joe Heidbreder with two hits, one run scored and two RBIs.  Lincoln Moore, Chris McGlasson, Josh Edwards, Kaleb Gordan and Andrew Ulry each recorded one hit and one run scored.

Images by James Coop was led by Jacob Harnacke with three hits and two runs scored. Ian Arneaud had two hits and one run scored, Andrew Kleinman and Logan Mikesell two runs scored each, and Justin Harnacke added one run scored.

Tuesday, June 12, schedule

Bright Idea vs. Waterstreet Catering, 6 p.m.

Graue Pharmacy vs. Images by James Coop, 8 p.m.

[News release]

Legion JV baseball

Cobras play Rochester, Petersburg and Mount Zion

[JUNE 11, 2001]  After winning a pair of games Saturday, the Lincoln Legion junior varsity baseball team dropped at pair at Mount Zion Sunday afternoon. Lincoln Cobras defeated Rochester 12-3 in the first game Saturday at Mason City and then handed Petersburg a 9-1 setback in the second game. On Sunday, Mount Zion scored a 9-1 win over Lincoln in the first game, and the Cobras lost the second game 10-3.

Chris Gosda hurled a complete game against Rochester in Saturday's first contest. The right-hander gave up seven hits, walked four and fanned two while giving up two earned runs. Mitch Sheley was the hitting star for Lincoln, with four hits, including a pair of doubles, in five trips to the plate. Justin Deters also had a pair of hits for Lincoln, including one double.

In the second game against Petersburg, Blaen Fletcher picked up the victory in relief of Matt Brayfield.  Fletcher hurled 4 1/3 innings, giving up one hit and striking out four.   Trent Kavelman had two hits in three trips to the plate and drove in a pair of runs.  Shane Westbrook, Deters, Fletcher and Miles Musick each had one hit and one RBI.

Trent Kavelman suffered the loss in the first game against Mount Zion Sunday, allowing six hits, striking out two and walking two. Defense hurt Lincoln in the contest, as they committed 10 errors. Only four of the nine runs were earned against Kavelman. Lincoln was able to collect just four hits, one each by Brayfield, Sheley, Musick and Fletcher.

In the second game, Lincoln used five pitchers, with Deters taking the loss. Lincoln scored three runs in the first inning; however, Mount Zion came back with five runs in the bottom of the first and was never headed. Jason Williams, Sheley and Bobby Ward each had a pair of hits for Lincoln. Williams and Sheley each had doubles.

[to top of second column in this article]

Saturday games

Lincoln Cobras       201 430 2 –12-11-1

Rochester               010 011 0 – 3-7-2

Gosda (W) & John Peters; Wise (L) & Berecz.

Petersburg              100 000 0 – 1-1-2

Lincoln Cobras       100 134 x – 9-8-0

Sorrells (L) & Heubner; Brayfield, Fletcher (3-W) & Bednarko.

Sunday games

Lincoln Cobras       000 000 1 – 1-4-10

Mount Zion             204 111 x – 9-7-1

Kavelman (L) & Bednarko; Highley (W) & Brown.

Lincoln Cobras       300 000 0 – 3-8-0

Mount Zion             502 012 x – 10-6-3

Deters (L), Ward (1), Gosda (2), Brayfield (4), Fletcher (6) & Kavelman, Bednarko (4); Anderson (W) & Webb.

[Bill Martinie]

Pony League

Union Planter’s Bank vs. Bloomington Yankees

[JUNE 11, 2001]  Union Planter's Bank, of the Pony Division, traveled to Bloomington this past Saturday to do battle with the Yankees. The Bank soundly defeated the home team 23-4. Led by Austin Hartwig's complete game two-hitter, the Bank proved to be unwanted guests. Jimmy Stone's three hits and five runs scored paced the Bank. Hartwig added three hits and four runs scored to his fine pitching effort. Other hitting stars of note were Blake Neeley and Mike Palivos, both with two hits and five runs scored between them.

[Jim Stone]

[APRIL 27, 2001]  This week's LDN Sports Talk takes on a different look than ever before. Since I couldn't get the LDN powers-to-be to send me out to Colorado Springs to do this interview, Race and I struggled together by e-mailing. I spent a Saturday coming up with a list of 20 to 25 questions and finally just told him to answer them when he could. He did that while going to class, studying for a test, practicing and, I think, writing a paper. It is very easy for a sports writer like me to have nothing but admiration for young men like Race Steinfort. I'm glad people like him are protecting Payne at night while he sleeps (or keeps his parents up). I hope you loyal LDN fans will enjoy Race's written response to my list of questions as much as I did! On behalf of the LDN, thank you, Race. We all wish you nothing but the best!

