Sports News,  Sports Talk,  Schedules,  Announcements

Sports News Elsewhere  (fresh daily from the Web)

[APRIL 27, 2002]  CLINTON — Lincoln High School scored six times in the first inning with only two hits and went on to post a 14-6 victory over Clinton in sophomore baseball action here Friday afternoon. The victory gives the Railers a 8-7 record while Clinton falls to 13-4.   

Six Lincoln batters drew walks in the first inning and the lone hits were a run scoring single by Miles Musick and a two run single by Bob Maestas. Lincoln scored two more in the third with Mitch Sheley driving in one run with a single and Neil Rohrer drove in the second with a sacrifice fly to center.

After Clinton closed the gap to 8-6, Lincoln put the game out of reach with four runs in the sixth. Jason Melton had the big hit in the inning, a two run single with two outs.

Maestas, Sheley and Musick each had two hits to pace the 11 hit Lincoln attack.   Trent Kavelman was the winning pitcher, hurling the first five innings before giving way to Paul Phillips for the final two frames.

Score by innings:

Lincoln         602 004 2 - 14 - 11 - 5

Clinton         202 200 0 -   6 -   2 - 4

Kavelman (W), Phillips (6) & Rohrer; Finger (L), Chapman (1), Larean (6) & Reynolds.

[Bill Martinie]

[APRIL 27, 2002]

At Mahomet

Olympia                 012 052 0 – 10-12-0

Mahomet               020 000 2 – 4 - 7-6

For Olympia:

Pitching and catching: Ryan Kendrick, Ryne Sherman (W,2), Steve Raleigh (7) and Rush Olson.

Home runs: Steve Raleigh (2 on in fifth)

Outstanding hitters: Cole Horner (2 hits), Tyler Haning (2 hits, 3 RBIs)

Record: 24-1

At Hartsburg

Hartsburg              004 42 – 10-8-0

Athens                   000 00 -   0-1-0

For Hartsburg:

Pitching and catching: Matt Gleason (W, 5-0) and Fine.

Outstanding hitters: Blane Fletch and Shane Westen (2 hits), Nic Alberts (2B, 2RBIs), Ryan Anderson (2RBIs).

Pitching star: Gleason (5 innings, 6 strikeouts)

Record: 10-4, 1-2.

[APRIL 27, 2002]

At Emden

Hartsburg-Emden  000 310 0 – 4-5-1

Athens                   000 000 0 – 0-6-1

For Hartem:

Pitching and catching: Nikki Chapman (6-3) and Alisa Loring.

Outstanding hitters: Jenna Bergman (2 hits).

Record: 9-2.

At Washington Tournament

Olympia                 202 000 1 – 5-12-0

Joliet                      100 001 0 – 2- 8-1

For Olympia:

Pitching and catching: Jessie Shay (13-2)

Outstanding hitters: Shay (3 hits, 2 doubles, 2RBIs), Gaither (3 hits, double), Prager (2 hits).

Olympia                 000 000 0 – 0-4-3

Morris                    000 000 1 – 1-3-0

For Olympia:

Pitching: Amanda Wilson.

Area track and field results

[APRIL 27, 2002]

Boys

At Pekin

Olympia took second with 74 points against (in order of place) Pekin, Peoria, Notre Dame, Geneseo, Washington, Peoria Richwoods, Peoria Manual, Limestone, East Peoria, LaSalle-Peru, Farmington, Macomb.

Olympia individual results:

400-meter dash –  1. Joyce, 50.8; 4. Dillenburg, 52.3

800 run – 3. McClain, 2:05.0

3,200 run – 6. Lingle, 10:52.8

110 hurdles – 1. Sholty, 15.0

300 hurdles –  1. Sholty, 41.4

High jump –  4. (tie) Raes, 6 - 0

Discus –  3. Schulz, 148 – 1

1,600 relay –  2. Oly, 3:35.2

3,200 relay –  2. Oly, 831.3

[APRIL 26, 2002]  They just wouldn’t let it happen again. Two days before, Lincoln’s varsity baseball team had a one-run lead against conference leader Chatham-Glenwood going into the seventh inning. Chatham hit a homer to tie the game. And after scoring a go-ahead run in the ninth inning, Lincoln gave up two runs to Chatham in the bottom of the ninth for the loss. Thursday, it looked like deja vu.

