Unity takes 2nd at conference meet, SJO girls 5th

Unity's Taylor Joop runs at 2019 state meet

Fourteen area long distance runners competed in this year's Illini Prairie Conference meet held Saturday at the Woodard Family Park and Sports Complex. By the time trodden grassy surface settled, the Unity girls cross country squad learned of their second place team finish via 45 points tallied in the team competition. Ninety-six points behind them, host St. Joseph-Ogden finished in fifth place with 136.

Individually, Rockets' Erica Woodard paced all area runners around the course closing out her race in 18 minutes, 18 seconds for a fourth place overall finish. Nearly a minute later, teammates Caelyn Kleparski (8th) and Taylor Joop (9th) crossed the finish line at 19:12 and 19:15, respectively.

Ava Knap let the Spartan contingent finishing the 3-mile course with a time of 20:19.21. She was followed over the line by Helene Jones and Chloe Burkholter to round SJO's top three finishers. Jones finished two spots behind Knap in 23rd place overall. Meanwhile, Burkholter ended her run 30th out of 56 runners on Saturday.

This year's meet champion was Monticello with 29 points. Olympia won third place honors with a score of 90 points.

Illini Prairie Conference meet results:

4	Erica Woodard	Unity	18:18.00
8	Caelyn Kleparski	Unity	19:12.99
9	Taylor Joop	Unity	19:15.09
11	Elizabeth Hulick	Unity	19:26.23
13	Olivia Shike	Unity	19:38.08
16	Malla Fairbanks	Unity	19:55.97
20	Ava Knap	SJO	20:19.21
22	Helene Jones	SJO	20:28.93
26	Audrey Remole	Unity	20:45.34
29	Chloe Burkholter	SJO	20:58.85
31	Malorie Sarnecki	SJO	21:03.39
34	Kailyn Ingram	SJO	21:11.77
35	Addie Allen	SJO	21:22.56
39	Ashlyn Lannert	SJO	21:49.06

Prep Sports Notebook: Unity softball wins 2, SJO baseball rebounds for a conference win

Unity's Joop and Jones earn All-Conference accolades

Unity's Taylor Joop and Logan Jones learned last week that they are All-Conference Scholar Athletes for the 2020-21 academic year by the Illini Prairie Conference. Both received recognition at luncheon held at Illinois State University on April 29.

Rockets' Taylor Joop puts the ball in play during her team's home game against Central Catholic. Joop, who plans to continue her academic and athletic career at Heartland College, scored the game-winning run in Unity's 5-4 win on Saturday. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Knott sets new school record in the shot

St. Joseph-Ogden senior Hayden Knott raised the bar in the shot put setting a new school record with a throw of 17.14 meters on Saturday at the Rantoul Invite. The toss was also good enough to secure a first place finish in the event with throwers from Hersher, Danville and Pleasant Plains among the field of 17 competitors.

Knott also placed first in the discus throw beating his nearest competition by nearly 2 meters. His winning throw went 53.70 meters.

Miller, Altenbaumer pile on RBIs

Together, St. Joseph-Ogden's Coby Miller and Tyler Altenbaumer tallied nine RBIs, four and five respectively, in the Spartans' 17-9 win over Monticello on Saturday.

Miller was 3-for-3 and Andrew Beyers (3 RBI) added a 3-for-5 performance from the batter's box.

Zach Martinie picked up the win for the Spartans while Monticello's Cole Dasher suffered the loss after the conference pairing.

SJO improves to 10-1 on the season following their 3-run loss to Mahomet-Seymour at home on Friday.

Unity softball picks up second conference win

Unity Taylor Joop scored the winning, go-ahead run on a fly ball from Ruby Tarr in the bottom of the 6th innning in the Unity softball team's conference game against Central Catholic on Saturday.

Pitcher Taylor Henry had 3 hits and on RBI. Hailey Flesch secured one hit in four trips to the plate and delivered a pair of RBI.

Facing 29 batters, Henry gave up 9 hits and 4 runs after 104 pitches.

Good Graces win for the Rockets

Grace Frye earned a pitching win after seven innings, allowing two runs on five hits, striking out five and walking one in a 6-2 softball decision over Newton.