Response from Race Steinfort

[click here for Part 1]

I am majoring in aeronautical engineering as well as getting my math minor. I’d like to someday go into airplane design. However, once I graduate, I will go off to Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) where I will be trained for approximately one year to fly jets. Following UPT, I will have a 10-year commitment to the Air Force in which I hope to fly F-15s and/or A-10s.

[Race Steinfort]

I have been swimming competitively for about 16 years now, and yes, it has prepared me for swimming here. College is a whole new game, though. Instead of swimming every event possible, I now specialize in two to three events: the 100/200 back and the 1,650 (mile) free.

As for people I should thank, there are far too many to list. I think the main contributors were a man named Fred Plesé and my parents.

Mr. Plesé has been a huge inspiration in my life. This man, through rain, dark, snow, and hail, managed to show up at 5:30 in the morning at least three times a week and get into the water to swim with my father and me. He started from barely being able to swim for five minutes to swimming for an hour-plus and getting out hardly even breathing hard, with a giant grin on his face like he had just conquered the world (or at least the pool). To this day he still swims with my father every other morning. His dedication to swimming, his job and a giant family, and more importantly, his ability to, day after day, show up at 5:30 a.m. ready to jump in a cold pool with a giant smile on his face has made me believe that no matter how cold the water is or what lies ahead, the only way to go is just smile and jump in.

[to top of second column in this section]

I also have to thank my parents for all their support and love. They were there when I needed prodding and they were there to pick me up when I fell. They’ve been there through everything, and I know for sure that I wouldn’t be who and where I am today if it weren’t for them.

The only advice I have to give is to never underestimate yourself or your abilities and never take the easy way out. Some people believe that they can’t get anywhere because they were never given an opportunity. No one is ever given an opportunity; you have to make one for yourself, whether it’s in a pool, on a court or in a classroom.

The key is to take the harder path. Sometimes it takes giving up some things such as time and freedom, but in the end, it’s just like an investment. That which you gave up will turn into something much better. For me, the time and freedom and other things that I have given up in the past have allowed me to swim Division I and attend a great college; and the freedom and regular college life that I’m giving up right now will allow me to fly a $30 million aircraft at two times the speed of sound. You cannot give up everything, but unless you make some sacrifices, you will not be able to achieve your goals.

Yes, I would recommend the Air Force Academy and I am glad I came, but I would have to add one thing. It is not for everyone. It is a different life. I already told you a little about freshman year for me. It wasn’t easy and it was rarely fun. The academy offers a great education, great friendships, and I get paid to go to school, but in return I have pledged to give my life in the defense of our nation. I owe at least five years to the Air Force after I graduate and 10 years if I become a pilot.

It is something that must be well thought through before the decision is made. But I’d have to say jumping out of airplanes and flying fighters is an excellent way to spend a summer!

[APRIL 26, 2001]  This week's LDN Sports Talk takes on a different look than ever before. Since I couldn't get the LDN powers-to-be to send me out to Colorado Springs to do this interview, Race and I struggled together by e-mailing. I spent a Saturday coming up with a list of 20 to 25 questions and finally just told him to answer them when he could. He did that while going to class, studying for a test, practicing and, I think, writing a paper. It is very easy for a sports writer like me to have nothing but admiration for young men like Race Steinfort. I'm glad people like him are protecting Payne at night while he sleeps (or keeps his parents up). I hope you loyal LDN fans will enjoy Race's written response to my list of questions as much as I did! On behalf of the LDN, thank you, Race. We all wish you nothing but the best!

Response from Race Steinfort

I’ve been at the USAF Academy for almost three years now. I am currently a Second Class Cadet (junior) and I am still happy with my decision to come, though during my Fourth Class year (freshman) I wasn’t so sure about that one.

[Marshal Haylett and Lincolnite Race Steinfort, teammates on the U.S. Air Force Academy swim team, the Falcons, pose on a crisp-looking day in the Colorado Rockies.]