Lincoln held a 4-3 lead going into the seventh inning, and Chatham scored two to take the lead and possibly crush the Railer spirit. But this time, the die-hard Railers refused to go away, scoring twice in the bottom of the seventh to defeat Chatham 6-5.

In some ways it was a tale of revenge — for the team and for several Railers in particular. In the seventh inning, senior Blake Schoonover committed Lincoln’s third error of the game on a grounder to short that should have ended the inning and prevented Chatham from taking the lead on the next hitter’s single. But it was Schoonover in the bottom of the seventh who created a two-out 0-2 count RBI single to tie the game and give new life to the Railers.

[Matt Boyer threw 136 pitches and struck out nine in the win against Chatham.]

Revenge was also on the mind of senior Matt Boyer. Boyer threw 136 pitches over 6 2/3 innings for the Railers and struck out nine. Going into the sixth inning he had a 4-2 lead. In the sixth, he surrendered a leadoff double that resulted in a Chatham run which put the score at 4-3. In the seventh, he gave up a triple and a double that tied the game. He came back with a strikeout for the second out with a runner in scoring position. And then he witnessed the Schoonover error that allowed another batter to the plate. On his 136th pitch, he gave up one more RBI single, which put Chatham ahead 5-4.

After that hit, coach Pat Hake replaced Boyer with junior Ryne Komnick. After all that extraordinary effort, Boyer left the game facing a heartbreaking loss. But Boyer got his chance at the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning after Schoonover’s game-tying hit. With Danny Schick, the winning Railer runner, at third and two outs, Boyer slapped an outside pitch over the head of the second baseman. The ball dropped to the turf and sent home Lincoln’s victory run.

[to top of second column in this article]

Ryne Komnick also had his revenge. In the Tuesday game with Chatham it was Komnick who took the mound in the eighth inning and had a 6-5 lead going to the bottom of the ninth. Chatham scored twice and Komnick took the loss. In this game Komnick replaced Boyer on the mound in the top of the seventh with a one-run deficit. The one batter he faced, Mark Clayton, had doubled and scored the tying run against Komnick in the ninth inning of the first game. But this time, he struck out Clayton with four pitches and left two Titan runners stranded on base. With the Railers’ two runs in the bottom of the inning, Komnick picked up the win. (In addition, Komnick didn’t get to plate in the game Tuesday, but he had two singles and an RBI double on Thursday.)

Junior Derek Schrader also had his share of revenge. Although Schrader had a home run in the first meeting with Chatham, he was also hit by a pitch and intentionally walked twice. In this game, Schrader got his second hit of the game in the bottom of the seventh, and he scored the tying run on Schoonover’s RBI single.

In addition to the multiple-hit games by Schrader and Komnick, Jeremy Ohmart continued his hot hitting with two singles in the contest.

It was a sweet victory for the Railers — probably their most notable win of the year. The victory puts the Railer record at 10-12 and 4-4 in the conference. (Chatham is now 6-2 in conference play.) This Saturday, weather permitting, the Railers will play a doubleheader at home against Morton and will use the day to express special appreciation to the graduating senior baseball players.

[Rich Knopp]

[APRIL 26, 2002]  Glenwood High School shut out Lincoln High School 7-0 in sophomore baseball action at Lindstrom Field in Lincoln Thursday afternoon. The loss drops the Lincoln record to 7-7 for the season. Lincoln plays at Clinton Friday and at Pekin on Saturday.

Lincoln was able to collect just two hits, both off the bat of Bob Maestas. The Railer defense let down the pitching staff, committing nine errors.

Chance Berger was the starting and losing pitcher, giving up eight hits and seven runs, two of which were earned.

Paul Phillips hurled the final four innings, giving up one hit and no runs.

Score by innings:

Glenwood       014 200 0 — 7-9-3

Lincoln           000 000 x — 0-2-9

Myers, O’Brien (6) & Kinger; Berger (L), Phillips (4) & Melton. 

[Bill Martinie] 

[APRIL 26, 2002]   

At Mason City

Dee-Mack             000 001 —   1-  4-5

Illini Central            121 322 — 11-10-3

Called because of 10-run rule.

