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[APRIL 12, 2002]  Although Springfield High outhit Lincoln 10-8 in Thursday’s conference matchup, it was the big bats of Lincoln that made the decisive difference, leading the Railers to an 11-7 victory and a 2-2 conference record.

Springfield jumped to an early lead in the first inning, scoring two runs on three hits and a sacrifice bunt. Lincoln’s starter, Ryne Komnick, threw four innings and saw a 4-3 Railer lead transform into a 7-4 Senator lead after 3 1/2 innings. The junior hurler allowed seven hits, struck out four, walked only one and surrendered five earned runs.

Springfield’s scoring leap came in the fourth inning. Doak Wingert led off with a double that was followed by a fly-ball single that the Lincoln right fielder apparently lost in the sun. A throwing error put another Senator on base, and Blake Helm, Springfield’s starting pitcher, helped his cause with a two-run line drive home run off the Railer scoreboard in left field. Nonetheless, Komnick came back strong and got a ground out and a fly out to end the inning; and with the go-ahead Railer runs scored in the bottom of the inning, he registered the pitching victory.

Senior left-hander Mike Martin took the mound to start the fifth inning, but after a single, a strikeout and another single he was replaced by senior lefty Ryan Williams. Williams stranded the two runners he inherited and finished the game without allowing a score, striking out three and allowing just one hit.

Lincoln’s first score came in the first inning, from sophomore Mitch Sheley, who reached first and went to second on a shortstop throwing error, and then scored on another shortstop throwing error that benefited Ryan Williams. The Railers pushed their lead to 4-2 in the second inning with runs by Komnick, Andy Knopp and Jeremy Ohmart. A sacrifice bunt by John Peters, an RBI ground out by Josh Gallagher, and RBI singles by Ohmart and Mitch Sheley brought the runners home.

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With Springfield’s four-run fourth inning, the Railers trailed 7-4. But the Lincoln bats exploded to produce seven runs in the bottom of the fourth. After singles by Peters and Ohmart and a walk to Sheley, Derek Schrader blasted a grand slam to left field, giving the Railers an 8-7 lead.

The Senators changed pitchers, but the good guys stayed hot. Danny Schick singled and Ryne Komnick walked. With two on, two outs and two strikes, Western Illinois recruit Andy Knopp sent a three-run shot over the left-field fence, his second three-run homer in two days. With the help of runners getting on base, two swings of the bat in the fourth inning made a seven-run difference for the Railers, and the guys in red and green held on for the 11-7 win.

Lincoln is now 6-7 on the year, with a doubleheader this Saturday at Peoria Richwoods. On April 19-20, the Railers will have their own tournament, hosting five teams, and fans will get to see some very fine baseball right here in Lincoln.

[Rich Knopp]

[Photos provided by Rich Knopp]
[Andy Knopp’s and Derek Schrader’s home runs accounted for seven RBIs.]

[Leadoff hitter Jeremy Ohmart had three singles.]

[Ryan Williams held Springfield scoreless in
the final 2 2/3 innings.]

LCHS soph baseball vs. Springfield

[APRIL 12, 2002]   Springfield High School scored three times in the top of the eighth inning to defeat Lincoln 4-1 in sophomore baseball at Lincoln Thursday afternoon. The game was originally slated to go five innings; however, the score was tied at 1-1 after two innings, and neither team could score until the eighth.

Springfield got a leadoff single from Hargan, and Broughton attempted to bunt but sent the ball over the pitcher’s head and both runners were safe. Tate then singled in the winning run, and two more scored on an infield out and an error.

Jason Williams was the tough-luck loser, allowing just two hits entering the eighth inning. He fanned three and walked three. Trent Kavelman came on in the eighth and permitted one hit while striking out one.

Lincoln had just two hits, both off the bat of Bobby Maestas. Lincoln scored its run in the second on an error, a walk, a sacrifice bunt in which all runners were safe (to load the bases) and a walk to Sean Ferguson.

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Lincoln was leading in the second game of the twin bill, 4-1, with one out in the bottom of the fourth and two men on base, when the game was halted due to darkness. The two teams were slated to play two five-inning games.

Score by innings

Springfield         100 000 03 — 4-5-4

Lincoln              010 000 00 — 1-2-7

Dill (W), Walker (8) & Tate; Williams (L), Kavelman (8) & Melton.

[Bill Martinie]

Area game results

[APRIL 12, 2002]   

At Stanford

Bloomington              001 050 3 --   9- 6-2

Olympia                    615 000 x -- 12-14-6

Cam Cheek (1-0), Lance Leesman (5), Ryne Sherman (7) and Rush Olson, Derrick Folley (7).

HR-Ryan Kendrick (two on in first).  2B-Olson.  Three hits-Steve Raleigh.  Two hits0Sherman, Cole Horner, Chris Frank, Tyler Hanning.  RBI-Kendrick 3, Hanning 2, Olson, Frank, Sherman, Jeff Darnall.

