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Lincoln has some lapses and loses

[MAY 23, 2002]  Normally, after you start playing in the AA high school state baseball tournament, you’re one loss away from ending your season. Fortunately, that principle did not apply Wednesday to the Lincoln Railer varsity. After playing an extraordinarily good game on Monday for its opening regional win again Champaign Central, Lincoln just seemed unprepared for a hastily arranged makeup game against East Peoria on Wednesday, losing 3-7 to the visitors.

Other than trying to catch up from six games that have been rained out, the rationale for the game was to give the guys a chance to fine-tune their game and keep it sharp for this Saturday’s regional championship game in Champaign. Now the question is whether the Railers can mentally rebound after the disappointing performance. East Peoria brought a good team with 20-plus wins and took advantage of a Lincoln team that mustered only four hits and committed six errors.

Three of Lincoln’s hurlers were able to log some mound time. They allowed East Peoria only five hits and surrendered just two earned runs. Junior Ryne Komnick started the game and went three innings, striking out one, walking one and giving up one hit.

Senior Ryan Williams pitched two innings while granting four hits (including a home run), striking out one and walking one. While five runs scored against Williams, four of those were unearned due to two Lincoln errors.

Senior Blake Schoonover pitched the last two innings for Lincoln and struck out three, walked none, gave up no hits and one (unearned) run. The only run tallied against Schoonover was scored by a runner who reached base on a dropped third strike.

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In spite of the six Railer errors, there were several defensive bright spots for Lincoln. Junior catcher, John Peters, threw out a runner trying to steal second. In the third inning, shortstop Blake Schoonover made a great play to stop an infield single deep in the hole and quickly threw home to cut down another possible score. And Schoonover, second baseman Andy Knopp and Matt Boyer turned a double play to end that same inning.

Only four Railers had hits in the game: Andy Knopp, Ryan Williams, Mike Martin and Ryne Komnick (who doubled off the left-field fence). Komnick and Martin scored Lincoln’s only runs, in the second inning.

The 17-15 Railers still have a very good ballclub that has much better potential than their record indicates. The senior-predominant team (with seven senior starters) has what it takes to make some waves in the state tournament. If they come ready to play this Saturday as they did in the first regional game, they’ll still be playing into next week.

[Rich Knopp]

[MAY 23, 2002]

Illini Central      110 504 0 — 11-11-0

Dee-Mack       300 100 1 —   5- 5-0

For Illini Central: J. McDaniel and T. Scott

Outstanding hitters: T. Scott (2 HRs), A. Williams (HR), Scott (2 hits, 4 RBIs), McDaniel (2 hits, 2 RBIs), C. Norton (2 hits)

[MAY 23, 2002]

Woodland     000 000 0 — 0-4-3

Olympia        100 130 x — 5-7-0

For Olympia: J. Shay and A. Lessen

Outstanding hitters: T. Gaither (2 hits), T. Prager (2 hits)

[MAY 22, 2002]

