Advertisement

Thursday's prep highlights: Houchens twirls gem in SJ-O baseball win; Monticello baseball stays unbeaten

Matt Daniels, The News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill.
·6 min read

Mar. 22—In baseball

➜ Armstrong-Potomac 7, Villa Grove 1. Kollin Asbury and Traxton Roberts combined on a three-hitter, helping Armstrong-Potomac (5-0) remain unbeaten following a home nonconference win. Asbury struck out seven in three innings and Roberts struck out 10 in four innings. Nathan Rogers went 3 for 3 with an RBI to lead the Trojans at the plate, while Roberts (2 for 3), Carter Freeman (2 for 3, RBI) and Asbury (2 for 4, RBI, two runs scored) all had multi-hit games.

➜ Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond 8, Arthur Christian 6. Connor Nettles went 3 for 5 with two doubles, two RBI and three runs scored for Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond in a road nonconference victory. Lucas Butcher (2 for 3, RBI) and Will Hilligoss (2 for 4, RBI, three runs scored) also contributed for the Knights in the win. Joe Therialt paced Arthur Christian by going 3 for 4 with three runs scored.

➜ Fisher 8, Heritage 1. The visiting Bunnies rode a strong pitching performance from Peyton Sapp to deliver a nonconference win in Broadlands. Sapp threw six innings and did not allow an earned run, striking out 10. Ryan Coulter led the offensive performance for Fisher with three hits, including two doubles, and drove in two runs. Brayden Mowry added three hits, while Drayton Lutz, Jake, Chittick, Cody Hinton and Sapp all contributed two hits in the win.

➜ Hoopeston Area 10, Rantoul 4. Mason Rush doubled and drove in two runs, Wyatt Eisnemann added two RBI and Zach Huchel threw a complete game, striking out six, as the Cornjerkers earned a road nonconference win.

➜ Milford 11, Iroquois West 10. Colt Halpin went 2 for 2 with three RBI and Aiden Frerichs drove in two runs to go with two runs scored as Milford (3-1) hung on for a nonconference road win. Izzy Alvarez went 5 for 5 with three RBI out of the leadoff spot to spark Iroquois West.

➜ Monticello 6, Oakwood 2. Monticello scored four runs in the top of the seventh inning to break a 2-2 tie and leave with a nonconference road win. Raiden Colbert went 2 for 3 with a solo home run for the Sages (7-0) and leadoff hitter Koyie Williams was 2 for 4. Luke Teschke also drove in a run for Monticello, which received four shutout innings of relief from Carter Foran. Foran scattered five hits and struck out eight. Carsen Dudley was 3 for 4 to lead Oakwood (3-3), while Derek Drews was 1 for 3 with an RBI.

➜ St. Joseph-Ogden 12, St. Thomas More 0. Bryson Houchens stifled St. Thomas More's bats and the St. Joseph-Ogden offense did more than enough to support its right-hander on the mound to finish off an Illini Prairie Conference home win at Meier Field. Houchens struck out 10 and only gave up one hit in throwing a five-inning shutout. Will Haley and Braxton Waller each went 2 for 3 with two RBI for the Spartans, while Luke Landrus and Jared Altenbaumer each went 1 for 3 with two RBI and two runs scored. Reid Craddock singled for STM (4-3).

➜ Salt Fork 8, Tri-County 3. Evan Hageman went 2 for 3 with three RBI to lead Salt Fork to a home nonconference win. Deegan Albert (2 for 4, RBI) and Brayden Norton (3 for 4) also contributed offensively for the Storm. Jameson Remole picked up the win for Salt Fork, striking out 12 in four innings. Levi Ash went 1 for 3 with an RBI to pace Tri-County.

➜ Unity 9, Tri-Valley 6. The visiting Rockets came home from Downs with a nonconference win. Coleton Langendorf secured the victory on the mound, giving up one run in 32/3 innings. He only yielded two hits and struck out four. Nolan Remole went 2 for 4 with an RBI and scored four runs, while Brock Suding was 2 for 5 with an RBI for Unity (3-1).

In softball

➜ Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin 22, Heritage 1. Draycee Nelson hit a grand slam for Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin in a home nonconference win.

➜ Danville 6, Hoopeston Area 5. Danville handed Hoopeston Area its first loss of the season in a nonconference triumph in Hoopeston. Macy Warner had three hits, including two triples, to spark the Cornjerkers (5-1). Kinzley Bailey and Aubreyana Inman added two hits for Hoopeston Area.

➜ LeRoy 23, St. Teresa 1. LeRoy wasted little time in picking up a home nonconference win, scoring 15 runs in the bottom of the first inning en route to a four-inning victory. Laila Carr went 3 for 4 with five RBI, Kendyl Spratt was 2 for 2 with four RBI and three runs scored and Natalie Loy was 3 for 3 with an RBI and four runs scored to highlight the 18 hits the Panthers (7-0) collected. Lilly Long only allowed two hits and struck out six in earning her fourth win of the season.

➜ Normal Community 13, Unity 6. Unity led 4-2 after three innings, but couldn't hold on to the lead in a home nonconference loss. Ruby Tarr went 4 for 4 with three doubles, two RBI and two runs scored to lead the Rockets, while Sophia Beckett was 2 for 4 with three RBI.

➜ Rantoul 7, Fisher 0. Brooklyn Kellems reached base three times on two hits and a walk to lead the Bunnies, but visiting Rantoul proved to be too much in a nonconference win.

➜ St. Joseph-Ogden 6, Champaign Central 1. Addison Frick had three hits and two RBI, Addy Martinie came through with three hits and two stolen bases and Madison Stevens threw a complete game to lead St. Joseph-Ogden to a home nonconference win at Randy Wolken Field. Maisie Bowers had two hits for Central.

➜ Tri-Valley 9, Prairie Central 6. Prairie Central rallied from a 6-2 deficit to tie the nonconference game at 6 before Tri-Valley prevailed. Jules Woodrey paced Prairie Central with two hits, including a triple.

➜ Villa Grove 13, Paxton-Buckley-Loda 3. Piper Kiser and Logan Lillard combined on a one-hitter, striking out 13 for Villa Grove in a six-inning nonconference home win. Lillard went three innings, striking out seven, while Kiser threw three innings of no-hit relief and struck out six. Kiser also shined in the batter's box, going 2 for 2 with two RBI and three runs scored, while Lillard was 2 for 2 with an RBI and two runs scred. Isabella Dodd (1 for 4, three RBI), Alex Brown (1 for 3, two RBI), Kalyn Cordes (2 for 4, RBI) and Hayden Thomas (2 for 3) also chipped in. Mackenzie Swan went 1 for 2 with a run scored for PBL.

In boys' tennis

➜ At Urbana. Uni High earned an 8-1 win against St. Thomas More at Atkins Tennis Center. Josh Persiani did not drop a game and won 6-0, 6-0 at No. 6 singles to pace the Illineks, with Aryan Sachdev, Taehan Lee, Swapnil Kumar and Kyle Fan also picked up singles wins for Uni High. Parker Moore won 6-0, 6-0 at No. 2 singles to collect the lone win for STM.