Unity bats hot against T-town, Rockets win 11th game this season

TOLONO - Unity's Chloe Duitsman snags a ground ball while playing center field against Teutopolis on Saturday. Batting three times, the junior had two hits, including a double, and three RBIs in the Rockets' 10-2 win over the visiting Wooden Shoes. More photos from this game coming soon.

5 Questions with Ruby Tarr

Photo:Sentinel/Clark Brooks
TOLONO - After nine games this season, Unity's Ruby Tarr has scored 11 times and batted in 13 runs to assist in leading her softball team to a 6-2-1 early-season record.

The Sentinel caught up with her after the Rockets' home game against Oakwood last month where she scored once, collected two stolen bases, and singled in her two trips to the plate.

We asked a few questions to get to know the senior infielder better.
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SENTINEL: What is your dream job?

TARR: A speech pathologist at a school.
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SENTINEL: What is your favorite pre-game meal or snack?

TARR: Goldfish (crackers).
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SENTINEL: Who is your favorite actor or actress?

TARR: Reese Witherspoon.
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SENTINEL: Which movie describes your life so far?

TARR: Oh my, a movie ... Benchwarmers.
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SENTINEL: What is your favorite Taylor Swift song?

TARR: You Belong With Me.
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First inning rally pushes Unity past Oakwood

TOLONO - Good things come in threes, especially for Jenna Adkins on Monday during the Rockets' home game against Oakwood.

With a smile on her face, Jenna Adkins heads to home plate after sending a bomb out to right field in the first inning to give the Rockets a 1-0 lead against visiting Oakwood.

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks
Leading off for Unity (3-1) in the bottom of the first inning, Atkins crushed the third pitch, sending it over the right field fence. If it wasn't for the 25 m.p.h.-plus cross wind out of the southeast, the ball could have sailed another 10 yards past the vehicles parked on the other side of the fence.

"It's always a windy day at the Unity HS Softball field! However, last night was so odd," exclaimed Unity head coach Aimee Davis. "When I was hitting ground balls to the infield, the wind even had an influence on those and the direction they went after contact."

She pointed out that "fly balls were hard to read" due to the steady, unrelenting wind. It was amazing there weren't more errors than the one recorded by the Comets in the four-inning affair that ended 14-0 in favor of the Rockets.

"I do not think I have played or coached in a windier game than last night. It was wild," Davis said.

Adkins' homer was just the start. Unity tallied six more runs, the last courtesy of Atkins, whose single put Taylor Drennan across the plate for the final run of the inning.

Gracie Enos throws a pitch during the first innning. Despite throwing 25 strikes out of her 38 pitches, the senior suffered eight runs on eight hits against the Rockets.

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks
"When you can start the game with a leadoff homerun, that sets the tone for the rest of the game," Davis said.

Adkins finished the non-conference game with three hits in her three at-bats and booked three RBIs.

"Jenna had another great at-bat and hit the ball square. We need that from her, and she wants to have good outcomes up to bat," Davis said. "She's followed by solid hitters that get their jobs done."

The Rockets scattered a hit from nine different batters in the lineup. Grace Bickers, Sophia Beckett, and Reese Frye had two RBIs each.

"Our offensive lineup is a good one, and we are starting to see more consistency up and down, which is positive to see as a coach," Davis added. "Defensively, we have a solid pitching staff and an infield and outfield that play great supporting roles."

The Comets (1-3) mustered just three hits courtesy of Karleigh Nelson, Gracie Hanner, and Caydence Vermillion. Oakwood's only opportunity to score came in the top of the third inning, loading the bases with Olivia Fegett on third, Nelson on second, and Gracie Hanner on first.

With two outs already on the board, Gracie Enos popped out to Rockets' Ruby Tarr at shortstop, erasing the threat.

Lindy Bates earned the pitching win. The senior struck out five batters. Meanwhile, Vermillion took the loss for the Comets.

"This team is fun to watch and hungry to see success," Davis said. "They have worked long and hard to reach this point. They are ready to see what this season has to offer."


Rockets score seven in the first inning to blank visiting Comets

Unity's Danika Eisenmenger takes a swing at an Oakwood pitch in the bottom of the third of their non-conference game on windy Monday afternoon. Scoring seven runs in the first inning, the Rockets took a commanding lead on the way to 14-0 shutout against the visiting Comets (1-3) despite sustained wind out of the southeast exceeding 25 mph at times.

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

This week's Unity Athletics calendar

CHARLESTON - Unity's Briana Ritchie hands the baton off to Jillian Schlittler while running in the preliminary heat for the Class 2A 4x100 at the IHSA Girls' State Track & Field Finals in 2023. Along with lead-off runner Kayla Nelson and anchor Lauren Miller, the Rockets' set a new personal best at 49.17, qualifying for the finals on Saturday. The foursome finished in 8th place in the finals at the state meet at O'Brien Stadium with a time of 49.72.

The girls' track team starts their outdoor season one week from tomorrow at Clinton for a quad meet with Seneca, Argenta-Oreana, and their host. The meet is scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m.