Pitching-Cheek (4 IP, 0 BB, 2 SO), Leesman (2 IP, 1 BB, 4 SO), Sherman (1 IP, 0 BB, 0 SO).

At Mount Pulaski

Meridian                   003 011 0 -- 5-3-3

Mount Pulaski           201 222 x -- 9-9-4

Brian Clements (1-1), Zach Moore (7) and Cam McClellan

HR-Justin Anderson 2, Josh Blaum.  Hitting stars-Anderson (3 hits, 5 RBI), Chris Wilson (2 hits, 3 runs, 3 stolen bases).

At Hartsburg

Williamsville              000 000 003 -- 3-5-1

Hartsburg                 000 000 000 -- 0-1-2

Matt Gleason, Ryan Anderson (6, 1-2) and Drew Olson.  Pitching star-Gleason (5 innings, 3 hits, 0 runs).

At Delavan

Illini Central               421 310 2 -- 13-11-4

Delavan                     210 120 0 --   6-  8-7

Bryce Cunningham (4-0), Chris Norton (5) and Travis Scott.

HR-Cunningham (solo in fourth), Adam Williams (one on in first).  Hitting stars-Cunningham (2 hits), Scott (2 hits), Jason Thomas (2 hits), Williams (2 hits).  Pitching star-Cunningham (4 2-3 innings, 9 strikeouts, 3 walks).

Area game results

[APRIL 12, 2002]   

At Tremont

Hartsburg-Emden       003 59 -- 17-9-0

Tremont                     100 01 --   2-5-7

Nikki Chapman (5-0) and Alyssa Moehring.

Hitting stars-Moehring (2 doubles, 2 RBI), Valerie Tillman (2 hits).  Pitching star-Chapman (5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 strikeouts).

Lincoln at Champaign

[APRIL 12, 2002]   Lincoln boys team took third place with 14 points against Bloomington (111) and Champaign Centennial (61).

Lincoln placements:

800 run:  2. Frost, 2:14.3

3,200 run:  4. Valdes, 11:39.3

110 hurdles:  4. L. Sheley, 19.8

High jump:  3. C. Sheley, 5-6

Triple jump:  4. C. Sheley, 34-4 1/4

Shot put:  4. Weitzel, 41-7 1/2

Discus:  3. Weitzel, 127-1

3,200 relay:  2. Lincoln, 9:04.1

Lincoln College vs. Lake Land

[APRIL 12, 2002]   MATTOON — Lincoln College won a pair of baseball games here Thursday afternoon, defeating Lake Land 5-1 in the opener and 15-13 in the nightcap. The Lynx now stand 5-6 in the conference and 5-19 overall. The Lynx play a twin bill at Millikin JV Friday, will be at home against Lake Land at 1 p.m. Saturday for a nine-inning game, and host John Wood at 1:30 p.m. Sunday in a doubleheader.

Dan Dunn went the distance in the first game, giving up five hits while walking one and striking out two. Tim May led the Lynx at the plate with a pair of hits, one a double, and an RBI.

In the second game May continued his torrid hitting with four hits, including a three-run homer in the third when the Lynx pushed across six runs. May finished the game with five RBIs. Andrew Bartman collected three hits in four trips and scored a pair of runs, while Kenny VanHouten was three for five with two runs, two RBIs and a double.  Jake VanDyke added a pair of hits and scored two runs for coach Tony Thomas.

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First game

Lincoln College         100 300 1 — 5-7-0

Lake Land                000 010 0 — 1-5-0

Dunn (W) & Pesce. Lake Land unknown.

Second game

Lincoln College       006 400 5 — 15-19-4

Lake Land              222 210 4 — 13-15-2

Hoffert, King (4-W), Deakin (7) & Bartman.  Lake Land unknown.

[Bill Martinie, Lincoln College
sports information director]

[APRIL 12, 2002]  The University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics will kick off its annual summer "Experience Illinois" Tour on Friday, May 31, with the third annual "Illini Night at Busch Stadium" in St. Louis.

Illini Night at Busch Stadium features a special seating section for Illini fans for the Pirates-Cardinals game and a pre-game tailgate tent party, directly south of Busch Stadium, from 5 to 7 p.m. The tent party will feature Big Ten Football Coach of the Year Ron Turner, Coca-Cola inflatable sport games, and food and beverages available for purchase from Chevys Fresh Mex. Inside the ballpark, Turner is scheduled to throw out the ceremonial first pitch to celebrate Illinois’ 2001 Big Ten title.

Tickets for Illini Night at Busch Stadium cost $20, which includes game ticket and admission to the pre-game party, where food and beverages can be purchased. For tickets, call Elizabeth Kampfe in the UI Marketing Office at (217) 244-8021.

Two days later, Experience Illinois heads to Chicago for "Illini Day at Wrigley Field" on Sunday, June 2, featuring a pre-game luncheon buffet and program highlighting Turner and men’s basketball head coach Bill Self at John Barleycorn-Wrigleyville, 3524 N. Clark St. The all-inclusive ticket package also includes seating in a special section to watch the Cubs-Astros game and festivities inside Wrigley Field. Coach Self will throw out the first pitch, commemorating Illinois’ back-to-back Big Ten basketball titles. Coach Turner and Illini football players will lead the fans in "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the seventh-inning stretch.