Boys

200 meters — 1. S. Joyce, Olympia, 22.2; 8. C. Schneider, Lincoln, 24.7

110 high hurdles — 2. B. Sholty, Olympia, 14.7

300 intermediate hurdles — 2. B. Sholty, Olympia, 39.9

Long jump — 8. K. Aderman, Lincoln, 19-9½

High jump — 2. N. Reas, Olympia, 6-4; 7. T. Neisler, Olympia, 5-8

Pole vault — 4. J. Slager, Olympia, 10-6

Shot put — 1. J. Schultz, Olympia, 52-9¼

Discus — 1. J. Schultz, Olympia, 161-2; 6. J. Hieronymus, Olympia, 130-11

400 relay — 2. Olympia, 44.6

800 relay — 5. Olympia, 1:33.8

1,600 relay — 4. Olympia, 3:31.8

3,200 relay — 6. Olympia, 8:43.3; 7. Lincoln, 8:47.2

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Girls

200 meters — 6. S. Prater, Olympia, 27.1

400 meters — 3. K. Freshour, Olympia, 1:02.6; 5. B. Robbins, Lincoln, 1:03.5

800 meters — 5. M. Rader, Olympia, 2:30.6

1,600 meters — 7. J. Floyd, Olympia, 5:58.4

100 hurdles — 7. K. Hish, Olympia, 17.8

300 hurdles — 3. K. Hentzen, Olympia, 47.9; 8. B. Fredricks, Olympia, 52.2

Long jump — 6. B. Robbins, Lincoln, 16-4½

High jump — 3. M. Rader, Olympia, 5-0; B. Crawford, Olympia, 4-10

400 relay — 8. Lincoln, 53.2

800 relay — 7. Lincoln, 1:59.7

3,200 relay — 8. Lincoln, 11:47.6

Lincoln begins regionals
with win number one

[MAY 21, 2002]  After several canceled games due to weather conditions, the Lincoln varsity baseball team was still ready to play. Seeded fourth in the state sectional of 16 teams, the Railers pulled together for a 6-2 victory over Champaign Central in Champaign on Monday. While accumulating only six hits, Lincoln got some scoring help from timely singles and a couple of home runs by seniors Danny Schick and Andy Knopp.

Matt Boyer, who had been fighting the flu for a few days, had enough in the tank to go seven strong innings on the mound. Boyer held Champaign Central to just five hits, three of which came in the seventh inning, when Central scored its only two (unearned) runs. Boyer struck out three and walked three, striking out the last hitter of the game with the bases loaded.

Boyer was aided early in the game with double plays in each of the first two innings. After walking a batter in the first inning, a ground ball to Blake Schoonover at shortstop became an inning-ending double play, as the ball went to Andy Knopp at second base and on to Ryne Komnick at first. In the second inning, the same circumstance arose. This time, with the walked runner stealing second, a ground ball to Knopp was shoveled to Schoonover, who just got the sliding runner and threw to first in plenty of time to complete the double play.

[Matt Boyer picked up his seventh win of the season
for the Railers.]

Boyer faced only three batters in each of the first four innings and again in the sixth inning. In the fifth inning, although Boyer gave up two singles, he struck out a batter to end the inning with no score. In the seventh inning, with a 6-0 lead, Boyer found that Central was not going to lie down without biting. After a Lincoln error (its only one of the game) and a walk, a slicing line drive to left-center field appeared to pose a major threat to Lincoln’s run cushion. However, left fielder Ryan Williams made a diving catch, snapping the ball just before it hit the turf.

With two outs, Lincoln seemed in control again. However, three singles in a row plated two runs and left the bases loaded, with the tying Champaign run at the plate. The hitter should have been Central’s leadoff man and first baseman. However, he injured a knee in the second inning, when an errant throw by the right fielder hit off his kneecap and bounced all the way out of bounds in the air. Although he played another inning, his knee gave out again and he had to be replaced. A pinch hitter was used for his replacement in this situation, and Boyer proceeded to strike him out.

[to top of second column in this article]

Lincoln scratched out its first run in the first inning. Mitch Sheley singled and Andy Knopp was hit by a pitch. Ryan Williams moved Sheley to third but forced Knopp out at second. Williams then stole second, and although the catcher’s throw was cut off by the shortstop, Sheley was able to cross the plate and beat the throw back home.

Blake Schoonover scored Lincoln’s second run, in the third inning. He reached on an error, stole second and was driven home on a two-out line drive up the middle by Andy Knopp. In the fourth inning, Danny Schick led off with a high solo homer to left field, making the score 3-0. In the fifth inning, smart hitting and more power were coming from the Railer bats. With two outs and two strikes, sophomore left-handed hitter Mitch Sheley did little more than stick his bat out at an outside pitch to guide the ball just over the third baseman’s head — something he’s done repeatedly this season to achieve a .429 batting average. Sheley set the stage for a first-pitch blast off the bat of Andy Knopp. The ball went well over the fence in left-center field, for the Western Illinois recruit’s fourth home run and 22nd RBI of the year.

[(Left to right): Danny Schick solo homered, Andy Knopp had a two-run homer and RBI single, and Mitch Sheley had two hits and scored twice.]

Michael Aper scored Lincoln’s sixth run in the sixth inning. Aper pinch ran for Boyer, who reached on a walk. Aper stole second and moved to third on a wild pitch. After a walk to Michael Martin, Martin took off for second. The ensuing play ended up with both Martin and Central’s second baseman lying on the ground, and Aper alertly scampered home for the score.