Below is this week's schedule for the Unity High School sports teams.


Unity's fifth inning rally crushes Mahomet-Seymour in softball opener

MAHOMET - Up 7-5 on the scoreboard at the top of the fifth inning, the Unity softball team loaded their side of the scoreboard with 11 runs before host Mahomet-Seymour could finally put a stop to the carnage from last season's Class A Sweet Sixteen team. Three Bulldog fly balls later, the Rockets celebrated their first win of the season with an 18-5 victory.

Lindy Bates and Ruby Tarr tallied three hits each. Bates smacked a two-run homer to center field in the fourth inning and pounded a two-run double in the fifth inning. She finished the game with five RBIs in the road opener. Tarr did one better, collecting six RBIs on three hits and crossing the plate just once for the Rockets.

Bates pitched a complete game to earn the win. She gave up five runs on eight hits and struck out three.

Unity's bats were smoking, racking up 16 hits and 16 RBI. Jenna Adkins, Sophia Beckett, Taylor Drennan, and McKayla Schendel had two hits each, combining for three RBIs.

Ava Henderson led the Bulldogs with two hits and three RBIs. Madeleine Cortez was credited with two RBIs and scored one run for her team.

Unity plays the first home game on Thursday at 4:30 pm at the school's sports complex against Normal Community.


Seventh inning smash seals Unity win over Quincy Notre Dame

QUINCY - It was even-Steven on the scoreboard at The Backyard, home field to the Raiders of Quincy Notre Dame. Tied at six-all at the top of the 7th inning, Unity's Sophia Beckett hovered over the plate as QND's Caitlyn Bunte hurled a strike past her. On the next pitch, Beckett stepped into the ball, pounding it over the center field wall for solo home run to put the Rockets up by one, 7-6.

The run was all Unity needed after a flawless defensive effort to hold the Raiders scoreless in the bottom of the final frame for their 20th win of the season.

Sophia Beckett
PhotoNews Media
Unity's Sophia Beckett makes a catch while playing first base during her team's non-conference home game against Cissna Park in April. Beckett delivered Saturday's road win over Quincy Notre Dame by way of a seventh-inning solo home run.

The victory marked Rockets' head coach Aimee Davis' fourth consecutive 20-win season.

Davis, who was unaware of the milestone, said this season has been about making progress.

"We had to figure out who could do what and who was going to make the plays down the stretch. Fortunately for us, we had quite a few players on our team last year and the year before that continue to do good things for us," Davis said. "Our senior class of Abbie Pieczynski, Reece Sarver, and Ashlyn Miller have been great teammates for us this season, really taking control of "their" squad."

Stacking 99 wins against 25 losses in the past four seasons and back-to-back trips to the Final Four, Davis has certainly built a winning culture at Unity. Like the school's football team, the diamond girls aren't rebuilding, they are now reloading every year.

"We have a great junior and sophomore class that have really stepped up to the occasion," Davis added. "Junior Ruby Tarr has been a three-year starter for us, which has helped us tremendously this year. Sophomores Jenna Adkins and Lindy Bates played varsity last year, so they know what is expected."

Unity opened the contest with a two-run lead from the get-go in the first inning and tacked on a third run at the top of the second. QND then answered with a three-run rally to knot the contest up at three-all.

After two scoreless innings, Unity put two more runs up. The first was courtesy of Beckett's line-drive double to center field, scoring courtesy runner Reagan Little, who entered the game for Sarver. Then Maddie Rothe put Bunte's first pitch in play with a hard ground ball to Raider shortstop Abbey Schreacke. Beckett raced from second to home plate, giving the Rockets a 5-3 advantage.

Notre Dame responded with two runs thanks to a two-out line drive from Logan Pieper plating runs from baserunners Amber Durst and Page Blivens.

Tied at five a piece, both teams added another run to their half of the scoreboard before Beckett's homerun shot.

"Ashlyn (Miller) and Lindy (Bates) have really put us in great positions to win on the mound," Davis said, praising her pitching staff. "They allow their defense to help them, and they can both contribute offensively- which is also a plus."

Davis and Rockets look to add another mark in the win column today when they host St. Thomas More in an Illini Prairie league game.

"We are playing well, and we are looking to continue that moving through the tail end of the season," Davis said. "Our grit and never-give-up attitude against Quincy Notre Dame was very nice to see. We are showing we can do it, we can win, and can compete with good teams."


Ruby Tarr hits homer, leads Rockets in 14-4 win over Prairie Central

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
FAIRBURY - Ruby Tarr swings at a Cissna Park pitch on Tuesday, April 11. The senior led the Rockets' offense in their Illini Prairie Conference road game last Friday at Prairie Central with two hits, including a home run, and four RBI in a 14-4 drubbing. The league victory extends the Unity softball team's current win streak to nine games. Tarr and Rockets (18-1 overall, 5-1 conference) are back on the home turf on Tuesday in a make-up contest against St. Anthony.



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