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Tickets for Illini Day at Wrigley Field cost $35, which includes pre-game buffet and beverages in addition to the game ticket. Advance purchase is required. Call Chris Tuttle at the FISF-Chicago office, (312) 575-7851.

The Experience Illinois program is a summer publicity tour to promote Fighting Illini athletics and football season and single-game ticket sales. The tour features video highlights and Illini posters and schedule cards. Experience Illinois will partner with Illini Sports Network stations in several markets to promote ticket sales and network programming.

For more information on tour stops, contact Dave Johnson in the UI Marketing Office at (217) 333-8221.

[Kent Brown, assistant athletics director / sports information director, University of Illinois]

[APRIL 11, 2002]  The Lincoln varsity baseball team had an unusual day Wednesday. First it played a rained-out game against Springfield High at Lincoln Land Community College at 4:30 and then traveled to Chamberlain Park in Springfield to complete a tied and suspended extra-inning match against Sacred Heart-Griffin. The first game went the Railers’ way with a 7-3 victory. The second game went 10 innings, but the lone additional run scored was by Sacred Heart, which took a 6-5 win.

[Lincoln vs. SH-G at Chamberlain Park]

Senior starting pitcher Matt Boyer pitched six innings against Springfield, scattering five hits and allowing one walk against six strikeouts. Of Springfield’s three runs, only two earned runs were charged to Boyer. In the bottom of the seventh, Boyer suffered a leadoff bad-hop single right at the shortstop and then gave up a full-count walk. With two on and no out, senior Ryan Williams was called on to finish the game. Williams faced just three batters, getting a fly out, a ground out and a strikeout. Although Springfield scored a run in the inning, it was too little, too late. The Railers had already put up seven runs on the board.

[After a single in the seventh inning against Springfield, winning pitcher Matt Boyer takes a seat when a pinch runner, Mike Aper, goes to first.]

Lincoln struck first in the top of the second inning. With two out and Williams at second (after a single and stolen base) and Ryne Komnick at first (after a walk), Andy Knopp sat on a first pitch fastball and skied it to left center field. The ball just kept going and cleared the fence for a three-run homer.

Jeremy Ohmart scored Lincoln’s fourth run, in the third. He reached on a single, stole second and scored on a Derek Schrader single to right field. Williams followed with another single, and Danny Schick also singled. But earlier Schrader had been caught stealing, and the Railers scored no more that inning.

With the score 4-2 in the top of the seventh, the Railers produced some important insurance runs. Ohmart led off with a single and stole second. Schrader reached base on an error and pushed Ohmart to third. Unfortunately, Ohmart was gunned down at the plate on a fielder’s-choice grounder to third by Williams. Schrader scored on a wild pitch, and Williams scored on a line drive by Schick that the left fielder dove for and missed, allowing Schick to record a triple on the play. Schick himself scored the third run of the inning on a base hit to right field by winning pitcher Matt Boyer.

Jeremy Ohmart had three singles in the game, and Andy Knopp added another three hits (including his three-run homer) to the Railer 13-hit attack. Ryan Williams and Danny Schick had two hits each. The 7-3 victory moved the Railers to five wins and six losses.

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Following their Springfield victory, Lincoln picked up an eighth-inning game against Sacred Heart-Griffin across town in Springfield. When the game was suspended on April 4, the score was 5-5 after seven innings. Up to that point, Jeremy Ohmart had singled and scored in the first inning. Matt Boyer doubled and scored on an RBI single by sophomore Mitch Sheley in the fourth, and Sheley scored on a fielder’s choice by Michael Martin. After four innings, SHG led 5-3. Matt Boyer pitched those innings with six hits, one walk and two strikeouts.

The Railers were able to tie the score with single runs in the fifth and sixth innings. Danny Schick doubled and scored on a double by Ryne Komnick; and Josh Gallagher scored after a walk, a sacrifice bunt by Mike Martin that sent Gallagher to third, and a wild pitch.

[Derek Schrader just scores Lincoln’s fifth run on a wild pitch against Springfield.]

Blake Schoonover kept Sacred Heart scoreless from the fourth through the seventh inning, when the game was suspended due to darkness.

The resumed game on Wednesday went two scoreless innings until it ended in a frustrating fashion. The Railers had good opportunities to score in the eighth and ninth innings, leaving runners in scoring position both times. Mitch Sheley was stranded at third in the eighth after a walk and a sacrifice bunt by Steve Shanle. In the ninth, Mike Martin got to second on a walk and a sacrifice bunt by Ohmart. Danny Schick pulled a hard-hit ball down third, but the third baseman dove, made the stab and threw Schick out at first, keeping the run from scoring on the play.

