Nice try, but not this time

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

ST. JOSEPH - St. Joseph-Ogden's Will Haley tries to slide under a tag at third on a steal in the team's home game on Monday against Warrensburg-Latham. In a similar play in the first inning on a wild pitch, he was safe and later scored the Spartans' second run in the inning. This time, Cardinals' catcher Eastyn Mckenzie made the throw on the money to Brody Brown for the out. Haley finished the game with one hit, one run and one RBI in SJO's 8-1 home victory over the Cardinals. The Spartans (8-1) travel to Pleasant Plains today for another non-league game and face St. Thomas More on the road tomorrow for their first Illini Prairie game of the season.

Wayback Wednesday |
Lady Spartan Classic 2004

Three seniors, one final home meet and a wonderful spring day. The Lady Spartan Classic brought together top area track and field athletes on May 7, 2004, at St. Joseph-Ogden High School. Under clear skies, competitors raced, jumped and threw for podium finishes.

ST. JOSEPH - Step back to a picture-perfect evening at St. Joseph-Ogden High School, where the Lady Spartan Classic brought together some of the area’s top track and field talent on May 7, 2004. Under clear, sunny skies, athletes from across the region competed for podium spots in a full slate of events, from sprints and hurdles to throws and distance races. The meet also marked senior night for three Spartans, adding a meaningful sendoff to their final home appearance.

This Wayback Wednesday gallery revisits 12 moments from a day defined by fierce small-school competition, athleticism and perfect conditions for a high school track meet. Participating schools included the host, St. Joseph-Ogden, Unity, Tuscola, Deland-Weldon, Fisher, Monticello, Argenta-Oreana, East Central, Bloomington Central Catholic, St. Thomas More, and Schlarman.

St. Joseph-Ogden post 8-1 win over Warrensburg-Latham

Tyler Wright throws a pitch for St. Joseph-Ogden

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

Spartans' Tyler Wright unloads a pitch in the top of the seventh inning for a waiting Warrensburg-Latham batter. Wright closed out the game, giving up one hit and no runs to help St. Joseph-Ogden pick up a home win over the Cardinals, 8-1. The Spartans (8-1) take the field again on Wednesday in a non-conference road showdown at Pleasant Plains. Want to see more photos from this game? Fill out our photo request form.

Area softball scores from Friday, April 3

One area team avoids opening-day loss at Rantoul Invite. Zoe Goodreau hits a home run for Central and SJO's Amelia Huckstat picks up a pitching win on Friday.

Daily Sentinel area softball scores

St. Joseph-Ogden 11, Fenton 4

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
St. Joseph-Ogden	1	3	1	6	0	-	-	11	9	1
Fenton	3	0	0	1	0	-	-	4	4	5

GAME NOTES: Isabella Delgado led Fenton's offensive effort with one triple and two RBI in the loss to the St. Joseph-Ogden. Pitcher Sophia Hollis struck out two of the 22 batters she faced, giving up nine hits over four innings.

Junior Brynn Ikemire and Emma McKinney, a senior, delivered two hits each at the annual Rantoul softball tournament. Brooklyn Stevens and Kellyn Irwin took one stolen base each. Amelia Huckstat earned the win despite giving up four hits and four runs. The senior threw 55 strikes out 88 pitches.

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

Zakiyah Primm throws out a Hoopeston Area batter at first in the Tigers' home game on Friday. Primm scored two runs in Urbana's first win of the season. The Tigers are back in action on Wednesday at Paxton-Buckley-Loda.

Urbana 15, Hoopeston Area 9

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Urbana	7	0	6	0	2	0	0	15	4	2
Hoopeston Area	1	0	4	2	1	1	0	9	12	4

GAME NOTES: Journey Porter and Ariana Coleman pushed three runs across the plate for the Tigers in their first win of the season. Porter, who also had two stolen bases, delivered two hits in her three trips to the plate, and Coleman, along with Arreola had one each. Kaya Hill, who earned the win in the circle, also nabbed a stolen bag to help the Tigers improve to 1-4 on the season.

Pitcher Camilla Linder took the loss for the loss for the Cornjerkers, throwing 48 strikes out of her 109 pitches on Friday. Kinzley Bailey went 3-for-4 at the plate for Hoopeston.

