Tuesday's prep highlights: SJ-O, Unity win Illini Prairie meets
May 1—In baseball
Armstrong-Potomac 10, Salt Fork 0. Kollin Asbury struck out 11 batters in six innings of work while allowing just two hits to help the Trojans claim a Vermilion Valley Conference win on their home field. Bowen Hesterberg, Blake Learned and Colton Murphy had two hits apiece for the Trojans, while Salt Fork's hits came via Hayden Maloney and Pedro Rangel.
Eureka 9, Prairie Central 0. JC Spence had two hits and Caden Addis had a hit for the Hawks as they fell to the host Hornets in nonconference play.
Fieldcrest 12, LeRoy 0. The Knights held the Panthers to three singles in a Heart of Illinois Conference game contested in Minonk.
Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley 15, Milford 6. The Falcons scored six runs in the bottom of the first inning to grab control of a nonconference contest, with Ty Cribbett and Isaiah Johnson combining for five hits and Zeb Greer fanning seven batters in three innings of work on the mound. Aiden Frerichs had two hits to lead Milford.
Mattoon 5, Rantoul 0. Seniors Ross Gawenda, Niko Jones, Evan Larson and Juan Moya were recognized in a ceremony that preceded the Eagles' nonconference setback against the Green Wave.
Mt. Zion 4, Unity 3. Dane Eisenmenger allowed one hit in two innings on the mound, but the Rockets couldn't overcome the host Braves in a nonconference thriller that took eight innings to decide.
Paxton-Buckley-Loda 8, Westville 7. A nonconference road game tilted in favor of the host Panthers thanks to a late surge that included one run in each of the final two innings. Andrew Martinez, Noah Steiner, Connor Vaughn and Kayden Vance hit doubles for PBL, which had eight hits as a team and received two RBI apiece from Vaughn and Charles Cambridge. Drew Wichtowski had a pair of singles for Westville, while Easton Barney doubled as part of a three-hit effort.
Peoria Notre Dame 8, Champaign Central 6. Despite two-hit efforts from both Luke McClure and Charlie Hobbs — with McClure hitting a triple and Hobbs connecting on a double — the Maroons suffered a Big 12 setback against the Irish in Peoria. Chris Timmons added a double for the Maroons while Chase Bartlett struck out four batters in 31/3 innings on the mound.
Oakwood 18, Iroquois West 5. Four batters — Derek Drews, Brody Taflinger, Cort Vermillion and Alex Wallace — registered two hits apiece as the Comets collected a comfortable win over the host Raiders in VVC play. A nine-run fifth inning helped the Comets' cause, with Bryson Marcinko driving in a team-best three runs to round out the offense. Julian Melgoza hit a three-run home run to power the Raiders' offense.
St. Thomas More 10, Tuscola 3. Wilson Kirby had three singles and drove in four runs to power the Sabers' offense, with Cole Kemper, Reid Craddock and Andrew Tay adding two hits apiece to back up seven strikeouts in three innings of work for Henry Karduck. Joey Gibson and Caiden Russo had two hits apiece for the host Warriors during the nonconference setback.
Watseka 14, Cissna Park 0. Eight players recorded hits for the Warriors in VVC triumph over the host Timberwolves, with Andrew Shoemaker and Aidan Morris hitting doubles and Shoemaker, Austin Marcier and Myles Lynch amassing two hits apiece to pace a stout offensive showing. Shoemaker and Frankie Shervino drove in three runs apiece, while Cissna Park's attack was keyed by hits from Jream Renteria and Jace Comstock.
In softball
Champaign Central 12, Danville 1. The Maroons recorded 17 hits during a Big 12 victory over the host Vikings, with Mya de la Cruz collecting four hits, Haley Helm and Tayten Hunter adding three hits apiece and Madison Kloeppel and Kaitlyn Helm contributing two hits apiece. Ka'Leah Bellik doubled to pace Danville's offense.
Hoopeston Area 9, Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin 5. Addy Kelnhofer tallied four hits and drove in two runs, Maddie Barnes tripled during a three-hit effort and Aubreyana Inman added three hits of her own to power the Cornjerkers to a home win over the Blue Devils in VVC play. Melina Vogel and Macy Warner each had two hits for Hoopeston Area to help the winning cause.
Milford 9, Oakwood 8. Kami Muehling tossed seven innings of eight-hit, three-strikeout ball in the circle for the Bearcats to back up an offensive effort that included two hits apiece from Hunter Mowrey, Abby Storm and Lillie Harris. Samantha Dunavan led the Comets with two hits and scored a run and Gracie Enos added a double.