For Illini Central:  Bryce Cunningham and Travis Scott.  Outstanding hitters:  Trevor Scott, 2 hits; Cunningham, 2 hits, 4 RBIs.

At Lexington

Olympia             001 229 2 — 16-14-0

Lexington           000 110 0 —   2-  6-2

Called because of 10-run rule.

For Olympia:  Jeff Darnall (5-0) and Ryan Kendrick.  Outstanding hitters:  Darnall, 1 HR (one on in seventh), 2 RBIs; Steve Raleigh, 1 HR (grand slam in sixth), 3 hits, 4 RBIs; Cam Cheek, 3 hits, double.  Outstanding pitcher:  Darnall (14 strikeouts).

[APRIL 26, 2002]   

At Stanford

Central Catholic      000 00 —   0-  0-1

Olympia                  055 0x — 10-13-1

Called because of 10-run rule.

For Olympia:  Jessie Shay (12-2) and Amber Lessen, Katie Tucker (5).  Outstanding hitters:  Tiffany Prager, 2 hits; Tricia Gaither, 2 hits, 2 RBIs; Lessen, 2 hits, 3 RBIs; Erin Canopy, 2 hits, 2 RBIs.  Outstanding pitcher:  Shay, 4 strikeouts.

At Warrensburg

Hartsburg-Emden           000 000 0 — 0-3-6

Warrensburg-Latham      134 100 x — 9-7-1

For Hartsburg-Emden:  Nikki Chapman (6-2) and Alyssa Moehring.

For Warrensburg-Latham:  Katy Kikk (6-3) and Amy McBride.  Outstanding hitter:  Katie Perry, 2 hits.  Outstanding pitcher:  Kikk, 12 strikeouts.

At Manito

[APRIL 26, 2002]  In team totals, Illini Central boys placed second with 71 points; Illini Central girls placed fourth with 36 points; Mount Pulaski boys placed third with 42 points; Mount Pulaski girls placed third with 46 points.  The teams compete against Midwest Central, Illini Bluffs and Delavan.

Illini boys

100 meters – 5. Hatfield, 12.5

200 meters – 2. Van Etten, 25.7

400 meters – 4. Barton, 54.9

800 meters – 1. Grimsley, 2:09.3

1,600 meters – 1. Grimsley, 5:02; 4. McDaniel, 5:08

3,200 meters – 3. Hunter, 11:47

110 high hurdles – 2. Van Etten, 18.1; 4. Benshoff, 19.7

300 int. hurdles – 2. Van Etten, 44.6; 4. Benshoff, 45.0

Long jump – 4. Wells, 16-7 1/4

High jump – 1. Wells, 5-8

Triple jump – 2. Buswell, 32-10; 5. Burton, 29-9

Discus – 2. Hayes, 130-5; 3. Auxier, 124-9

400 relay – 3. Illini Central, 50.8

800 relay – 5. Illini Central, 1:50

1,600 relay – 1. Illini Central, 3:48

3,200 relay – 2. Illini Central, 9:41

Illini girls

100 meters – 1. McDonald, 13.4

400 meters – 2. Daum, 1:10.1

800 meters – 3. Cave, 2:53.3

1,600 meters – 5. Herman, 7:10.2

300 hurdles – 2. Griffin, 1:03.0

Long jump – 5. McDonald, 13-2 3/4

Triple jump – 1. McDonald, 28-0

800 medley relay – 5. Illini Central, 2:15.8

1,600 relay – 1. Illini Central (McDonald, Price, Cave, Damm), N/A

3,200 relay – 2. Illini Central, 12:41.1

[to top of second column in this section]