Blake Schoonover continued on the mound for Lincoln. In the eighth through 10th innings, he struck out two and yielded just one hit (in the 10th). SH-G had men at second and third with no outs in the 10th after a leadoff walk and a single that was bobbled by Lincoln’s right fielder. Schoonover struck out the next batter, and coach Pat Hake decided to award an intentional walk to load the bases with one out — a decision that certainly seemed wise at the time. Unfortunately, the next pitch got away from Schoonover and hit the right-handed hitter on the left arm. With no place to go, the hit batter got the winning RBI for SH-G.

Thursday, April 11, the Railer varsity will host Springfield at home, and the sophomores will play a doubleheader against the visiting Senators.

[Rich Knopp]

LCHS freshman baseball vs. Mount Pulaski

[APRIL 11, 2002]   Mount Pulaski High School handed Lincoln a 4-0 setback in freshman baseball action at Lincoln on Wednesday afternoon. The loss drops Lincoln to 2-4 for the season.

Lincoln collected five hits: a double by Paul Phillips and singles by Kevin Carroll, Jaron Harnacke, Chance Berger and Chris Boward.

Harnacke was the losing pitcher, striking out 10 and giving up six hits in seven innings. Blaum was the winning pitcher for Mount Pulaski, hurling all seven innings.

[Bill Martinie]

Lincoln College vs. Lincoln Land

[APRIL 11, 2002]   Lincoln Land came from behind to hand Lincoln College a 6-4 setback in college baseball at Lincoln Wednesday afternoon. The loss drops LC to 3-6 in the conference and 3-19 overall. The Lynx play a twin bill at Mattoon on Thursday against Lake Land.

Matt Mifflin and Zach Rinaberger led the Lynx with a pair of hits each. Charlie Deakin took the loss, giving up a pair of runs, one earned, in the ninth inning. Kyle Eastman started for the Lynx, giving up three runs, one earned, while striking out three and walking one.  Jeff King worked two innings, giving up one run on a pair of hits and four strikeouts.

 Score by innings

Lincoln Land         000 102 012 — 6-13-2

Lincoln College     000  310 000 — 4-6-3

Read (W) & Lewis; Eastman, King (7), Deakin (9) & Pesce.

[Bill Martinie, Lincoln College
sports information director]

[APRIL 11, 2002]  CHAMPAIGN — University of Illinois men’s basketball coach Bill Self announced today that Chicago Dunbar all-stater Aaron Spears signed a national letter of intent to play for the Fighting Illini.

Spears, a 6-foot-9, 240-pound post player, is the fifth high school senior to sign a letter of intent with the Illini this year. He joins James Augustine (6-10, F., Lincoln-Way Central HS), Dee Brown (5-11, G, Proviso East HS), Deron Williams (6-4, G, The Colony, Texas) and Kyle Wilson (6-8, F, Dallas Jesuit) in the Illini recruiting class.

"Aaron is a player who has worked extremely hard both in the classroom and on the court," Self said. "He has gotten himself into excellent physical condition and has the frame that with strength training will be an even more physical force. Aaron can have an immediate impact on our program and continues to open the door to recruitment of Chicago-area players. He comes from an excellent program at Dunbar and has been well coached by Fate Mickel. At the conclusion of Aaron’s official visit with us, and discussions with his mother, Bonnie Spears, and his grandmother, Dorothy Dawson, we all felt it was a natural fit for him at the University of Illinois."

Spears earned first-team all-state honors from the Chicago Sun-Times and Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette after averaging 27 points and 15 rebounds. He also earned all-state special mention from the Chicago Tribune and all-state honorable mention from the Associated Press. He was rated a consensus top 100 player by recruiting services.

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"Going into the spring we were fourth-fifths complete with our recruiting," Self said. "Aaron was the missing piece to what we feel will be an outstanding class. Replacing five experienced seniors is never easy for five entering freshmen, but this collective group recruited by Norm Roberts and Billy Gillispie can have the same impact on our program as the five guys who just left."

Spears is scheduled to play Thursday in the Michael Jordan Capital Classic All-Star game with fellow Illini recruit Dee Brown. He is also scheduled to play in the Wendy’s Classic as well as Chicago’s City vs. Suburban game and the IBCA All-Star game.

Spears’ father, Dan Davis, was an all-state player at Crane High School in 1965 who later went on to play at Northwestern from 1967-69, earning Academic All-Big Ten honors in 1968 and leading the Wildcats in free-throw shooting in 1969 (.882), which still stands as the third-best season in NU history. Davis later coached at Crane, which he guided to the 1972 state finals, and at Malcolm X Junior College.

[Kent Brown, assistant athletics director / sports information director, University of Illinois]

Lincoln College vs. Millikin JV

[APRIL 11, 2002]   Lincoln College split a pair of softball games against the Millikin JV in Decatur Wednesday afternoon, losing the first game 3-1 and rebounding for a 9-7 victory in the second contest.

Lincoln College, now 5-10 for the season, plays at Lincoln Land Thursday afternoon.