The Railers will travel to Champaign again on Saturday to play either Champaign Centennial or Mahomet, who will face off this Tuesday. Lincoln now stands at 17-14 on the season and has won seven of its last eight games. (Due to the tournament schedule, the LCHS baseball banquet at the Knights of Columbus has been rescheduled to Thursday, May 30. Meal reservations, for $10, are due by May 22 and may be made by calling 735-4723.)

[Rich Knopp]
 

[MAY 21, 2002]

Riverton Regional

Championship game

Olympia                  002 003 0 — 5-9-1

Williamsville            000 000 0 — 0-2-2

For Olympia: Cam Cheek (4-0), Steve Raleigh (7) and Rush Olson.

Outstanding hitters:  Raleigh, 4 hits, double; Jeff Darnall, 2 RBIs.

Outstanding pitcher:  Cheek, 2-hitter, 4 strikeouts, no walks.

Lewistown Regional

Championship game

Lewistown              000 020 3 — 5- 8-2

Illini Central            010 240 x — 7-11-0

For Illini Central: Jason Thomas (3-2), Brandon Grimsley (7) and Travis Scott.

Outstanding hitters:  Josh McDaniel, HR, 3 hits, 3 RBIs; Bryce Cunningham, 4 hits; Matt Brayfield, 2 hits.

[MAY 20, 2002]

Lewistown Regional

Havana                  000 100 2 — 3-3-0

Illini Central            500 021 x — 8-6-2

For Illini Central: Bryce Cunningham (7-1) and Travis Scott.

Outstanding hitters:  Josh McDaniel, HR; Scott, HR, 3 RBI; Cunningham, HR.

Outstanding pitcher:  Cunningham, 3 hits, 9 strikeouts.

[MAY 20, 2002]

At Stanford

Eureka                   000 000 0 — 0-0-2

Olympia                 114 000 x — 6-6-1

For Olympia: Amanda Wilson (11-1) and Amber Lessen

Outstanding hitter:  Tricia Gaither, 3 hits.

Outstanding pitcher:  Wilson, 8 strikeouts, 0 walks.

[MAY 20, 2002]  Follow these links for results from the Illinois High School Association state track meet:

Girls Class A & AA

Boys Class A & AA (coming this weekend)

[MAY 18, 2002]  In Class A track sectional competition at Havana, Olympia High School boys placed first with 132 points. Following Olympia in order of team placings were Eureka, University High, Midwest Central, Lewistown and El Paso. Individual and relay winners for Olympia and Illini Central are listed below.

* Indicates state qualifiers

100 meters — 5. Tim Weaver, 11.6

200 — 2. Austin Brand*, 23.5

400 — 2. Scott Joyce, 52.3*; 6. Nick Raes, 54.4

800 — 6. Jacob Slager, 2:11.0

110 hurdles — 1. Brandon Sholty*, 13.8; 5. Thomas Neisler, 16.6

300 hurdles — 1. Sholty*, 40.5

High jump — 1. Nick Raes*, 6-0; 4. Neisler, 5-8

Triple jump — 4. Travis McClure, 38-3½

Pole vault — 2. Jacob Slager*, 10-6; 4. Neisler, 9-0

Shot put — 1. Jimmy Schultz*, 53-0

Discus — 1. Schultz*, 147-8; 3. Josh Hieronymus, 136-2

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400 relay — 1. Olympia*, 44.3

800 relay — 1. Olympia*, 1:34.3

1,600 relay — 2. Olympia*, 3:33.9

3,200 relay — 3. Olympia*, 8:26.9

800 — 3. Brandon Grimsley, 2:04.2

300 hurdles — 6. Scott VanEtten, 43.0

High jump — 6. (tie) Clint Wells, 5-6

Discus — 5. Josh Auxier, 127-0; 6. Josh Hayes, 125-10

1,800 relay — 6. Illini Central, 3:51.1

3,200 relay — 4. Illini Central, 8:48.9

[MAY 20, 2002]  As sure as I write this column about how well the St. Louis Cardinals have looked of late, they will probably go into another nosedive! However, just as I wrote passionately that it wasn’t the fact that they were losing that bothered me, it was the way they were losing that really tripped my trigger; in the same way, I’m not just jumping back on the bandwagon just yet!