Meanwhile, Gracie Renfrow was 3-for-3 and pushed 2 runs across the plate for the Rockets. She collected a triple on a fly ball to center on her third pitch in the bottom of the 3rd inning allowing Erica Steinman to score and homered two innings later on a solo shot to right field.

The win keeps Unity season untarnished at 6-0. Frye and Renfrow host Villa Grove on Monday at 4pm and have a game 2 rematch against Central Catholic on the road on Tuesday.

Spartan track team win Invite title

The St. Joseph-Ogden boys track team tallied 178 points to win this year's Rantoul Invite title.

Monticello finished in second place with 162 points and host Rantoul collected 106 points for a third place finish. Unity finished 6th (77 points) in the 12-team field.

SJO's Brady Buss took second in the 200-meter dash, Brandon Mattsey clocked a 4:53.12 in the 1600-meter run for the meet title and Hayden Knott won both throwing event to lift the Spartans on Saturday.

Unity baseball team drops first loss

After a dominating 2-0 start, the Rockets' baseball team fell 7-4 on the road to Illinois Valley Central (7-1) on Saturday.

Damian Knoll took the loss after a two-inning appearance scattering 4 hits and 3 walks.

Knoll (1 RBI) along with Blake Kimball scored one run apiece. Tyler Hensch, 1-for-3 from the plate, also had one RBI and double.

3 Spartan homers crush Sages

Sandwiched between two home runs by Shayne Immke, St. Joseph-Ogden's Kaylee Ward went deep in the seventh inning for one of her own. Immke put the first of two homers out of the park in the 1st inning and repeated her effort with another in the fifth.

The hot bats, which helped SJO to improve to a 7-4 season, allowed the Spartans to easily win, 12-6.

Scoring in five of their seven innings, St. Joseph-Ogden tacked on a pair of runs in each of the last three innings of the game to pull away on the scoreboard.

Pitching duties were shared with Alyssa Acton, who earned the win after five innings, and Sophia Martlage closed out the game with 20 pitches in the last 2 innings.

Rockets runner-up at sectional cross-country meet, SJO finishes 5th

The top five places at Saturday's IHSA sectional cross country meet in Forsyth was dominated by the Illini Prairie Conference.

The Unity girls cross country team tallied 69 points for a second-place finish at yesterday's sectional cross country meet at Hickory Point Golf Course on Saturday. The St. Joseph-Ogden contingent placed 5th with 150 points. Monticello won the sectional title scoring 51 points.

It took the Rockets' Erica Woodard, who was The Sentinel area's top finisher, 38 seconds longer to complete the course she ran seven days earlier. The freshman standout crossed the finish line sixth place at 18:59.9. Meanwhile, senior Taylor Joop, the second Unity runner to finish, turned in a nearly identical time to last week's regional run at 19:18.5. Woodard was sixth overall and Joop was the 11 runner to end her prep cross country career.

Rounding out the Rocket's top three was another frosh harrier, Caelyn Kleparski, who circumvented the course in 19 minutes, 24.8 seconds good for 13th place.

The Spartans' top three finishers crossed in the same order as they did on their previous journey around the familiar course.

Junior Ava Knap led SJO's effort clocking in at 19:37.3 with only a four second difference between this and the previous weekend's performance. She finished 19th out the field of 117 runners.

Helene Jones (19:49.7) and Chloe Burkhalter (20:25.2) finished in 23rd and 36th place, respectively, for the Spartans.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic there will be no IHSA state meet this season.

2020 St. Teresa Sectional Results -

6. Erica Woodard (Unity) 18:59.9, 11. Taylor Joop (Unity) 19:18.5, 13. Caelyn Kleparski (Unity) 19:24.8, 19. Ava Knap (St. Joseph-Ogden) 19:37.3, 21. Olivia Shike (Unity) 19:44.6, 23. Helene Jones (St. Joseph-Ogden) 19:49.7, 27. Elizabeth Hulick (Unity) 20:06.3, 28. Malia Fairbanks (Unity) 20:07.3, 29. Briana Ritchie (Unity) 20:10.8, 36. Chloe Burkhalter (St. Joseph-Ogden) 20:25.2, 38. Malorie Sarnecki (St. Joseph-Ogden) 20:32.2, 51. Kailyn Ingram (St. Joseph-Ogden) 20:53.5, 65. Ashlyn Lannert (St. Joseph-Ogden) 21:35.9, 70. Addie Allen (St. Joseph-Ogden) 21:47.1.