In the first contest Jen Polhemus took a perfect game into the bottom of the fifth inning before Millikin came up with a pair of runs. Lincoln scored its lone run in the first inning. Polhemus finished with a four-hitter, striking out two and walking one.

In the second game Lincoln College got pairs of hits from Ronni Beebe, Jess Wilcoxen, Monica Perone and Erica Sharko. Beebe also had a pair of RBIs while Ashley Sims and Dori Booth had RBIs. Audra May picked up the victory for the Lynx.

First game

Lincoln College         100 000 0 — 1-3-2

Millikin JV                 000 021 x — 3-4-2

Polhemus & Burgess; McCoo & Nolan.

Second game   

Lincoln College         116 000 1 — 9-11-2

Millikin JV                 311 101 0 — 7-6-3

May & Booth; Winterrowd & Gatchel.

[Bill Martinie, Lincoln College
sports information director]

Area game results

[APRIL 10, 2002]   

At Fairbury

Olympia                    311 000 0 -- 5-10-2

Prairie Central           002 001 1 -- 4-  8-0

Tyler Thornton (2-0), Lance Leesman (6), Ryan Sherman (7), Steve Raliegh (7) and Ryan Kendrick, Rush Olson (5).  Hitting stars:  Raleigh (2 hits, 1 homerun) and Chris Frank (2 hits, 1 double, 1 RBI)

Area game results

[APRIL 10, 2002]   

At Stanford

Olympia                     200 0(10) -- 12-15-0

Central Catholic         000 0  0    --   0-  1-1

Jessie Shay (6-1), Amanda Wilson (5) and Amber Lessen, Katie Tucker (5).

2B-Tricia Gaither.  Three hits-Gaither, Shay.  Two hits-Alisha Brand, Tiffany Prager.  RBI-Gaither 2, Shay 2, Prager 2.  Pitching-Shay (4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 strikeouts), Wilson (1 IP, 0 H, O R, O BB, 3 strikeouts).

Olympia and Lincoln at Clinton

[APRIL 10, 2002]   Olympia boys team took second with 141 points and Lincoln took fourth with 74 points against (in order of placement) University High (152.2), Clinton (120.8), Lexington (38) and Decatur St. Teresa (28).  The Olympia girls team took second place with 131 points and Lincoln took third with 90.3 points against University High (190), Clinton, (82), Decatur St. Teresa (47) and Lexington (35.7)

Boys placing for Olympia:

100-meter dash – 2. Dillenburg, 11.8

200 dash – 1. Joyce, 23.2

400 dash –  4. Raes, 55.2

800 run – 6. Slager, 2:10.8

1,600 run – 5. McClain, 5:01.7; 6. Seline, 5:03.8

110 hurdles – 1. Sholty, 15.7; 3. (tie) Neisler, 17.7

300 hurdles – 1. Sholty, 41.9; 4. Myers, 45.9; 5. Neisler, 46.0

High jump – 1. Raes, 5-10; 3. Neisler, 5-8; 4. Stephey, 5-8; 5. McQue, 5-4

Long jump – 5. McClure, 17-4

Shot put – 1. Schultz, 49-10; 6. Bradshaw, 39-1

Discus – 1. Schultz, 147-7; 2. Hieronymus, NA; 6. Schmidgall, 113-7

400 relay – 1. Olympia (Weaver, Sholty, D. Burg, Joyce), 44.9

800 relay – 2. Olympia, 1:40.0

1,600 relay – 1. Olympia (Brand, Sholty, Joyce, Dillenburg), 3:34.9

3,200 relay – 3. Olympia, 8:47.3

Girls placing for Olympia:

400-meter dash – 1. Crawford, 1:06.0

800 run –  4. Westerfield, 2:41.6; 6. Lindgren, 2:47.8

1,600 run – 1. Floyd, 5:48.1

3,200 run – 3. Floyd, 12:39.1

100 hurdles – 2. Hish, 17.8; 3. Hentzen, 18.0; 4. Bennett, 18.7

300 hurdles –  2. Hentzen, 52.0; 4. Fredericks, 53.2

High jump – 2. (tie) Rader and Crawford, 4-10

Triple jump – 4. Hish, 30-5

Shot put – 3. Cook, 27-10

Discus – 1. Cook, 91-5

400 relay – 3. Olympia, 55.6

800 relay – 3. Olympia 1:57.6

800 medley relay – 4. Olympia 2:03.4

1,600 relay – 1. Olympia 4:24.3

3,200 relay – 1. Olympia (Fredericks, Boone, Rader, Freshour), 10:34.6

Boys placing for Lincoln:

200-meter dash – 3. Aderman, 24.6; 4. Barnes, 24.7; 6. Schneider, 25.2

400 dash – 6. Guffarin, 58.0

110 hurdles – 3. (tie) Heidbreder, 17.7; 6. Sheley, 19.9

High jump – 2. M. Fox, 5-8

Long jump – 1. Andermark, 19-4; 4. McNamara, 17-6½

Triple jump – 4. Sheley, 35-4

Pole vault – 3. (tie) Frost, 8-0; 5. Barringer, 8-0; 6. Valdes, 7-0

Shot put – 3. Tibias, NA; 5. Neitzel, 39-5

Discus – 4. Neitzel, 117-2

400 relay – 4. Lincoln, 48.0

800 relay – 5. Lincoln, 1:41.2

3,200 relay – 4. Lincoln, 9:06.6

Girls placing for Lincoln:

100 meter dash – 1. Dawson, 12.7; 4. Dorsey, 13.7

200 meter dash – 3. Dorsey, 28.2; 5. Robbins, 28.2

400 meter dash – 3. Smith, 1:08.5

100 hurdles – 6. Conklen, 19.1

300 hurdles –  6. Conklen, 57.9

High jump –  4. (tie) Burch, 4-6

Long jump – 1. Dawson, 17-7; 2. Robbins, 15-1

Triple jump – 2. Whalen, 30-6

Shot put – 3. Cook, 27-10

Discus – 1. Cook, 91-5

400 relay – 2. Lincoln, 53.9

800 relay – 4. Lincoln, 2:00.8

800 medley relay – 6. Lincoln, 2:06.4

3,200 relay – 5. Lincoln, 12:10.7

[APRIL 10, 2002]  CHAMPAIGN — The Fighting Illini 2001-02 season officially came to a close Tuesday night with the 80th annual Kiwanis Men’s Basketball Banquet, held at the Round Barn Banquet Center. For the nearly 600 in attendance it was a time to celebrate the achievements of the 2002 squad, which included a run to another Big Ten championship and a trip to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament. Illinois won 26 games on the year, the third-most in school history, and was ranked in the top 25 for the entire season.

For the second year in a row, Frank Williams earned the team’s Most Valuable Player Award by vote of his teammates. Williams becomes the second consecutive back-to-back winner of MVP honors, following teammate Cory Bradford in 1999 and 2000.

Also for the second consecutive season, junior Brian Cook won the Ralf Woods Free Throw Award for having the highest free-throw percentage in Big Ten games. Cook was 46-of-50 (.920) from the line in conference games.

Senior Cory Bradford was named the Kenny Battle Most Inspirational Player. Also voted on by the Illini team, Bradford earned the respect of his teammates, having started all 134 games of his collegiate career for a UI and Big Ten record.

The Matto Award, given in honor of former Illini guard Matt Heldman, who died in a car accident, was given to senior Lucas Johnson. The award signifies all-around hustle and enthusiasm on the floor.

[Kent Brown, assistant athletics director / sports information director, University of Illinois]

[APRIL 8, 2002]  The Lincoln varsity baseball team journeyed to Harrisburg last weekend to expand their competition to southern Illinois. Host Harrisburg (10-2 this season) took the first game 6-4, but the Railers rebounded to defeat Carbondale 12-8 in the second game.

Single-A Harrisburg has an excellent baseball tradition, going to state last year with their Legion team and boasting some of the better players in southern Illinois. They outhit Lincoln 9-to-6, but the Railers had tying runs on in the last inning, gave a good fight, yet came up short.

The game was scoreless through 2 1/2 innings, and then Harrisburg exploded with four runs in the third with the help of a Railer dropped ball at first base. The Bulldogs added two more in the fourth. Though Harrisburg scored in only two innings, it proved to be enough for the victory. Ryan Williams took the loss for Lincoln, going four innings and giving up six hits and two walks.  Only four of the six runs scored on Williams were earned.

The Railers’ first runs were scored by Andy Knopp and Danny Schick, both of whom reached base on a fielder’s choice and were driven home on a single by Ryne Komnick. Mike Martin scored in the fifth after reaching on an error, moving to third on a single by Jeremy Ohmart and coming home on a Derek Schrader single to left field. Another Railer run came in the sixth inning. Matt Boyer was walked, pinch runner Michael Aper stole second and moved to third on a single by Komnick, and Aper scored on a sacrifice bunt by Mitch Sheley.

Two runs down, the Railers threatened again in the seventh. Ohmart singled and stole second, and Knopp drew a seven-pitch walk. With two outs, the pressure was applied to freshman catcher and pinch hitter Neil Rohrer, batting for the first time in the game. Rohrer faced a Harrisburg reliever who had come into the game to clamp down on the rally. Rohrer took his cuts but found no contact. Nonetheless, the Railers played a respectable game and were able to use 15 players. Ohmart, Schrader and Komnick had two hits each.

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The second game against Carbondale had a rough beginning for the Railers. Andy Knopp started the game with a tender arm and gave up four hits and a walk in the first inning, coming out of the game with obvious arm pain. Carbondale capitalized and ended up with four runs in the first inning. Junior Chris Gosda relieved Knopp and had a good outing, going 3 2/3 innings and allowing just one hit and two runs (neither earned).