Pekin 3, Champaign Central 1

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Pekin	0	1	0	0	2	0	-	3	4	4
Champaign Central	0	0	1	0	0	0	-	1	3	1

GAME NOTES: Pekin freshman Kinley Arnold hit a flyball to right field scoring Abbie Walker in the bottom of the second inning. Lily Towery and Patience Toungett added go-ahead runs in the bottom of the fifth for the Dragons.

Grace Bandy, Mya de la Cruz, and Coryn Christ made it on base with one hit each. Christ notched an RBI, putting Haley Helm over the plate in the top of third inning. Helm suffered the loss, giving up three runs on four hits. The junior hurler struck out six batters in her 83 tosses at the Rantoul Invitational Softball Tournament.

North Boone 13, Centennial 1

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
North Boone	3	0	10	0	-	-	-	13	9	0
Centennial	1	0	0	0	-	-	-	1	2	10

GAME NOTES: Zoe Goodreau hit a solo, inside-the-park home run for the Chargers in opening inning. After that, North Boone pitcher Courtney Troutt dominated in the circle, allowing just one more hit while striking out ten Charger sluggers in the rout.

Arthur-Okaw Christian 4, Rantoul 1

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Arthur-Okaw Christian	1	0	2	1	0	-	-	4	2	1
Rantoul	0	0	0	1	0	-	-	1	4	1

GAME NOTES: Airiana Bell hit a triple and eventually scored Rantoul's only run in their tournament loss on Friday, finishing the opener with two hits. Addy Sherrick threw 77 pitches, striking out six of the Conquering Riders she faced on Friday.

Attention softball coaches

Keep your fans and community informed. Send The Sentinel your game scores and player stats to sports@oursentinel.com to be included in our daily scoreboard and recaps.

TAGS: St. Joseph-Ogden beats Fenton at Rantoul tournament, Airiana Bell has two hits for Rantoul Eagles, Champaign Central drops softball tournament game to Pekin, Urbana softball team beats Hoopeston for first win, Tigers score 15 runs on Cornjerkers in non-conference game

Area baseball scores and results for April 3

Chargers fall Dundee-Crown in heartbreaker. Will Haley delivered three of St. Joseph-Ogden's six RBI and Cam Schluter added two more in the team's 7-2 victory Friday afternoon.

St. Joseph-Ogden 7, Rockridge 2

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
St. Joseph-Ogden	0	1	0	3	0	3	-	7	5	0
Rockridge	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	2	2	1

GAME NOTES: Finn Miller had two hits and scored one run in SJO's non-conference game against Rockridge at the Rantoul Family Sports Complex in Rantoul on Friday. Will Haley delivered three of the team's six RBI and Cam Schluter added two more for the Spartans who improved to 7-1. Seniors Kodey McKinney and Logan Rosenthal stole one base each. Parker Fitch earned the win striking out five Rockets across six innings.

Ryan Oelke took the loss for the Rockets, giving up three runs and one hit after relieving Cullen Schwigen and relinquishing the mound in the fourth inning to Mitch Boney. Tanner Dye and Payten Downing produced one hit and RBI run each for Rockridge. Schwigen and Kainin Mumma scored the team's two runs.

Dundee-Crown 2, Centennial 1

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Dundee-Crown	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	2	4	1
Centennial	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	5	4

GAME NOTES: Madden Ritter pitched four innings, giving up three hits and a pair of runs to the visiting Chargers. Throwing 70 pitches, the junior struck out three Dundee-Crown batters in the loss. Senior Isaiah Allen chalked up two stolen bases and score the team's solo run. Paysen Dacanay, Chris Miller, Karl Olson, Tate Sauer and Allen had one hit each for Centennial.

Dundee-Crown's Kaden Klancnik earned the pitching win. Max Backaus had two hits with Cole Pearson and Ikey Grzynkowicz scoring the team's two runs.

