St. Joseph-Ogden's Nolan Earley dives to second base trying to avoid the tag by Maroa-Forsyth's Issac Hanes in the third inning of the Spartans' home baseball game on Friday. SJO, who hasn't dropped game since March 29, defeated the Trojans, 6-1. Earley pitched a complete game striking out seven batters and giving up just one run on six hits on Friday at Meyer Field. The Spartans, who have posted just two losses in 26 games, are back in action at home on Monday for an Illini Prairie conference showdown against Monticello.
URBANA - Urbana High School’s boys tennis team dropped its home match to visiting Morton on Tuesday at Blair Park, falling 8-1 in a nonconference contest. The lone win for the Tigers came courtesy of Samuel Sherwood at No. 3 singles.
Sherwood earned a straight-sets victory over Morton’s Max Roosa, winning 6-4, 6-2, to account for Urbana’s only point on the day. He later paired with Xander Ashley in a closely contested No. 1 doubles match, falling to Morton’s Ryan Klopfenstein and Joal Larson in a super tiebreaker, 1-6, 6-2, 13-11.
Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks
Urbana Sam Sherwood follows through on a shot while playing against Uni-High earlier this month. The junior walked away Wednesday's match against the Potters with a victory.
Morton swept the remaining singles and doubles matches, though Urbana pushed the Potters in several spots. At No. 2 singles, Karl Bonita took the first set before falling to Larson, 5-7, 6-2, 10-2. Zach Olson came within reach of a second team point at No. 5 singles, forcing a third-set tiebreak before ultimately dropping a 6-1, 1-6, 16-14 decision to Tate Darcy.
In doubles, Urbana’s No. 2 team of Theodore Nevins and Gus Rund lost 6-2, 6-4, while Olson and Kavi Patel came up short at No. 3 doubles in a tight first-set tiebreaker before falling 7-6 (1), 6-2.
Urbana is scheduled to return to the court today, facing St. Thomas More at the Atkins Tennis Center on the University of Illinois campus. First serve against the Sabers is slated for 4:30 p.m.
PEORIA — Champaign Central kept its unbeaten streak alive on Saturday afternoon, overpowering host Peoria 21-0 in a four-inning victory to improve to 8-0 on the season.
The Maroons set the tone early, scoring 10 runs in the opening frame and piling on six more in the second before closing out their scoring with five in the third. Central tallied 19 hits and 16 RBIs in the win, while eight players combined for eight stolen bases.
Senior shortstop Kaitlyn Helm led the offensive effort with a perfect 4-for-4 day at the plate, recording two triples and driving in multiple runs. Helm also crossed the plate four times.
Molly Kloeppel delivered a standout performance, driving in four runs on three hits, including a triple in the first inning and a two-run home run to center in the third. Kloeppel also tripled during the opening frame, contributing to the Maroons' early scoring burst.
Grace Bandy added a triple and a double, scoring multiple runs, while Maisie Bowers went 2-for-3 with a double and three RBIs. Bowers also earned the win in the circle, tossing three hitless innings and striking out five. Peoria was held without a hit across the abbreviated contest.
The Maroons’ first-inning outburst featured extra-base hits from Bandy, Helm, and Kloeppel, a walk drawn by Mya de la Cruz to bring in a run, and an RBI double from Bandy in her second at-bat of the inning. Central continued its production in the second inning with RBIs from Jaila Davis, Kennedy Hedrick, Helm, and Bowers.
Central sealed the win in the third with a six-hit inning, highlighted by Kloeppel’s homer and Bowers’ two-run double.
Champaign Central returns to action on Monday at Mattoon against the Green Wave to extend its perfect start to 9-0.
University High's Robert Gao celebrates after grueling doubles victory against Urbana's Karl Bonita and Santi Lleras. Narrowing taking the first set, and dropping the second, Gao and partner Kyle Fan won the tiebreak, 10-7. See more match photos below.
URBANA - Despite less-than-favorable weather conditions—a steady breeze and temperatures in the mid-40s—at Atkins Tennis Center, the Uni High boys tennis team swept all six singles matches Tuesday in a home contest against crosstown rival Urbana High School, cruising to an 8-1 victory.