32 juniors make Unity's first semester high honor roll

Malia Fairbanks, Phillip Hartke and Grace Renfrow are three of 32 members of the junior class who achived a grade point average of 3.75 or better at Unity High after the first semester. Forty-eight students from the class of 2024 will also be recognized as high honors students on January 26 along with the entire list of students below who made the honor roll or attained high honors status from their efforts between August 19 and December 22.

Students earning a GPA of 3.20 to 3.74 are recognized as honor students.

Seniors

High Honor: Emma Aders; Evelyn Atkins; Rachel Branson; Marissa Charleston; Gracie Cox; Brooke Garretson; Shay Haluzak; Maggie Hewing; Elizabeth Hulilck; Taylor Joop, Olivia Kleiss; Madelyn Moore; Korie Novak; Kimberely Pruitting; Daisy Rawlings; Annie Schmidt; Mia Shannon; Lillian Styan; Jonah Sullivan; Cerra Thompson; and Kyleigh Weller.

Honor: Caroline Bachert; Alyson Bagwell; Brandon Bates; Isabella Bryant; Corbin Cox; Summer Day; Nathan Drennan; Corrina Duvall; Emma Felsman; Shannon Flavin; Alyssa Hartman; Ellen Henning; William Jokisch; Evan LeFaivre; Emily Lopez; Suzanne Migut; Andrew Miller; Aubryanna Norman; Connor ODonnell; Brady Porter; Chloee Reed; Conner Sharp; Ryan Vasey; Nolan Wallace; Caden Wingler; and Laela Zook.

Juniors

High Honor: Katelyn Allen; Marie Baxley; Emma Bleecher; Zayne Bonner; Grace Brock; Sarah Butler; Thomas Cler; Sophia Darnell; Nolan Decker; Allyson England; Malia Fairbanks; Harper Hancock; Cameran Hansen; Phillip Hartke; Elise Johnson; Annabell Jokisch; Delaney Kamradt; Carli Keller; Lauryn Kennedy; Carson Kleparski; Addison Montgomery; Sydney Olson; Kaitlyn Reedy; Grace Renfrow; Samantha Ruggieri; Allison Shonkwiler; Sara Steffens; Erika Steinman; Shelbee Taylor; Isabella Warner; and Destiny Williamson.

Honor: Savannah Alagna; Cody Broadfoot; Calli Chandler; Marshall Church; Kystal Crossin; Evelyn Eastin; Hunter Evans; Hailey Flesch; Grace Frye; Tristania Hansen; Bridget Henry; Taylor Henry; Tyler Hensch; Clayton Jamison; Payton Kaiser; Blake Kimball; Macie Knudsen; Alexandrea Lemon; Alida Maggio; Claire Markstahler; Cameron Marvin; Hanna Mataya; Nolan Miller; Cole Newell; Konnor Orwick; Trustan Price; Madeline Reed; Dillion Rutledge; Alaina Scroggins; Kelley Street; and Taylor Wiersema.

Sophomores

High Honor: Rachel Aders; Caleb Amias; Emily Anderlik; Emmalee Atkins; Mary Bryant; Anthony Chaney; Anna Clark; Lauren Cooke; Hunter Duncan; Brendan Graven; Roger Holben; Erin Lopez; Andrew Manrique; Jayci McGraw; Jolie Meyer; Lauren Miller; Dylan Moore; Andrew Mowrer; Mason Perry; Abigail Pieczynski; Julia Ping; Audrey Remole; Sarah Rink; Reece Sarver; Kaitlyn Schweighart; Annabelle Steg; Raena Stierwalt; Sophia Stierwalt; Avery White; and Luke Williamson.

Honor: Calvin Baxley; Maria Buffo; Haley Carrington; Jayden Clem; Annah Cloin; Joshua Davidson; Paige Farney; Boden Franklin; Brandon Goyne; Haylen Handal; Tyler Liffick Worrell; Kayla Nelson; Ellen Ping; Cale Rawdin; Alivia Renfoe; Emma Stratton; Emmilia Tieman; Ava Vasey; Garrett Wingler; and Kara Young.