The application process was a pretty lengthy one. It entailed sending in an application to both the academy and my congressmen, including my representative, the Illinois senators and the vice president. Any of those four government officials could give me a nomination to the academy. Rep. Dick Durbin gave me my nomination. The process for nomination consisted of a few questionnaires and an interview. The next step was to get accepted to the academy. This consisted of a physical fitness test, a very lengthy application with everything from medical history to police records to exactly why I wanted to attend the academy, an interview with an Air Force liaison officer, and an essay on why I wanted to come and what I wanted to do in the Air Force.

One of my requirements for a college was Division I swimming, with the other being aeronautical engineering. I planned on swimming here, and there’s no doubt that it has helped me make it through here. I have been one of the top backstrokers here, placing sixth in both the 100 back and 200 back at the Mountain West Conference, with a 50.02 and a 1:50.09 respectively. My best swim at that meet was in the morning, where I finally broke 1:50 in the 200 back to go a 1:49.39, my lifetime best.

We do get to travel quite a bit. We usually alternate with teams, going to their place one year and having them here the next. The main teams we always swim against are University of Washington, BYU, Utah, UNLV and Wyoming, to name a few. We also travel during Christmas break. We usually leave shortly after Christmas to go somewhere warm like California or Florida to train day in and day out for a little over a week.

[to top of second column in this section]

The question of whether or not being intercollegiate is an advantage is a pretty tough one. Yes, it has helped me a lot, but it has also made some aspects of life more difficult. The best part of being on a team here is the camaraderie and the friendships. We have a very close team here, and all the guys on the team look out for each other like brothers.

The hardest part of the academy is the loss of freedom during freshman year. You come from a high school where you are at the top of the chain, and you walk into a place where you are worth less than the dirt on the ground. It provides quite a bit of emotional stress among other things. I seriously doubted why I came, and I wasn’t sure that I wanted to stay. Everyone was always yelling at me and nothing seemed to be good enough. There was dust inside the smoke detector, a spot on the sink and my shoes were NEVER shiny enough (just a few of the things they’d pick on). The goal was to put as much stress on us as possible to weed out the people who didn’t want to be there and teach the rest of us how to deal with stress. That was pretty much all of basic training and freshman year.

This is where swimming and the team really helped me to get away and remember that I do have friends, and mainly, I wasn’t in this alone. Going down to the pool every day also helps to get away from the academic grind.

This, however, is also where sports are not so much an advantage. We, as intercollegiates, do not have a lighter academic load than anyone else here, despite the fact that we have three to four hours of our afternoon devoted to practice. This provides for many late nights and long weekends doing homework and studying. I’m taking 22.5 hours this semester as well as swimming for three hours every afternoon. Along with this, we, as cadets, have mandatory formations, In Rank Inspections (IRIs—uniform inspections) and Additional Morning Inspections (AMIs—room inspections) which we have to prepare and clean for at least twice a week and sometimes more depending on the leadership and how we did the previous week.

Traveling with the team is another bonus, in that for a weekend or at least a day or two you get to leave the academy and get away for a while. The only problem with that is that you miss classes and usually fall behind in the process, and catching up with 22 hours is not easy! Despite the disadvantages, the friends and the break from the grind for a day or two or even just a few hours in the day make being an intercollegiate well worth it in my mind.

(To be continued)

[click here for Part 2]

Announcements

ALMH golf outing planned

[MAY 29, 2001]  Teams are filling fast for the FORE-ALMH golf outing, so don’t be left out! Get your team signed up for the outing scheduled for Friday, June 29, at the Elk’s Country Club in Lincoln. The format will again be a four-person scramble, with a shotgun start at 7:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Your $75 entry fee includes greens fee and free cart rental, plus opportunities to win prizes and awards including Hole-in-One, Top Foursomes, Longest Putt, Longest Drive and Closest to the Pin for both men and women. Also provided are a continental breakfast and buffet luncheon.

In addition to golfing, a variety of sponsorships are available including Tee, Cart and Prize Sponsorships. Appropriate recognition and benefits are provided for each sponsor.

All funds raised from the golf outing support the ALMH Care-A-Van service. The Care-A-Van is a specially equipped van, custom-built to provide non-emergency transportation for individuals who are wheelchair-bound or need transportation assistance to get to necessary appointments.

For more information on player registration or sponsorship opportunities, please call Cynthia Kelley at (217) 732-2161, Ext. 405.

[ALMH news release]

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