Freshman Jameson LaFave defeated Urbana junior Xander Ashley 7-6 (5), 6-2 at No. 1 singles. Ashley bounced back in doubles, teaming with Sam Sherwood for the Tigers' lone win of the day. The Urbana duo rallied past Josh Persiani and Ian Pan at No. 2 doubles, winning 2-6, 6-1, 10-7.
Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks
Urbana's Sam Sherwood lines up backhand shot during his double match with partner Xander Ashley at No. 2 doubles.
At No. 1 doubles, Urbana’s Santi Lleras and Karl Bonita dropped the first set 7-6 (5) but made dozens of sharp plays and dominated serve-plus-one points to take the second set 6-2. However, Uni High’s Robert Gao and Kyle Fan showed resilience in the third-set tiebreak, capturing the final three points after a 7-7 deadlock to close out the match.
Urbana returns to action Wednesday for a nonconference match against St. Thomas More at Atkins. The Illineks will travel to Bloomington on Saturday before hosting St. Teresa at 4:30 p.m. Monday.
Match Results
Singles:
No. 1 - Jameson LaFave, Uni def. Xander Ashley, Urbana 7-6 (5), 6-2
No. 2 - Swapnil Kumar, Uni def. Karl Bonita, Urbana 6-1 , 6-3
No. 3 - Robert Gao, Uni def. Santi Lleras, Urbana 6-2 , 6-2
No. 4 - Kyle Fan, Uni def. Samuel Sherwood, Urbana 6-2 , 6-2
No. 5 - Josh Persiani, Uni def. Theodore Nevins, Urbana 6-3 , 6-4
No. 6 - Ian Pan, Uni def. Gus Rund, Urbana 6-2 , 1-6 , 10-5
Doubles:
No. 1 - Robert Gao - Kyle Fan, Uni def. Santi Lleras, Urbana - Karl Bonita, Urbana 6-3 , 2-6 , 10-7
No. 2 - Xander Ashley - Samuel Sherwood, Urbana def. Josh Persiani - Ian Pan, Uni 2-6 , 6-1 , 10-7
No. 3 - Collins Rosch - Tristen Ting, Uni def. Theodore Nevins - Gus Rund, Urbana 7-6 (5), 6-2
BLOOMINGTON - Members of Unity's 4x400 relay team pose after running their race at the Illinois Top Times Indoor Championships on Saturday. Running in the Class 2A race, the squad finished two seconds behind Normal U-High and Mt. Zion at 4:12.04 in fifth place. The quartet is composed with Josie Cler, Ashlyn Denney, Grace Wherely, and MacKenzie Pound. Cler, Denny, and Pound also ran in the 4x800 race taking the meet title.
BLOOMINGTON - Unity's Emily Decker keeps a steady pace in the 3200-meter run at the Illinois Top Times Indoor Championships on Saturday. The Ball State signee set a school record with a time of 10:57.37, placing fourth. She also finished fifth in the mile run.
CHAMPAIGN - St. Joseph-Ogden closer Jared Altenbaumer stretches out to unload a pitch during the Spartans' road game at St. Thomas More on Thursday. The senior threw 40 strikes, taking down six batters and giving up no runs in his 58-pitch command on the bump. At the plate, Altenbaumer collected one RBI and scored twice for SJO. The team heads to Jacksonville on Saturday after the 17-5 victory for back-to-back games at the Future Champions Jamboree. SJO takes on Winnebago at 3 PM and Tinley Park Andrews at 5:30 PM.
PONTIAC - People everywhere are conquering their cabin fever and are enjoying the great outdoors after a long, bitter winter. But before you head out for that hike, health care experts remind you to take precautions to avoid tick bites. Read more . . .
CHICAGO - An Illinois law professor is weighing in on what she called a "very public and open test of due process" for immigrants being deported from the United States without court hearings. Read more . . .
CHAMPAIGN - In a show of solidarity against President Donald Trump's trade and immigration policies, which critics say are harming families and retirement savings, more than a thousand protesters gathered Saturday at West Park near downtown Champaign for the Hands-Off! Mobilization rally. Read more . . .
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