Rantoul 10, Arthur-Okawa Christian 0

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Rantoul	2	0	6	0	2	-	-	10	8	1
Arthur-Okawa Christian	0	0	0	0	0	-	-	0	0	3

GAME NOTES: Eagles' sophomore Aiden Cheek threw 77 pitches, securing the non-conference victory striking out 12 of the 18 batters he faced in a little over four innings. Owen Johnson had two hits, two RBI, and scored two runs to help the Rantoul improve to a 4-3 early-season record.

Ian Herschberger suffered the loss after seeing 14 batters at the plate, striking out one and walking to others. The senior gave up six hits and seven run to the Eagles.

Attention baseball coaches

Keep your fans and community informed. Send The Sentinel your game scores and player stats to sports@oursentinel.com to be included in our daily scoreboard and recaps.

TAGS: SJO baseball team post seven runs on Rockridge, St. Joseph-Ogden improves record to 7-1,

Photo of the Day |
Safe underneath

SJO's Ty Brown slides under a Tri-Valley third baseman in 2016.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

NORMAL - Tri-Valley's third baseman falls after a leaping throw that forced St. Joseph-Ogden's Ty Brown to slide under him. The Spartans traveled to Duffy Bass Field for a neutral site doubleheader on April 16, 2016, facing the Vikings and Normal University. SJO dropped the opener to the Pioneers 13-3, regrouping to knock off the Tri-Valley 12-5. Finishing the season 33-4, St. Joseph-Ogden's baseball program went on to finish second in the state after 7-6 loss in the 2016 2A title game against Reed-Custer.

TAGS: SJO baseball beats Tri-Valley in Normal, St. Joseph-Ogden baseball team faced Tri-Valley on the road, SJO three-sport athlete Ty Brown slides in baseball game, Tri-Valley Vikings fall to SJO in neutral site game,

Sentinel area softball scores for April 1

St. Joseph-Ogden picks up chilly win at Bismarck. The Spartans improve to 5-5-1 with Blackburn-Kelley pitching a complete game.

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

St. Joseph-Ogden's Timera Blackburn-Kelley unwinds a pitch during St. Joseph-Ogden's first softball game at the newly renovated Randy Wolken Field back in 2024. Now a senior, she held Bismarck-Henning to one run in Wednesday's 8-1 road win.

St. Joseph-Ogden 8, Bismarck-Henning-Rossville-Alvin 1

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
St. Joseph-Ogden	0	2	0	1	2	0	3	8	13	1
Bismarck-Henning-Rossville-Alvin	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	5	2

GAME NOTES: Timera Blackburn-Kelley racked up 10 strike outs for the Spartans. The senior gave up five hits and run without a walk. She went 2-for-3 at the plate. Four other St. Joseph-Ogden batters also delivered two hits in the non-conference win. Hayden Dahl, Ella Buhs, AJ Jannusch, and Brynn Ikemier made noise on the four appearances in the batter's box. Ella Mohr scoreed three times and Buhs scored twice in Wednesday's road game.

BHRA pitcher Eva Ronto suffered the loss to the Spartans after giving up eight runs on 13 hits. To her credit she walked only two batters and struck out five. Senior Hope Grissom led the Blue Devils' offensive effort with two hits. Tinley Siddens, Giana Brown, and Mia Ohler - all freshman, contributed on hit each. Brown scored the team's only run in the bottom of the seventh.

St. Joseph-Ogden softball wins road game at Bismarck, Timera Blackburn-Kelley earns pitching win, SJO beats Bismarck-Henning 8-1 in away game, Blue Devils' Hope Grissom notches two hits against St. Joseph-Ogden, Bismarck-Henning freshman tally three hits against St. Joe

Photo of the Day |
No offense, Haley and Spartans crush Pioneers

St. Joseph-Ogden catcher Will Haley runs down a baserunner in SJO's home baseball game

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

ST. JOSEPH - St. Joseph-Ogden catcher Will Haley runs down a Normal U-High baserunner in the Spartans' home baseball game on April 18, 2025. The Spartans won the non-conference game 16-4 with Haley delivering two hits, two runs, and two RBI. The Spartans finished the season 32-4 after falling in the regional title game against Unity later in May. Haley, now a senior, returns to the SJO lineup the 2025-26 season.