Monticello 7, Sullivan 1. Four runs in the bottom of the first and a pair of runs in the second inning set the tone for the Sages to score a nonconference win, with Sadie Walsh, Cassidee Stoffel and Marrisa Miller each collecting two hits apiece. One of Walsh's hits was a double while teammate Isabella Beery legged out a triple for her lone hit. Reese Patton allowed just five Sullivan hits in seven innings, two of which came from Tabitha Webb.
St. Joseph-Ogden 18, Heyworth 3. Addison Frick and Grace Osterbur each collected three hits and scored as many runs in a nonconference home victory over the Hornets, with Hayden Dahl contributing three hits and Addy Martinie adding a double and a triple to contribute to the winning cause. Timera Blackburn-Kellystruck out eight batters and allowed just three hits in a complete-game effort in the circle.
Villa Grove 12, Cerro Gordo/Bement 0. A triple from Chloe Reardon and doubles from Kayln Cordes, Logan Lillard and Piper Kiser helped the Blue Devils topple the host Broncos in an LPC contest. Lillard added nine strikeouts in four innings of work and Alexandria Brown and Alison Pangburn added two hits apiece to help the winning cause.
Watseka 10, Georgetown-Ridge Farm 3. Sarah Parsons connected on a double among her four hits to pace the host Warriors in a VVC victory over the Buffaloes. Brianna Denault added three hits and Christa Holohan chipped in two hits for Watseka, while Chloe Stephenson and Peyton McComas each had hits for the Buffaloes.
In girls' soccer
Champaign Central 8, Danville 0. A stout offensive effort from Sophia Adams helped the Maroons take down the host Vikings in Big 12 play. Adams scored four of the Maroons' first five goals, with Grace Pelz scoring twice and Rylie Schulz and Halle Youse adding additional scores to help the winning cause.
Mahomet-Seymour 3, Mattoon 1. Goals from Ella Walk, Erika Johnson and Jaycee Fancer helped the Bulldogs past the Green Wave in an Apollo Conference win on their home field, with Fancer, Paislee Welge and Izzy Lietz assisting on the scores.
Uni High 9, Meridian 0. The Illineks built a 7-0 halftime lead en route to a nonconference win over the host Hawks, with Cali Cooper scoring three goals and Khuyen Nguyen and Sophie Anderson each scoring twice while Anna Williams added a goal of her own. Uni High also benefited from an own goal during the contest.
Urbana 9, Peoria 0. Five goals from Samantha Chrisman — three of which were assisted by Chloe Sikora — helped the Tigers claim a road victory over the Lions in Big 12 Conference play, with Celia Barkley adding two goals and Sikora and Kariyah Puryear tacking on scores of their own.
In boys' track and field
At Pontiac. St. Joseph-Ogden scored 143 points to claim the Illini Prairie Conference boys' track and field meet, followed by Bloomington Central Catholic (111), Unity (90), Monticello (77.5), Pontiac (72.5), Prairie Central (59.5), Rantoul (59), St. Thomas More (42.5), Chillicothe IVC (27) and Paxton-Buckley-Loda (20). Rantoul's Preston Seals took the top spot in the 100 meter run (11.05 seconds) and the 200 run (22.33), Unity's Brock Schlittler won the 400 run in 49.81, SJ-O's Carson Maroon won the 800 run (2:02.90), 1,600 run (4:33.46) and 3,200 run (10:11.70) and Monticello's Jackson Helms won the 110 hurdles (15.81) to round out individual race winners. Monticello's Demarion Forman claimed victory in the shot put (48' 0") and discus throw (173' 6").
At Watseka. Herscher scored 75 points to best host Watseka (66) and Manteno (22) in a triangular meet, with the Warriors receiving individual wins from Zander Stano (200 run, 23.87), CJ Murray (110 hurdles in 18.26 and 300 hurdles in 47.32), Evan LaBelle (discuss throw, 113' 10 1/4 ") and Dennis Goodman (long jump, 18' 11 1/4 ").
In girls' track and field
At Pontiac. Unity captured the IPC girls' track and field meet with 193 points to pace Monticello (80), St. Joseph-Ogden (77), Bloomington Central Catholic (70), Chillicothe IVC (67), Pontiac (65), Paxton-Buckley-Loda (56), Rantoul (44), Prairie Central (42) and St. Thomas More (8). Unity's quartet of Emma Swisher in the 100 dash (12.87), Ashlyn Denney in the 400 dash (58.63), Emily Decker in the 800 run (2:22.50) and Erica Woodard in the 1,600 run (5:18.17) and 3,200 run (12:04.67) helped the Rockets to the title. Other individual race winners were Rantoul's Aubreyana Thompson in the 110 hurdles (16.42) and Prairie Central's Izabelle Behrends in the 300 hurdles (48.50). Among field event winners were Unity's Jillian Schlittler in the long jump (18' 1 3/4 ") and SJ-O's Payton Carter (11' 5 3/4 ") in the pole vault.