Mount Pulaski boys

100 meters – 3. Davis, 12.2; 4. Coers, 13.4

200 meters – 3. Coers, 25.8; 4. Waymire, 26.2

400 meters – 3. Waymire, 54.4

800 meters – 3. Waymire, 2:11.0

Long jump – 3. Davis, 17-5 1/4

High jump – 3. Waymire, 5-6

Shot put – 2. Brooks 41-4 1/4; 5. Davis, 34-6

Discus – 4. Brooks, 121-9

400 relay – 1. Mount Pulaski, 49.9

800 relay – 1. Mount Pulaski 1:41

Mount Pulaski girls

200 meters – 2. Naylor, 29.6

800 meters – 5. Jones, 5:02.3

Long jump – 3. Naylor, 13-7; 4. Maske, 13-3

High jump – 4. Reeter, 4-2

Shot put – 2. Sanders, 33-7; 3. Rucks, 28-7

Discus – 1. Sanders, 94-4; 3. Rucks, 89-5

400 relay – 1. Mound Pulaski (Maske, Reeter, Craty, Naylor), 55.6

800 relay – 1. Mount Pulaski (Reeter, Craty, Rucks, Maske), 1:56.1

800 medley relay – 1. Mount Pulaski (Craty, Rucks, Reeter, Maske), 2:07.4

Lincoln College vs. Springfield College

[APRIL 26, 2002]  Lincoln College scored five times in the first inning, the big blow being a three-run homer off the bat of Chris Phillips, and was never headed as the team defeated Springfield College 10-0 in seven innings Thursday at Galen Shirley Memorial Field.

The Lynx now stand at 11-27 for the season and 8-14 in the conference. Lincoln will play its final regular-season home game Friday against Spoon River at 3 p.m. The Lynx have a pair of road dates remaining at Springfield College Saturday and at Lincoln Christian College Monday.

Zach Rinaberger had a pair of hits, including a triple, and scored a pair of runs.  Tim May also had two hits for the Lynx with one RBI.

Dan Dunn was the winning pitcher for coach Tony Thomas, hurling a complete game shutout. Dunn struck out four and walked three.

Score by innings:

Springfield College      000 000 0 — 0-4-1

Lincoln College           532 000 x — 10-8-0

Alvey (L), Davis (4) & Seesengood; Dunn (W) & Pesce.

[Bill Martinie, Lincoln College
sports information director]

Lincoln Co-Ed Relays

[APRIL 25, 2002]  In team totals, Lincoln Community High School placed third, with 90 points. LCHS placings in individual and relay events are listed below.

Girls

Long jump – 3. Whalen

High jump – 4. N. Humbert, 4-8

Triple jump – 1. Whalen, 30-4

Pole vault – 1. Whalen, 7-3

400 relay – 2. Lincoln, 53.2

600 relay – 1. Lincoln, 1:54.1

1,600 relay – 4. Lincoln, 4:39.1

3,200 relay – 4. Lincoln, 11:15.3

Distance medley – 5. Lincoln, 11:44.7

Boys

Long jump – 2. K. Aderman, 19-11

High jump – 4. C. Sheley, 5-6

Triple jump – 4. B. Heidbreder, 36-7.5

Pole vault – 5. J. Barringer, 8-0

Shot put – 3. C. Neitzel, 43-0

400 relay – 4. Lincoln, 47.8

800 relay – 4. Lincoln, 1:40.0

1,600 relay – 3. Lincoln, 3:47.8

3,200 relay – 2. Lincoln, 9:03.1

Hurdle shuttle – 4. Lincoln, 1:03.5

Co-ed

Throwers relay – 4. Lincoln, 54.5

[APRIL 25, 2002]  The Lincoln American Legion and the Lincoln Heat baseball organizations are combining forces to host a golf tournament fund-raiser May 18 at the Northgreens Golf Course in Atlanta.

Funds raised from the tournament will be used to help support the Legion and the Heat baseball teams this summer. First-, second- and third-place prize money will be awarded.

Anyone interest in playing in the tournament should contact Bill Martinie, (217) 732-6951; Todd Courtwright, (217) 732-7886; or the golf course, (217) 648-5500. Entry fee for the scramble format tournament is $40 per person. The fee includes 18 holes of golf, cart, lunch and prizes.

The Heat and the Legion are also hosting a garage sale at the Lincoln Recreation Center on Sunday.  The Heat is sponsoring a large group garage sale from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.  The event is open to the public. The Legion baseball team will be hosting a chili dinner from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the same location.

[Bill Martinie]

[APRIL 24, 2002]  Perhaps some people thought that the Railers would be dominated by the conference-leading Chatham-Glenwood Titans Tuesday, but they were wrong. Lincoln gave Chatham everything it could handle, requiring Chatham to score in the bottom of the seventh and again in the bottom of the ninth to tie or win the game. Unfortunately for the Railers, Chatham responded both times and came away with a 7-6 victory in nine innings.