Freshmen

High Honor: Evelyn Albaugh; Payton Bradley; Connor Cahill; Analyse Carter; Rebecca Carter; Kendra Cromwell; Desire De Los Santos; Taylor Drennan; Natalie Ellars; Bailey Grob; Madison Henry; Brooke Hewing; Shelby Hoel; Caroline Jamison; Eden Johnson; Cassidy Keller; Caelyn Kleparski; Reagan Little; Zachary Lorbiecki; Tatum Meyer; Eric Miebach; Katelyn Moore; Lauren Neverman; Dalton O’Neill; Anna Polonus; Ava Price; Meredith Reed; Maci Richmond; Briana Ritchie; Isaac Ruggieri; Aubrey Sanders; Aubrey Schaefer; Olivia Shike; Grant Siuts; Logan Siuts; Carsyn Smith; Piper Steele; Lily Steffens; Brock Suding; Ruby Tarr; Andrew Thomas; Henry Thomas; Breanna Weller; Jeremy Wells; Erica Woodard; Abigail Woolcott; Emberly Yeazel; and Madysen York.

Honor: Brendan Bachert; Kiersten Bash; Nathan Bleecher; Brenlee Dalton; Elianna Duo; Kamryn Edenburn; Emma Fish; Mike Gray; Margaret Ingleman; Bayleigh Jones; Jocelyn LeFaivre; Trevor McCarter; Dean Niswonger; Gabriel Pound; Zachary Renfrow; James Rennels; Amelia Rinella Flores; Santiago Sanchez Castillo, Erin Sanders; McKayla Schendel; Carly Scroggins; Matthew Short; Josephine Stierwalt; Lynndsay Talbott; Kate Thomas; Aileen Vasquez Munoz; Aidan Ward; Bailey Wayne; Bryson Weaver; Kolten Wells; and Tanner Wells.

Photo-of-the-Day: January 4, 2022

Putting the ball in play

Senior Taylor Joop takes a swing at a Westville pitch during Unity's home game on April 27, 2021. The Rockets, who would later finished the season in fourth-place at Class 2A state finals, shutout the Tigers, 6-0. See more photos from this game.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

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Woodard leads Rockets to regional cross country title, SJO 4th

Unity's Erica Woodard crossed the finish line at the St. Teresa regional at 18:21 good for fourth place overall in a field of 89 runners. The Rockets' rising star was followed in by five teammates all finishing in top 15 places to secure the postseason title at Hickory Point Golf Course on Saturday.

Just 27 seconds over her best time in her short prep career on Saturday, Woodard turned in the best time of her prep career back on September 19 at Darcy Trails for the Shelbyville-Marshall-Unity triangle meet.

Caelyn Kleparski, Taylor Joop and Olivia Shike clocked in within a 16 second period 8-9-10, respectively, for 24 points. Malia Fairbanks rounded out the top five Rocket runners 13th overall at 19:33.9. Unity finished with a meet best of 40 points.

Unity along with St. Joseph-Ogden, who finished in fourth place with 104 points, advance to next Saturday's sectional meet to run on the same course.

The Spartans were led by junior Ava Knap and her season best time of 19.33.3.

Crusing in behind Knap for the Spartans was Helene Jones. A freshman, Jones went out for cross country when the fall volleyball season was put on-hold due to restrictions by the state in the effort to control the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Setting a new PR of 19:36.0, the first-time harrier shaved nearly three minutes off her initial three-mile time of 22:14.

Later, 22 minutes and 37 seconds after her race started Chloe Burkhalter was followed in by teammates Malorie Sarnecki and Ashlyn Lannert to pick up needed points to extend the Spartans' running season one more week.

