Burnett named Spartan baseball MVP

Last month the St. Joseph-Ogden baseball team awarded varsity letters to 19 players. Sophomore Crayton Burnett earned the team's Most-Valuable Player award.

The Spartans finished their 2019 campaign just wins away from another state final four appearance with a 27-9-2 record after falling 1-0 to Tuscola in the Class 2A sectional championship game.

Fellow junior Keegan McCarty was named Pitcher of the Year and was also selected for the team's Gold Glove Award.

---

Junior Crayton Burnett makes a throw in SJO's home game against Westville. In addition to earning his varsity letter, Burnett was named the team's 2019 Most-Valuable Player and earned the programs True Maroon Award. The Spartans won the non-conference contest with the Tigers, 9-4. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

---

This year's seniors earning varsity baseball letters were Nick Boggs, Adam Frerichs, Kaden Jacobs, Caleb Johnson and Adam Rose.

Junior letter winners included Joey Acton, Brendan Cooperider, Drew Coursey, Blake Dable, Bode Gebbink, Keegan McCarty, Mason McLain, Jaden Miller, Blake Primmer, Brayden Weaver and Sam Wesley.

Burnett and fellow sophomore Zach Martinie along with freshman Coby Miller earned letters as underclassmen.

2019 Team Award Winners

MVP – Crayton Burnett
Pitcher of the Year – Keegan McCarty
Gold Glove Award – Keegan McCarty
Rookie of the Year – Sam Wesley
Silver Slugger Award – Adam Rose
True Maroon Award – Crayton Burnett
Hit By Pitch Award – Adam Frerichs

Down but not out, SJO stumbles against Unity

Spartan head coach Shawn Skinner talks to players after his team's 21-0 loss on the road at Unity.

---

"I thought our defense played stout. I thought that we had some plays that were designed to be good. We just had one breakdown here and there. Unity wasn't going to allow us any breakdowns."

Head coach Shawn Skinner

---

On beautiful September evening, St. Joseph-Ogden fans fill the visiting team bleachers and wait for the week four game to start. A win victory would have kept the Spartans tied for first in the Illini Prairie Conference. The shutout drops SJO into a five-way tie with Unity, Monticello, Prairie Central and Olympia for second place.

"We are going to learn from this. I'm a big believer you can learn as much from win as a loss. I don't think you got to lose to learn." ~ Coach Skinner

Above: Crayton Burnett makes a pass during first half action against the Rockets. Not having enough time in the pocket to throw the junior signal caller threw for 66 yards, completing 10 of 20 attempts.

Left: Keaton Nolan makes a catch while playing on kickoff return for the Spartans. Nolan was held to just 23 yards of rushing on offense after eight touches.

Below: Senior Jaden Miller blast his way past two Unity blockers while playing defense in the second quarter.

All photos: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

---

A Spartan fan takes photos from the stands prior to the start of the football game against Unity. There will be a lot more photos of players next week as SJO hosts the Pontiac Indians (1-3) for their homecoming contest this Friday.

---

"It was a hostile environment. We came out and gave our best effort. You can't fault us (for) that."

~ Sam Wesley, Senior, Linebacker

Above: Senior running back Brayden Weaver finds open turf in front of him during a carry in the first half. Weaver finished the game with just 13 all-purpose yards in the week four game against the Rockets.

Right: Sam Wesley shouts out instructions and adjustments to teammates before the Rockets snap the ball during second half action.

Below: Conner Hodge blocks nose to nose with a Unity lineman.

All photos: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

---

Photo Gallery | SJO baseball wins first game of the season

Coby Miller pounds the ball out of the park on this swing in front of nearly 80 high school baseball fans during St. Joseph-Ogden home baseball opener against Champaign Centennial. His 3-run homer in the bottom of the first inning was both answer and notice to the Chargers' solo shot minutes earlier. The Spartans went on to defeat the visiting Big 12 school 9-5 on Monday.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Hayden Brazelton takes a pitch on the hip while batting for the Spartans. Brazelton, a junior, tallied one hit in his two trips to the plate and scored two of SJO nine runs.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Crayton Burnett reaches back to unload a pitch against the Chargers. The future University of Illinois player picked up the win after giving up three hits and striking out 10 batters in his four-inning 2021 season debut.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Four Spartan baseball fans enjoy a beautiful spring day behind the fence in center field while watching their team take care of business against Centennial.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Ty Pence waits for a throw from the catcher to try and put out a Centennial base runner. Offensively, the sophomore basketball standout tallied 2 RBI on 2 hits for the Spartans.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Hayden Brazelton slides into second on a steal attempt. The junior, who was hit by a pitch earlier in the game, had the team's only double.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

---

---

See a photo on this page you would like to have? Buy us a coffee and we'll send you the high-resolution digital photo for free.

Prep Sports Notebook: Softball and baseball teams notch wins

Alyssa Acton hits a foul ball during SJO home game against Olympia. Today, in the Spartans' road game at Rantoul, the sophomore had 3 hits including a home run and 4 RBIs.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Spartans pick up 10th win of the season

Alyssa Acton put a shot over the fence in the fifth inning for a two-run homer to increase the St. Joseph-Ogden softball team's commanding lead over Rantoul, 11-4. In the next frame, Shayne Immke drilled a three-run, inside-the-park home run in the Illini Prairie Conference duel to put the Spartans up, 16-4.