Lincoln outhit the Titans 11-10, but Chatham’s big sticks proved to be their savior, whacking three homers that plated four runs. The Railers overcame a 3-1 deficit after two innings to take the lead 5-3 after 4 1/2 innings. But Chatham scored a run in the bottom of the fifth inning on a solo round-tripper by Johnny Clayton, his second home run of the game.

The "horrific" third homer came off the bat of the leadoff hitter in the bottom of the seventh inning — Hypke. With Lincoln ahead 5-4, Hypke turned on a 1-2 count inside fastball, hit the ball hard but high in the air, and let the strong wind blowing toward left field help it over the fence to tie the game. Given the wind’s strength and direction, it was probably the only pitch location where the diminutive Hypke could have generated a run off a single swing of the bat. To Lincoln fans, the blast was especially horrendous because it came right after a pitch that looked like a good fastball strike three at the knees but was called a ball.

[Blake Schoonover went seven strong innings against Chatham. Andy Knopp is at second base.]

Blake Schoonover started on the mound for Lincoln and pitched an excellent game for seven innings. He struck out four, walked two and allowed only seven hits (three of which were home runs). Two of his strikeouts were third-out strikeouts with Titan runners in scoring position. Nonetheless, the game was tied after seven innings and Schoonover, who had thrown 118 pitches at that point, was replaced by junior Ryne Komnick. Komnick faced only three batters in the eighth inning but surrendered two doubles and a game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the ninth.

The Railers certainly had several excellent opportunities to score more runs and change the game’s outcome. Lincoln left runners at second and third in the first inning. And in the fourth and the seventh innings, Lincoln had the bases loaded with one out and failed to get the runners home.

[to top of second column in this article]

Leadoff hitter Jeremy Ohmart scored Lincoln’s first run after a single, a stolen base and an RBI double by sophomore Mitch Sheley, who had three hits on the day. Sheley and Danny Schick scored in the third inning to tie the game 3-3. Sheley singled and was sent to third on a hit-and-run single by Schick. Sheley scored on a fielder’s choice, and Schick later scored on a wild pitch.

Lincoln’s go-ahead run came in the fourth inning when Blake Schoonover singled and Andy Knopp sent an RBI double that landed at the fence in left-center field. Although the Railers ended up with the bases loaded, Schoonover was the only Railer to score in the inning. In the fifth inning, Derek Schrader gave Lincoln a 5-3 lead with a solo home run to left field.

[Derek Schrader (fourth from left) is congratulated by teammates after his home run.]

In the top of the ninth inning, Lincoln once again came out on the short end on a call by the plate umpire. With the score tied 5-5, Danny Schick drew a walk and stole second and then third. With two outs, Derek Schrader was intentionally walked (for the second time) and took second on a catcher’s fielder’s choice. Blake Schoonover then singled up the middle, scoring Schick and sending Schrader toward home. The throw came, Schrader slid, and Lincoln fans were going crazy, believing that Schrader slid well under the catcher’s tag. Then the judgment came: Schrader was called out.

The loss of Schrader’s run proved very significant. At worst, Chatham’s two runs in the bottom of the ninth would have tied the score rather than winning the game. But sometimes that’s just the way it goes.

The loss moves the Railer record to 9-12 and 3-4 in conference play. Lincoln will have another shot at Chatham when the Titans come to town at 4:30 on Thursday. Saturday’s home doubleheader against Morton (11 a.m.) will be "senior appreciation" day for 10 Railer baseball seniors.

[Rich Knopp]

[APRIL 24, 2002]  CHATHAM — The Lincoln High School sophomore baseball team lost 6-4 to Glenwood in action here Tuesday night. The Railers, now 7-6, will host Glenwood Thursday.

Glenwood led 6-0 before Lincoln rallied for a run in the sixth and three in the seventh.   Neil Rohrer singled with one out in the sixth, and Bob Maestas collected an infield single. Rohrer and Maestas each moved up a base when the shortstop overthrew first on Maestas’ hit. Corey Stoltzenburg drew a walk to load the bases, and Jason Williams hit a grounder to short, driving in Rohrer with the first run.