Regional Results:
4. Erica Woodard (Unity) 18:21.0
8. Caelyn Kleparski (Unity) 19:13.8
9. Taylor Joop (Unity) 19:15.3
10. Olivia Shike (Unity) 19:29.4
12. Ava Knap (SJO) 19:33.3
13. Malia Fairbanks (Unity) 19:33.9
14. Helene Jones (SJO) 19:36.0
15. Elizabeth Hulick (Unity) 19:43.0
18. Caroline Bachert (Unity) 20:03.8
25. Chloe Burkhalter (SJO) 20:37.6
28. Malorie Sarnecki (SJO) 20:52.3
30. Ashlyn Lannert (SJO) 20:57.5
34. Kailyn Ingram (SJO) 21:02.6
38. Addie Allen (SJO) 21:16.9

Prep Sports Notebook: Henry records shutout for Unity, SJO gets no-hitter

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.

Prep Sports Notebook: Unity softball wins home opener, SJO volleyball post 17 wins

SJO softball splits DH

Addison Frick went 2-for-4 with 3 RBIs in game two of St. Joseph-Ogden's road doubleheader against Atwood-Hammond-Arthur-Lovington.

Meanwhile, teammate Kennedy Hudson was 3-4 with a pair of RBI of her own in SJO's 10-4 win.

Alyssa Acton picked up the win after facing 75 batters.

The win came after the Spartans dropped game one, 2-1.

Facing pitcher Makenzie Brown, SJO produced just four hits against the University of Tulsa commit.

Sophia Martlage, who scored the team's only run, took the loss for the Spartans surrendering two runs on six hits over six innings.

Henry earns first pitching win for Unity, Rockets settle game in six

Madeline Reed and Hailey Flesch had three hits apiece to give Unity their first win of the season. The Rockets rolled Mount Zion, 13-3 at home.

Thanks to the Coronavirus pandemic, was softball-less for exactly 700 days since the Rockets' softball team last played a competitive inning.

Reed, along with Gracie Renfrow and Taylor Joop booked 2 RBI apiece.

Junior hurler Taylor Henry gave up seven hits on 100 pitches and struck out eight after six innings of play on her way to her first win of the season.

Spartan baseball team remains undefeated

After seven games, the St. Joseph-Ogden baseball team's record remains untarnished by a loss.

The latest victory for the 7-0 Spartans was a sweet one on the road at Teutopolis. Back in 2017, the Wooden Shoes denied the SJO program a Class 2A state championship trophy after a 10-2 win over the Spartans.

SJO's Hayden Brazelton, who went 5-for-5 at the plate, doubled in his first at-bat, singled in the second, tripled in the fourth, singled on his next two trips in the sixth and eighth innings. He led the team with 3 RBI.

Sophomore Ty Pence picked up the win bring the heat in the last three innings of a game that went one extra inning. He struck out four Wooden Shoe batters in his three-inning appearance on the hill.

Teutopolis' Derek Konkel, who took the pitching loss, saw a little more than an inning of action giving up two hits and three runs.

SJO volleyball team finishes on a high note

The Spartan volleyball program finished its spring season with an impressive 17 win, 3 loss record on Friday.

Kennedi Burnett led St. Joseph-Ogden with 6 kills, 1 assist, 3 digs and an ace to close out the season against Teutopolis.

Senior Payton Vallee put away 10 kills and notched five digs as the Spartans powered their way past the Wooden Shoes, 25-21 and 25-14.

Ashley Eldridge had five kills and two blocks.

Prep Sports Notebook: Unity beats VG, Spartan softball pounds STM

Still undefeated, Rockets bounce Villa Grove

Taylor Henry and Taylor Joop tallied three hits apiece in Unity's non-conference home game against Villa Grove.

The Rockets, who are ranked #17 in Class 2A in this week's ICA softball poll, collected at least one run in five of the six innings they played to beat the Blue Devils, 6-1.

Unity will put their undefeated 7-0 record on the line in their Illini Prairie game against Pontiac at home on Thursday.

SJO demolishes STM

Sophomore slugger Maggie Ward drove in four runs to help St. Joseph-Ogden pound St. Thomas More on the road, 18-1.

Alyssa Acton picked up the pitching win after giving up just two hits and one run out of her 58 pitches. The sophomore struck out seven Sabers after coming into the game in the bottom of the first inning.

Ward along with Kelsey Martlage (3 RBI) tapped out a pair of hits for the 8-4 Spartans.