Any hopes of an Eagles comeback was extinquished 1-2-3 by Acton, who was throwing heat from the circle. In her five-inning appearance, the sophomore slugger averaged just 12 pitches per frame to help the SJO pick up their 10th win of the season.

Emily Curtis, who gave up a pair of home runs and a double on 13 hits, earned the loss for the Eagles.

It was another superb outing also for Kelsey Martlage, who went 3-for-5 with 2 RBIs, Immke with 2 hits and 3 RBIs and Maggie Ward (2-for-3) with two of the team's 11 stolen bases and a pair of RBIs.

---

Unity shuts out IPC foe

Every Unity batter that stepped in the box in today's home game today against Pontiac booked at least one hit in win #8 for the Rockets after handing the visiting Indians a 9-0 shutout.

Pitcher Taylor Henry, now 4-0 overall for the season, struck out 14.

The Rockets enjoyed back-to-back solo home runs in the bottom of the third, first from freshman Ruby Tarr, who went 2-for-4 on the day, and then from Henry, the next batter in the lineup, on a 3-1 count.

Madeline Reed and Gracie Renfrow hit a double during one of their three trips to the plate. Reed scored twice and contributed an RBI. Renfrow's offensive contribution included a pair of runs and 2 hits. Elise Swanstrom hit a triple and put two runs over the plate.

Unity improves to 3-0 in conference play. Next up, the Rockets take on IVC at home on Saturday with the first game of the twin bill starting at noon.

---

Spartan baseball team rebounds

It is hard to keep a good team down.

After dropping a disappointing heartbreaker to Maroa-Forsyth one day earlier, the St. Joseph-Ogden baseball team picked up their 13th victory of the season after beating Rantoul 8-7 on the road this afternoon.

Down 7-3 in the bottom of the fourth inning, SJO rallied back scoring five runs in the last two innings of the game for the win.

The key moment came on a one-out sacrifice fly ball from Andrew Beyers's in the top of the six that allowed senior Crayton Burnett to cross the plate from third for the go-ahead run.

The Spartans relied on three pitchers to get through their toughest conference game so far this season. Connor Hale was on the bump for two innings, Griffin Roesch saw action for just over an inning and Avian Gerdes three complete innings. The trio tossed 157 pitches and combined for nine strikeouts.

Hayden Brazelton and Isaiah Immke had two hits apiece. Ty Pence, Crayton Burnett and Keaton Nolan scored two times each for SJO.

---

30 players receive SJO varsity football letters

Nineteen seniors earned varsity football letters this fall. Six juniors, four sophomores and one freshmen player were also recognized for their contributions during the 2019 season.

Brayden Weaver received this year's Most-Valuable-Player award.

Weaver appeared in varsity games during his football career with the Spartans. During that time he carried the ball 94 times for 540 yards. His longest run was a 52 yard jaunt in SJO's 38-14 win over Unity.

Brayden carries the ball for the Spartans during their home game against Bloomington Central Catholic. This year's MVP, the senior ran for 104 yards against the Saints. On defense he was credited with three tackles in the 18-7 conference win. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

---

Suffering a season-ending injury in the eight game of the season, his offensive stats boast 266 yards on 49 carries and four touchdowns.

A two-way player, Weaver was credited with 76 tackles, 49 of which were solo, at middle linebacker this season. He was also awarded the program's Defensive Award.

Drew Coursey and Jordan Kelly shared the team's Most-Improved-Player award.

Wearing #2 this season, Kelly, a 5-foot-10 wide receiver and strong safety, finished his only season of varsity football with 18 tackles and one interception.

Jordan Kelly, one of this year's two Most-Improved-Players, runs a pass route against visiting St. Thomas More. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Coursey, who earned his stripes in his first season of varsity football this year, led SJO in sacks with three. The outside linebacker had 26 stops, including four solo tackles and seven total in the Spartans' 33-13 road loss to the Hawks of Prairie Central.

The Special Teams Award went to senior Payton Cain. Like Coursey and Kelly, this was his first and only varsity football season. The senior returned 16 kickoffs. Averaging 31.1 yards per return, he amassed 498 yards this season.

In SJO's home game against Pontiac on September 27, he ran one of his two punt returns back 66 yards - a career best - and another one for 19 yards.

Towering 6-foot-4, 235 pounds, Blake Dable bagged the SJO Lineman Award.

In the five games he played on defense, Dable was credited with 15 tackles and two sacks, one against Unity and the other against Rantoul in week 2. On offense, Dable was key to opening up holes for the backfield and a solid wall protecting quarterback Crayton Burnett this season.

Sophomore Hayden Brazelton received the Scout Team Award.

Senior varsity lettermen: Ross Booker, Payton Cain, Trevon Carr, Max Chatterton, Brendan Cooperider, Drew Coursey, Blake Dable, Tristan Fuqua, Conner Hodge, Chance Izard, Jordan Kelly, Chayce Livingston, Jaden Miller, Blake Primmer, Luke Renfrew, Jarrett Stevenson, Brodie Sullivan, Brayden Weaver, and Sam Wesley.

Junior varsity lettermen: Crayton Burnett, Brady Buss, John Michael Ehmen, Zach Martinie, Xander Rieches and Max Shonkwiler.

Sophomore varsity lettermen: Coby Miller, Jett Morris, Keaton Nolan, and Ethan Vanliew.

Freshman varsity lettermen: Ty Pence