In the seventh, the first two batters were retired before Mitch Sheley drew a walk. Sean Ferguson then struck out on a wild pitch and reached first when the catcher was unable to handle the pitch. Rohrer then connected for his second hit of the game, driving in Sheley with the second run. Maestas then tapped to the mound and the Glenwood pitcher threw wildly to first base, allowing Ferguson and Rohrer to score.

[to top of second column in this article]

Maestas was the starting and losing pitcher for Lincoln, giving up six hits and six runs in five innings. Only two of the six runs were earned, as the Railers committed six errors.  

Score by innings

Lincoln         000 001 3 — 4 - 4 - 6

Glenwood     101 040 x — 6 - 7 - 3

Maestas (L), Williams (6) and Melton; Parnell (W), Ruppert (7) and Krager.

[Bill Martinie]

[APRIL 24, 2002]  CHATHAM — The Lincoln High School freshman baseball team was beaten by Glenwood 12-2 in five innings here Tuesday afternoon.

Lincoln scored its two runs in the third inning. Jaron Harnacke and Paul Phillips singled after two were out, and Chance Berger drew a bases-loaded walk.  Kevin Carroll then singled in a pair of runs. The hit by Carroll knotted the game at 2-2; however, Glenwood hit the Railers with seven runs in the bottom half of the inning and then scored three more times in the fourth to end the game due to the 10-run rule.

Harnacke took the loss for the Railers, working the first three innings.

Lincoln         002 00 — 2-3-1

Glenwood     207 3x — 12-11-0

Harnacke (L), Phillips (4) and Neitzel; Derosa (W) and Bryant.

[Bill Martinie]

[APRIL 24, 2002]   

At Mason City

Athens             000 010 0 — 1-3-3

Illini Central      201 000 x — 3-6-2

For Illini Central:  Josh McDaniel (4-0), Jason Thomas (6) and Travis Scott.  Outstanding hitters:  Bryce Cunningham, 2 hits, double.

At Morton

Olympia           103 203 0 — 9-  8-0

Morton            205 000 0 — 7-11-3

For Olympia:  Cam Cheek, Ryne Sherman (3, 4-0), Steve Raleigh and Rush Olson.  Outstanding hitters:  Jeff Darnall, 3 hits, 3 RBIs; Chris Frank, 2 hits, double.

At Delavan

[APRIL 24, 2002]  Illini Central boys took second place with 80 points against Delavan, Havana, Heyworth, Illini Bluffs, Lowpoint-Washburn, Midwest Central, Peoria Heights, Porta, Springfield Ursuline and Tremont.

Individual results:

800 meters — 1. Grimsley, 2:08.0; 4. McDaniel, 2:15

1,600 meters — 2. Grimsley, 5:07.0

3,200 — 6. Hunter, 11:38

110 high hurdles — 2. Vanetten, 18.03

300 hurdles — 5. Benshaff, 52.5

Long jump — 4. Wells, 16-8 1/2

High jump — 1. Wells, 5-8

Discus — 3. Auxier, 120-8; 4. Hayes, 116-5 1/2

400 relay — 6. Illini Central, 51.57

F-S 800 relay — 6. Illini Central, 1:56.4

1,600 relay — 1. Illini Central, 3:51.45

3,200 relay — 1. Illini Central, 9:19.50

At Pontiac

[APRIL 24, 2002]  Olympia boys took second place with 97 points against Bradley Bourbonnais, Herscher, Mahomet-Seymour, New Lenox Providence, Ottawa, Pontiac and Prairie Central.

