Rockets light up new scoreboard with 11-1 win over Bombers
The Unity baseball team improved to 2-0 on the season after rolling to another mercy win on Thursday. With Blake Kimball on the mound, the Rockets hammered visiting Argenta-Oreana, 11-1.
Kimball earned his first win after giving up 3 hits and an earned run. The junior hurler didn't walk a batter and struck out five Bombers in the five-inning affair.
Unity put five runs on the board in the second inning breaking a 1-all tie. Thanks to a solid defensive outing by the Rockets, A-O was denied every opportunity to score the remainder of the non-conference contest.
Meanwhile, in their second game on their home turf, Unity christened their new scoreboard by putting runs on in every inning of play, including a 4-run rally in the bottom of the fourth to go up 11-1.
Tyler Hench went 2-for-2 and led the team with 3 RBI. Kimball finished 2-for-4 and chipped in a pair of RBI for the Rockets.
Thomas Cler was 1-for-2 with a triple on the day.
Martinie, Altenbaumer team up for Charleston shutout
SJO's Zach Martinie and Tyler Altenbaumer combined efforts for a 3-0 shutout victory over visiting Charleston on Thursday.
The Spartans scored four runs on four hits from Keaton Nolan, Isaiah Immke, Ty Pence and Altenbaumer.
Hayden Brazelton and Andrew Beyers padded their season stats with one RBI apiece.
Altenbaumer earned the win after tossing 95 pitches and striking out 11 Trojan batters. Martinie closed out the game with 16 pitches, nine of them strikes.
Unity softball picks up conference road win
Taylor Joop led her team's offense effort going 3-for-3, including a double on a pop fly to left field in the top of the second, in the Rockets' conference road game at Rantoul.
Taylor Henry, who struckout 13 batters, went the distance from the circle in Unity's 11-0 shutout over the Eagles. She gave up just three hits, including a triple to Eagles' Bella Shields.
Up 6-0 at the top of 6th inning, Unity manufactured a 5-run rally starting with a line drive to right field from Henry scoring Joop from second and Ruby Tarr at first.
Grace Frye stepped up to the plate next and crushed the second pitch she saw from Rantoul's Emily Curtis over the fence for a two-run homer.
Despite striking out nine batters from the Rockets, Curtis surrendered 11 runs on 10 hits.
The Rockets, now 3-0, face Paris this afternoon at home and Bloomington Central Catholic in an Illini Prairie Conference showdown on Saturday.
"Our state has the opportunity to lead the way on blockchain technology and cryptoassets, which could make Illinois a hub for innovation and entrepreneurship for future generations – and all the jobs that come with it," said the bill’s chief sponsor, state Rep. Margaret Croke, D-Chicago.
House Bill 3968 has the support of the Illinois Bankers Association, the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce and other banking organizations that signed on in support of the bill. It is now before the Illinois Senate.
Illinois would be the second state in the nation to allow special trusts to hold digital assets after Wyoming, which drew digital asset bank Avanti and cryptocurrency exchange Kraken to the state with a similar measure in 2019.
The digital asset industry has grown steadily in recent years with the skyrocketing value of cryptocurrency, such as Bitcoin.
An Illinois Blockchain Business Development report produced by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation in December stated worldwide investment in blockchain technology startups jumped from just $1 million in 2012 to $4.15 billion dollars in 2018, enticing thousands more to enter the market. The market value of all cryptocurrencies stands at about $758 billion, according to Statista.
But many digital asset companies have found banking with traditional institutions difficult given the significant cost to startups.
HB 3968 would lend stability to the industry by allowing financial technology companies to offer the same financial products as existing trusts, such as banking and payment services, in addition to other digital asset services, sponsors said.
Traditional financial institutions in Illinois have also voiced support for the bill, stating consumers will benefit and that boosting fintech and cryptocurrencies will drive positive economic growth.
"Illinois has every right to win in blockchain, given that we are a unique intersection of financial hub and real-economy hub (manufacturing, logistics, agriculture, etc.)," Outlier Ventures partner Rumi Morales told Payments Dive. "If we connect digital payments innovation to those sectors, the potential is huge."
SJO's Malorie Sarnecki won the 400m Dash with at time of 1:07:53. The performance was prep personal record for the junior middle distance runner.
In the hurdles, Kaytlyn Baker set a new PR finishing the 100m hurdles at 18.10. In her first meet of the Spring 2021 season against Clinton, the sophomore turned in 18.51 in the event.
Baker also placed second the 300m Hurdles following Ashlyn Lannert over the line at 54.47. Lannert, a junior, won the event with a time of 53.47, just a little under her personal best in the race at 51.53.
The Spartans enjoyed first place finishes in two of the four relay events at the meet.
The Womens 4x100m relay quartet of Atleigh Hamilton, Payton Carter, Raegan Crippen and Macy Reed-Thompson finished more than two second ahead of the Hornets contingent at 52.18 to take first.
The same four Spartans joined forces for another first place finish, this time in the 4x200m relay. The foursome's combined efforts yielded a time of 1:53.13.
Reed-Thompson also earned another gold medal worthy finish taking the top honor in the High Jump. The freshman tallied first place points after her best attempt at 1.49m.
Also earning field event points for SJO, Carter cleared 2.9 meters in the Women Pole Vault for another first place Spartan finish.
Finally, it comes as no surprise that the winner of the Women's Long Jump was 2x Class 1A state champion was Atleigh Hamilton.
The senior cleared 5.23 meters, or 17 feet and 1.91 inches, of sand in her home pit to win the pit. Her best mark in the event, set at the 2019 state championships, is 5.68m (18' 7.75").
The Spartans will host their third meet of the season in a quad event featuring Shelbyville, Judah Christian and St. Teresa tomorrow at the Glenn Fisher Athletic Complex starting at 4pm.
Members of the community are welcome to express their input. If you plan to attend the meeting, only the side door which enters directly into the Village Board room will be open. The rest of the building will not be accessible during the meeting. Guests are required to observe social distancing guidelines. If you have something that you want to bring up at the Village Board Meeting but do not want to attend in person, you may email the information to 
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