The Railers scored their first run in the third inning on a RBI hit by Gosda that brought Mike Martin home. In the fourth, the Railers tallied four runs on base hits by Danny Schick and Ryan Williams and a sacrifice fly by Mike Aper. Lincoln scored three more in the fifth with the help of a bunt single by Blake Schoonover, another single (two RBIs) by Schick and an RBI single by Derek Schrader.

After six innings the score was tied at 8-8. Schoonover had relieved Matt Boyer in the sixth and helped to squelch a Carbondale rally; then he held them scoreless in the seventh, thanks in part to a double play when a line drive was hit to shortstop Mitch Sheley, who doubled off the runner at first.

The big inning and the big hit came in the bottom of the seventh. Ryan Williams walked, Derek Schrader beat out an infield hit, and Mike Aper was intentionally walked to load the bases with one out. Matt Boyer them whacked a 1-0 pitch to deep left center. Fans knew the winning run would score on the play, but it wasn’t immediately clear that the ball, which hit the top of the fence and fell back to the field, would be ruled a home run — a grand slam to win the game 12-8.

The Railers, now 4-6 on the year (with a suspended tied game still undecided against Sacred Heart-Griffin) will play Springfield away on Tuesday and home on Thursday.

[Rich Knopp]

Area game results

[APRIL 8, 2002]   

At Peoria

Game 1

Illini Central               102 021 1 -- 7-7-6

Peoria Christian         000 102 0 -- 3-3-6

Josh McDaniel (2-0) and Travis Scott.  Home run: Travis Scott (one on in third).  Hitting star: Scott (3 hits, double, 3 RBI).  Pitching star:  McDaniel (7 innings, 3 hits, 0 ER, 14 strikeouts).

Game 2

Illini Central               (11)02 014 -- 18-9-4

Peoria Christian            4  10 000 --   5-4-4

Matt Brayfield, Bryce Cunningham (3, 3-0), Chris Morton (5) and Travis Scott, Matt Birch (4).  Hitting star:  Jason Thomas (2 hits).

At Springfield Showcase

Coal City                  000 000 0 -- 0-1-0

Hartsburg-Emden     101 010 x  -- 3-7-0

Ryan Kendrick (3-0) and Rush Olson.  Hitting stars:  Steve Raleigh (3 hits, double, RBI) and Jeff Darnall (2 hits, RBI).  Pitching star:  Kendrick (7 innings, 1 hit, 0 runs, 8 strikeouts).

Area game results

[APRIL 8, 2002]   

At Morton

Game 1

Lincoln                      000 000 0 -- 0-1-4

Morton                      211 017 x -- 9-9-1

Shanna Goodman and Emily Wilkinson.

Game 2

Lincoln                      000 012 0 --   3-  9-3

Morton                      221 500 x -- 10-11-4

Beth Carmitchel and Kelsey Walsham.  Hitting star:  Holly Maestas (2 hits, RBI).

Olympia at Metamora Invitational

[APRIL 8, 2002]   Olympia's boys' team took second with 94 points against (in order of placement) Chatham Glenwood (103), Normal Community (77.5), Pekin (75), IVC (68), Pontiac (53.5), Metamora (49), Canton (47), Eureka (46), Normal West (40) and Herscher (29). The girls' team tied with Eureka for fourth with 84 points against Pontiac (128), Metamora (108.5), Normal Community (91), Pekin (57), Central Catholic (42.5), Champaign Central (40), Springfield (34), Canton (23.5), Herscher (15.5) and IVC (5).

Boys placing for Olympia:

100-meter dash – 1. Joyce, 11.3

110 hurdles – 1. Sholty, 14.8

300 hurdles – 4. Sholty, 52.3

High jump – 2. Raes, 5-10

Shot put – 2. Schultz, 52-7½

Discus – 2. Schultz, 154-6

400 relay – 2. Olympia, 45.9

F-S 400 relay – 4. Olympia, 49.4

F-S 800 relay – 3. Olympia, 1:39.5

1,600 relay –  2. Olympia, 3:37.8

F-S 1,600 relay –  4. Olympia, 3:54.0

3,200 relay – 5. Olympia, 8:59.7

F-S 3,200 relay – 3. Olympia, 9:24.0

Girls placing for Olympia:

400-meter dash – 4. Freschour, 1:07.1

1,600 run –3. Floyd, (score unavailable)

100 hurdles –1. Hish, 16.8, 3. Hentzen, 17.2

300 hurdles – 4. Hentzen, 51.9

High jump – 2. Rader, 4-8

Pole vault –4. Hossler, 6-0

Discus – 3. Cook, 103-7

F-S 400 relay – 2. Olympia, 55.1

F-S 800 relay – 2. Olympia, 1:57.5

1,600 relay –  3. Olympia, 4:36.8

F-S 1,600 relay –  2. Olympia, 4:32.8

F-S 3,200 relay – 1. Olympia, 10:31.5

Lincoln College vs. Spoon River

[APRIL 8, 2002]   Dan Dunn took a no-hitter into the seventh inning Saturday, only to give up a leadoff hit as Lincoln College posted an 8-0 victory over Spoon River at Canton. Dunn threw a double-play ball and then retired the final batter to finish with a one-hitter.