Individual results:

High jump — 3. Raes, 6-0

F-S high jump — 5. (tie) Hodge, 5-2

F-S triple jump — 4. Canopy, 35-5

Discus — 1. Schultz, 155-3; 2. Heironymus, 145-8

F-S discus — 2. Schmidgall, 124-8

Shot put — 1. Schultz, 51-1

F-S 400 relay — 4. Olympia, 47.5

800 relay — 1. Olympia, 1:33.6

F-S 800 relay — 5. Olympia, 1:42.6

1,600 relay — 1. Olympia, 3:30.3

F-S 1,600 relay — 2. Olympia, 3:43.5

3,200 relay — 2. Olympia, 8:43.5

F-S 3,200 relay — 3. Olympia, 9:20.7

Middle dist. relay — 4. Olympia, 9:11.5

440 hurdle shuttle — 1. Olympia, 1:07.4

Open 1,600 — 1. Seline, 5:07.7

Co-ed 400 relay — 4. Olympia, 53.6

Lincoln College vs. Parkland

[APRIL 24, 2002]  Top-ranked Parkland College handed Lincoln College a pair of baseball setbacks Tuesday afternoon at Galen Shirley Field in Lincoln. Parkland won the first game 12-2 and took the nightcap 3-1. The victories raise the Parkland mark to 38-6 for the season and 15-4 in the conference. Lincoln College is 9-27 and 7-14 in conference play.

In the first game Anthony Hoffert took the loss. Hoffert retired the first two batters, then a pair of errors followed, and before the third out was recorded, Parkland had plated three runs. Lincoln managed three hits in the opener and committed six errors.

Jonathan Cave suffered the loss in the second game, 3-1.  Kenny VanHouten collected two of the four Lincoln hits.

"We played much better in the second game," said coach Tony Thomas. "We were tied at 1-1 before Parkland scored twice, and then we loaded the bases with two outs but were unable to get the key base hit."

Lincoln will host Millikin JV for a doubleheader Wednesday at 2 p.m. and then close out its home season with single games against Springfield College Thursday and Spoon River on Friday.  Both games start at 3 p.m.

[Bill Martinie, Lincoln College
sports information director]

[APRIL 23, 2002]   

Pontiac       001 00 — 1-3-3

Olympia      742 3x — 16-12-1

Winning pitcher:  Tyler Thornton 

Hitting:  Raleigh (3 hits, 3 RBIs), Kendrick(2 hits, 3B, 2B), Horner (2 hits), Cheek (2 RBIs)

Illini Central         002 110 1 — 4-7-1

Midwest Central  200 000 1 — 3-9-0

Winning pitcher:  Brandon Grimsley

Hitting: McDaniel (2 hits), Giesler (2 RBIs)

[APRIL 23, 2002]   NORMAL — Marcus Arnold, a 6-foot-8, 225-pound post player, signed a national letter of intent Monday morning to continue his education and basketball career at Illinois State.

Arnold, a native of Chicago, averaged 23 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots for Morgan Park High School. Head coach Tom Richardson is excited about adding the physical big-man to the Redbird roster.

"Marcus is just a great kid, and he has the size that we were looking for," Richardson said. "We think that he will be a player that will have an inside presence for us. His natural ability to rebound and block shots will be a nice addition to our team."

Arnold, ranked as the No. 16 senior prospect in the state of Illinois by www.highschoolelite.com, was named all-conference, all-city and all-area honorable mention his senior season. Morgan Park finished third in the conference and advanced to the third round of the City Championship.

As a junior, Arnold averaged 10 points, eight rebounds and three blocks as Morgan Park won the City Championship at the United Center and placed third in the IHSA Class AA State Tournament. He was also being recruited by Southern Illinois, Memphis, Tulane, Miami (Fla.), Bowling Green and Ball State.

Arnold joins AAU teammate Chris Burras from Leo High School and early-period signee Dana Ford of Egyptian High School. Arnold’s uncle, Kenny, played basketball at Iowa and will be inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame on Saturday at Illinois State.

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

[APRIL 23, 2002]   NORMAL — Andy King, a 2001 first-team all-Gateway Football Conference selection, has signed a free agent contract with the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League.

Terms of the deal were not available.

The 6-foot-4, 310-pound tackle set the Illinois State single-game record with 23 knockdown blocks last season against Southeast Missouri State. King started all 11 games at left tackle for the Redbirds last season and led the team with 94 knockdown blocks and only two missed assignments, while playing 840 of 848 snaps on the year.

King, a native of Lincoln, is the first Redbird to sign a free agent contract this spring.

"I’m definitely excited," King said. "I’m looking forward to starting a new chapter in my life. (Being in St. Louis) is a nice side benefit, but I wasn’t going to let that be my deciding factor. I wanted to go to a place where I felt I had the best opportunity to play, and it just so happened that was in St. Louis."