See more photos from this game

TAGS: St. Joseph-Ogden baseball team wins, SJO catcher Will Haley makes a play, Sentinel photo of the day, 2025 SJO baseball, Spartan baseball team beats Pioneers 16-4 in 2025

Area baseball scores for March 19

Fairfield 4, St. Joseph-Ogden 11

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Fairfield	5	0	0	0	4	0	0	4	10	6
St. Joseph-Ogden	3	6	0	0	0	2	0	11	14	1

GAME NOTES: Fairfield's Caleb King was left on base four times and Logan Tullis batted in two RBI in the Mules loss tournament loss to St. Joseph-Ogden. Mules' Breychan Kovacich, Ian Puckett, and Jake Easton had two hits each.

Mahomet-Seymour 9, Mars 3

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Mahomet-Seymour	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	9	-	-
Mars	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	-	-

GAME NOTES: Juniors Cole Henderson and Matt Kirby scored to runs each in the Bulldogs road game against the Fightin' Planets. Austine Wike earned the win to keep Mahomet-Seymour's 2026 start undefeated.

Highland 1, Champaign Central 8

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Highland	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	6	3
Champaign Central	1	0	3	1	0	3	-	8	11	0

GAME NOTES: Highland's Nolan Barber and Tyler Rottmann delivered two hits each against the Maroons. Nolan Houchins, a senior, scored the Bulldogs' only run, while classmate Blake Gelly was left on base five times in the non-conference loss.

Mt. Vernon 1, Champaign Central 8

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Mt. Vernon	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	2	7	2
Champaign Central	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	7	0

GAME NOTES: Rams' Cale Maurer had two hits and two RBI in the road win against Champaign Central. Sophomore Maxweel Nowak earned the win, giving up three hits and striking out four.

Heritage 0, Urbana 1

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Heritage	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Urbana	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-

GAME NOTES: Urbana picks up the win via a forfeit. Next up, the Tigers play back-to-back road games, starting at Fisher on 3/21 and Tuscola on 3/24.

St. Thomas More 5, Battle Creek 10

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
St. Thomas More	0	0	0	1	0	4	0	5	9	4
Battle Creek	3	0	5	1	1	0	-	10	8	3

GAME NOTES: Battle Creek's JR Mathis pounded a home run and Elias Chunn banged a triple in the early-season non-conference win in Spring Hill, Tennessee. Sophomore Nolan Horvath was credit with the win, holding court on the mound for three innings.

Casey-Westfield 6, Oakwood 3

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Casey-Westfield	2	1	1	0	0	2	0	6	8	0
Oakwood	1	0	0	1	1	0	0	3	5	4

GAME NOTES: Comets' Xander Wilson padded his season stats with two hits and two RBIs. The sophomore was responsible for one of the team's two homers against the Warriors. Cam Harris banged the other ball out of the park in the loss.

Rantoul 2, Bloomington 4

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Rantoul	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	-
Bloomington	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4	-	-

GAME NOTES: Aiden Cheek, who finished with three hits, and Spencer Stockwill scored one run each for the Eagles in their road game at Bloomington. Mason Ihnen produced the Eagles' solo RBI. Despite three stolen bases from Levi Duitsman, Stockwill and Landen Lewis, Rantoul suffered a non-conference loss in the season opener.

Purple Raiders Abram Murphy-Thirtycare and Brock Leman collected two hits each. Blake Alferink earned the win after striking out six of the 12 batters he faced.

TAGS: SJO loses season-opener, Mahomet-Seymour blasts St. Raymond Boys School, Central Maroons blank Rantoul Eagles

Attention baseball coaches

Keep your fans and community informed. Send The Sentinel your game scores and player stats to sports@oursentinel.com to be included in our daily scoreboard and recaps.

TAGS: SJO demolishes Fairfield in road game, St. Thomas More baseball team falls to Battle Creek, Central Maroons split home doubleheader, Xander Wilson and Cam Harris hit home runs for Oakwood, Rantoul Eagles lose road game to Bloomington Purple Raiders

Nice try, but not this time

Wayback Wednesday |
Lady Spartan Classic 2004

St. Joseph-Ogden post 8-1 win over Warrensburg-Latham