SJO baseball robs bases at will from St. Thomas More

The Spartans rolled up ten stolen bases in their road game at St. Thomas More on Tuesday.

Andrew Beyers, Coby Miller and Ty Pence stole two bases each in SJO's 11-2 domination of the Sabers. Miller crossed the plate three times.

Tyler Altenbaumer surrendered just three hits on 86 pitches and struck out seven. Ty Pence closed out the contest with 22 pitches sacrificing one hit.

Prep Sports Notebook: SJO volleyball wins at home, spring sports fires up today

Spring sports season gets underway

Today was the first official day of baseball, softball and track for area high schools. The spring season, which is off to a late start, will conclude on June 19.

Last month, there was a bit of good news for athletes in these three sports. The IHSA said that "all tournaments are currently expected to conduct all rounds of competition, including a State Final. State Final qualifiers in some individual sports may be modified to better meet gathering mitigations."

Unity soccer

Fighting back valiantly from a 2-0 first half deficit, the Unity soccer team posted a 4-2 conference loss against Illinois Valley Central this afternoon.

The Rockets netted two goals, one from senior Zach Ohlsson and another from junior midfielder Grace Brock, on their home field in the second half.

The Grey Ghost also scored twice in second half to seal the Illini Prairie Conference win.

Vallee pounds 9 kills in SJO win

The St. Joseph-Ogden volleyball team notched a 2-0 win over visiting Urbana tonight behind 9 kills Payton Vallee. The senior's defensive effort yielded seven digs in the non-conference victory.

Senior hitter Kennedi Burnett added another seven kills of her own to help the #4 Class 2A ranked Spartans to take the first set 25-16 and prevail in the second 25-20. Burnett led team in service aces with four and had 12 digs.

Becca Steinbach was credited with 22 assists.

Next, SJO travels to Unity to take on the Rockets at the Rockets Center on Tuesday. The varsity contest is set for a 7pm start.

Unity ranked in preseason softball polls

The Unity softball program started practice today for the spring season and they did so with a #7 preseason ranking in Class 2A by the Illinois Coaches Association.

"It is really good for our program," said head coach Aimee Davis. "Having not played last year, it is a nice compliment to our program and the young ladies that make it special."

With just two seniors on the team this season, Davis said Summer Day and Taylor Joop's will lead a strong junior class.

"They know what it takes to win," she said about the duo. "Having those two return with a few other key players in Taylor Henry (junior), Maddie Reed (junior), Gracie Renfrow (junior), Grace Frye (junior) and Ally England (junior) all playing roles in our 2019 run, plus five other juniors and some underclassmen should be a good combo heading into this season."

She added that the players that wear the Unity softball uniform are a special bunch. "They work hard on and off the field. Being ranked in the preseason polls is a nice feeling, but we know there will be teams itching to play us and beat us."

While the pandemic and a canceled season may have left a scar on Davis and players, they are looking forward, not backwards, to heal the wounds.

"Last year was a big loss for our program, but we aren't unique in that situation, no teams played last year," she explained. "We have to compete everyday to own the vision we have for this program and this season."

Looking forward to late May, early June and the postseason, the coach with three regional titles under her belt in her five seasons at Unity does so with cautious apprehension.

"I am truly excited for our program to get the opportunity to showcase our talent, however, we are all too familiar with how quickly decisions can be made," she said referring the public health protocols that forced sports for nearly a year to cease in Illinois. "June is a bit too far away for me to get too excited. Once we get all of our girls back on the turf, the excitement will be there from coaches and players."

St. Joseph-Ogden was also listed in the preseason poll at #20 on the list.

Sweet victory for Rockets

Unable to contain her emotions, Unity pitcher Taylor Henry jumps with joy after watching teammate Allyson England catch a pop-up from Central Catholic's Isabelle Campbell in the top of the seventh inning signaling the last out of the game. The Illini Prairie Conference contest was knotted at four-all until Rockets' Ruby Tarr doubled on a 0-1 count allowing Taylor Joop to fly around the bases, from first to home, for the go-ahead run and the 5-4 victory. Henry pitched a complete game recording 13 strikeouts after 104 pitches tossed for the Class 2A state-ranked Rockets who improved to 5-0 on the season after the thrilling victory.