And yes, they have been winning of late — somewhere around seven of their last nine. But it’s the way that they’ve been winning them that makes me the happiest. I love to see guys bunting runners over and getting them in scoring position. I don’t care what Chip Carey and Mike Shannon say. If you want to play for big innings, move to the American League. Over here where real baseball is played, we play for a couple of runs, get six or seven solid innings from our starters and turn it over to the bullpen before we head to dinner.

You know, I even saw Fernando Vina lay down a suicide squeeze! They’re hitting behind the runners and moving them all around. They’re playing better defense. And now, some of the walking wounded have returned to the lineup. But how well will Woody Williams, Garrett Stephenson and the others hold up? Only time will tell. But it sure has been a better product to watch the last week or so.

I have to admit, it was just too painful for me to watch the two weeks previous to last, so my boy and I have put on our parkas to work on our golf swings in the back yard. A much better use of our time, if you ask me.

The Cubs, on the other hand, won a thrilling extra-inning contest north of the cheese curtain over those pesky Brewers. Did they save Don Baylor’s job for another week? Only time will tell on that front as well.

Cub fans are buzzing about the major league debut of rookie sensation Mark Prior, which is scheduled for this Wednesday. Not only can this kid pitch, he can also hit, which may be even more important to the north-siders at this point in the season.

I still think that the Cubbies will rebound in time to get into this race, but maybe not before some kind of a shake-up.

And just when you thought it was safe to get back into the division race, some idiot woke up the Houston Astros. Boy, do I NOT want to see them coming on like gangbusters?!

And on top of all that comes the ridiculous news of yet another pending baseball work stoppage? ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? I really wish I was. I don’t know where Donald Fehr lives, but it is apparently nowhere near where the other 6 billion people on our planet live! How you could even remotely consider a baseball strike after everything the American public has been through the past year is totally beyond me! And then when you consider that baseball attendance is already lagging 6 percent behind where it normally is on this date, you have to question the intelligence of even considering such a move.

[to top of second column in this article]

Some people think that the fans will keep going back no matter how many times they strike. If that’s true, where are the 6 percent of people that have yet to show up this season? I know I used to go out to the ballpark 10 to 12 times a year. After the last strike I reduced that number to one or two times a season, and I will not go back more than that until my son gets old enough to drag me to the ol’ ball yard himself! Even that’s a long shot at this point, as he thinks that hockey is about the greatest thing his little 17-month-old eyes have ever seen. He especially likes the celebrations surrounding a goal and when somebody high-sticks his opponent in a friendly manner!

Here’s hoping that somebody with a little common sense can get both sides together, minimize the greed a little bit and get this thing resolved before they kill the golden goose — or, as my son calls him, the golden duck (right now, to him any bird is a duck)! If not, we’ll take our parkas off and go out in the back yard and work on our home run trots without the concern of all of those stinkin’ prima donnas!

With all the rain we’ve been having, I’m not sure we’ve been given any local or area scores or updates in any sport. IF you are a coach or an athlete and would like some special mention, please call us or e-mail us with your info. Or better yet, call Greg Taylor and me tonight TOLL FREE at (877) 963-9669 on the new FIX 96.3! Tonight will be our last radio show for the 2002-3 school year… at least in this time slot. We may re-emerge at a different time and day!

Thanks to all of our loyal readers here at the LDN and to our loyal listeners on the call-in program. Have a great week, everybody!!!

[Jeff Mayfield]

Announcements

[MAY 2, 2002]  Starting this summer, the Lincoln Area YMCA will offer a coed track-and-field program for youth 5 to 12 years old and teens 13 to 18 years old. Participants will learn the fundamentals of track and field, as well as stretching, warm-up and cool-down.

LCHS track-and-field coach Michelle Aeilts, along with other volunteers, will teach participants the benefits of building a strong body, mind and spirit through running.

This new program will be offered in two six-week sessions. Session A, June 3-July 8, is for teens, and Session B, July 15-Aug. 19, is for youth. The program will meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the LCHS track.

For more information, call 735-3915 or (800) 252-3520.

[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.

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