King will travel to St. Louis on Thursday and will meet with the Rams’ coaching staff on Friday.

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

Related postings elsewhere:

•  Rams agree to terms with 10 rookie free agents

•  Rams sign 10 undrafted rookies

[APRIL 29, 2002]  We thought the Cubs and Cards would be all right this season. But after the first month, the Redbirds are struggling and the Cubbies aren’t even showing up on the radar detection screens. Then we thought that at least the White Sox would bring some honor to our area. That was until they ran into that buzz saw known as the Oakland A’s. Wow, what a weekend of drubbings that was?! Greg Taylor and I have taken some real heat from some of you fans about our thoughts regarding our favorite teams, and we definitely want to give you equal time. Either e-mail us here at the paper or call us toll-free at 1 (877) 963-9669 on our weekly sports show between 6 and 7 tonight on FIX 96.3 FM and give us your two cents’ worth!

One of the reasons that the LDN hired me and keeps me in the sports editor’s position is because of my uncanny ability to pick outcomes of both games and series. I recently predicted that the Chicago Black Hawks would toast the St. Louis Blues in six games at the most. The Blues won in five. As you can see, my skill is almost beyond compare. By the way, this is one of the reasons I don’t gamble and don’t recommend it. I was simply going by the way the Hawks had manhandled the Blues throughout the regular season. I did not know that the Blues would wake up and that the Hawks would give up on their net-minder, Thibault. I still don’t think that the Blues are destined for a long playoff stint. But, maybe now that they’re through round one, they’ll relax and upset some people. I do think that playoff hockey is about as exciting as the sports world has to offer.

Many Logan County residents have made their way over to the beautiful Conseco Fieldhouse the last few weeks to watch the Pacers snag the last NBA playoff spot. And this weekend they had a chance to take a formidable 2-1 lead in their series over the No. 1-seeded New Jersey Nets. They let the game and probably this series slip away. When you’re at home and have a chance to jump on someone, you just have to make the plays and somehow find a way to make it happen. They didn’t. Now they will have to return to the Meadowlands. That is, if they can regroup and take care of business Tuesday night. I think their season is near the end.

[to top of second column in this section]

Mini-camps just completed…

The NFL teams just completed their mini-camps. Dick Jauron was very impressed with his young charges at the Bears camp. He feels that the Bears picked up some help and that we will soon see some of these youngsters on the field for Chicago. We’ve included some stuff on the Rams camp. We assume the photos include Lincoln’s Andy King, but no one confirmed that for us.

Virtually anything and everything that was scheduled for Saturday was officially rained out. We will try to get you rescheduling info as soon as it becomes available. It wasn’t a total loss. I did find some quality mushrooms. And unlike others, I will share my information!

Lincoln College visits Lincoln Christian College today at LCC, and we believe the first pitch is projected to be hurled at 2 p.m. LC has the upper hand this year, as they seem to be playing better at this point in the season, and LCC is really struggling. LCC just doesn’t have the pitching this year and their defense has let them down too many times. Maybe they can put it all together today and make for a competitive matchup. The LDN encourages all sports fans in the area to make it out to LCC this afternoon and cheer on these young ballplayers.

[Jeff Mayfield]

Announcements

[APRIL 17, 2002]  Central Illinois Select Soccer Club will have open tryouts for all interested players May 13-17, May 20-24, and June 17 and 19. Tryout dates and times for specific age groups are shown at www.cis-soccer.org/Tryouts/Tryouts.htm.   

All tryouts will be at Nord Field, located on Six Points Road, two miles west of Morris Avenue in Bloomington. More detailed directions are available at www.cis-soccer.org/Clubfolder/Facilities.htm. 

For more information about tryouts and CIS traveling soccer, visit the club’s website, www.cis-soccer.org.; e-mail Steve Berry, director of coaching and player development, at cissocceracademy@hotmail.com; or call (309) 378-4699.

Baseball and softball at the Lincoln Park District

[APRIL 17, 2002]  You know summer is coming when it’s time to sign up for baseball and softball. At the Lincoln Park District, registrations are still being taken for boys and girls. Teams will be drawn at the end of the month. Men’s and women’s softball registration will close the first Saturday in May.

Back to top