Dunn did not walk anyone in the contest and fanned five.  It was his first start of the season for Lincoln College. The Lynx were led by Tim May with a pair of hits and two RBI.

In the second game Matt Gilbert evened his pitching record at 1-1 as the Lynx posted a 7-0 victory. Gilbert hurled the first five innings, giving up three hits while walking two. Charlie Deakin pitched 1 2/3 innings, giving up one hit and fanning two. Jeff King recorded the final out for the Lynx.

Jeff Harris and Kenny VanHouten each had three hits for Lincoln. VanHouten connected for a double and had three RBIs while Harris scored a pair of runs and drove in one.

Lincoln is now 3-5 in conference play and stands at 3-18 overall. The Lynx are scheduled to play every day next week, hosting Danville on Monday, Spoon River on Tuesday and Lincoln Land on Wednesday. Thursday the Lynx are at Lake Land and Friday at Millikin JV. Lincoln returns home for games Saturday and Sunday against Lake Land and John Wood.

Lincoln College   220 012 1 — 8 - 6 - 1

Spoon River 000 000 0 — 0 - 1 - 4

Dunn (W) and Pesce; McGrew (L) and Shelby

Second game

Lincoln College   102 000 4 — 7 - 11 - 1

Spoon River  000 000 0 — 0 - 4 - 2

Gilbert (W), Deakin (6), King (7) and Bartman; unknown.

[Bill Martinie, Lincoln College
sports information director]

Redbird basketball team honored at banquet

[APRIL 8, 2002]   NORMAL — Baboucarr Bojang claimed the Doug Collins Most Valuable Player award, but senior Randy Rice took home the most hardware at the Illinois State men’s basketball awards banquet Sunday night at Redbird Arena.

In front of some 400 Redbird basketball fans and supporters, Rice captured the Jamar Smiley Assists Award (4.1) and was named the team’s top defender and most improved player, to lead the Redbirds with three honors.

In addition to the team MVP, Bojang also garnered the Ron deVries Rebounding Award (7.6). Bojang, who was recognized as a second-team All-Missouri Valley Conference selection, led the O-’Birds in scoring with 13.2 points per game. He also was chosen to the Valley all-newcomer team and posted 25 double-digit scoring efforts and nine double-doubles.

Shawn Jeppson hauled in the Brad Duncan Free Throw Percentage Award (87.3 percent) and finished his career with the third-best percentage in Redbird history (85.1 percent).

Junior Andy Strandmark was awarded the Tony Holifield Field Goal Percentage Award (48.2 percent), while Vince Greene accepted the Matt Taphorn Three-Point Field Goal Percentage Award (41.8 percent).

The Dan Muller Student-Athlete Award was presented to Chad Mazanowski, a 3.18 student in criminal justice.

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

LCHS vs. Morton

[APRIL 6, 2002]   Lincoln High School scored 15 runs on 15 hits, but it wasn’t enough as Morton scored 17 times for a 17-15 five-inning victory Friday at Mike Curry Field.   The loss drops Lincoln to 4-4 on the season.

Lincoln scored in every inning of the contest, including seven in the bottom of the fifth.   The Railers had the tying runs on base; however, the runner at first was picked off for the final out.  Morton scored in every inning but the fifth.  The second inning was the big inning as Morton plated seven runs.

Jason Williams collected four hits in five trips to the plate, scored three times and drove in a run to lead the Lincoln offensive attack.  Chris Matson connected for three hits in four trips to the plate with two runs scored and an RBI.  Jason Melton, Miles Musick and Kyle Atteberry each had a pair of hits for the Railers. Extra-base hits were triples by Melton and Cory Stoltzenburg, while Williams had a double. 

Sean Ferguson was the starting and losing pitcher for Lincoln. Scott Lee and Trent Kavelman also hurled for Lincoln, with Kavelman going 1 2/3 innings with four strikeouts and no hits allowed.

Score by innings

Morton          372 50 — 17 - 16 - 5

Lincoln          213 27 — 15 - 15 - 6

[Bill Martinie]

Lincoln at Galesburg Invitational

[APRIL 6, 2002]   Lincoln took seventh with 42 points against (in order of placement) Normal West, Galesburg, Peoria Richwoods, Bloomington, Rock Island Allerman, Geneseo, Morton, United Township, Peoria Central, Peoria Notre Dame.

Placing for Lincoln:

100-meter dash — 1. Dominique Dawson, 12.3; 6. Tricia Dorsey, 13.2

200-meter dash — 1. Dawson, 26.7

Long jump — 1. Dawson, 19-7¼; 3. Brooklyn Robbins, 16-9¼

Triple jump — 5. Jennifer Whalen, 31-3½

Pole vault — 6. Whalen, 6-0

400 relay — 6. Lincoln, 55.5

800 sprint medley — 6. Lincoln, 2:04.6

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