Fred@mahometnews.com

St. Joseph-Ogden baseball pitchers extended their streak of scoreless innings to 23 and the team’s winning streak to five games by finishing the week with three victories.

The state-ranked Spartans (No. 10 in Class 2A by Maxpreps) dispatched St. Thomas More, 12-0, at home on Thursday (March 21) in their Illini Prairie Conference opener and then turned around with back-to-back victories at Monticello on Saturday (March 23), defeating New Berlin, 2-0, and Jacksonville Routt, 3-1.

Bryson Houchens shut out St. Thomas More, limiting the Sabers to one hit in five innings. He walked no one and struck out 10.

Will Haley and Braxton Waller each connected for two hits for SJ-O.

Jared Altenbaumer, Luke Landrus and Waller all drove in two runs. Altenbaumer, Tanner Jacob, Landrus and Waller all tallied two runs.

Jacob stole four bases.

Against New Berlin, Landrus fashioned a five-inning, one-hitter. He walked two and fanned seven. Asher Pruemer threw the final two innings, allowing no hits and striking out one batter.

Jacob and Waller both lashed two hits.

Nolan Earley and Waller had the team’s RBI. Jacob and Landrus each scored runs.

Against Routt, Altenbaumer worked four scoreless and hitless innings. He walked four and struck out four.

Trevor Ames pitched the final three innings, yielding a seventh-inning run that snapped the scoreless streak at 23 innings. Ames walked no one and fanned two batters.

Altenbaumer and Jacob both pounded two hits. Altenbaumer, Houchens and Landrus knocked in runs. Scoring runs were Jacob, Landrus and Waller.SJ-O (7-1) returns to action on Monday (March 25) at Salt Fork.

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Luke Zimmerman and Brady Clodfelder stroked two hits apiece for Villa Grove, which knocked off Heritage, 13-3, on Monday in a first-round Class 1A regional baseball tournament game at home.

Zimmerman tallied three runs. Crossing home plate two times each were Nolan Morse, Jake Gilles and Cooper Clark.

Clodfelder belted two triples and drove in two runs.

Clark (4-3) pitched all five innings, yielding three hits and four walks. He struck out a season-high 12 hitters.

On Wednesday (May 18), the Blue Devils suffered a 13-3 semifinal loss to Decatur St. Teresa in the Salt Fork Regional.

VG was limited to three hits, singles by Gavin Kiser, Tyler Wilson and Luke Zimmerman.

Wilson and Clark drove in runs. Clodfelder,  Morse and Zimmerman tallied runs.

The team’s seniors were Liam Barr, Wilson and Kylee Witte.

Three players hit over .300 for the season. Zimmerman (.397) was the leader, followed by Peyton Smith (.362) and Sam Bender (.358).

Zimmerman led in RBI (17) and Clodfelder led in stolen bases (15).

Clark led the team in pitching wins (four) and Bender had the most strikeouts (37). Bender, Clark and Parker Knierim had the most pitching appearances (11).

Villa Grove finishes the season with an overall record of 8-14.

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Luke Zimmerman drove in three runs and Jake Gilles drove in two runs for Villa Grove on Monday (May 9), but the Blue Devils fell short, 15-5, in a baseball game at Argenta-Oreana.

Villa Grove was limited to four hits, including a triple by Gilles and a double by Brady Clodfelder. Zimmerman and Gavin Kiser had the team’s other hits.

Cooper Clark (3-3) pitched five innings and registered four strikeouts.

On Tuesday (May 10), the Blue Devils dropped a 7-4 decision at home to Salt Fork.

Zimmerman had two hits and two stolen bases. He had an RBI as did Sam Bender and Peyton Smith.

Bender struck out seven in 5 2/3 innings and absorbed the loss.

Villa Grove (7-13) is a No. 7 seed for a Class 1A regional tournament and will play at home on Monday (May 16) against Heritage.

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Liam Barr and Luke Zimmerman drove in two runs apiece on Friday (May 6) as Villa Grove topped Heritage, 11-8, in a baseball game on the Blue Devils’ field.

Sam Bender, Peyton Smith and Tyler Wilson all scored two runs for Villa Grove. Smith and Wilson swatted doubles, the team’s only extra-base hits.

Brady Clodfelder and Parker Knierim combined to pitch a two-hitter. Knierim worked the final three hitless and scoreless innings and picked up the win. He walked four and struck out five.

Clodfelder walked five and fanned seven.

The Blue Devils overcame a 8-6 deficit with a four-run fifth inning.

Villa Grove (7-11) returns to action on Monday (May 9) at Argenta-Oreana.

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Peyton Smith and Luke Zimmerman each registered a double and a triple among their three hits on Monday (May 2), but Villa Grove dropped a baseball slugfest at Okaw Valley, 15-11.

Brady Clodfelder contributed two hits to the Blue Devils’ total. He also stole three bases.

Smith and Zimmerman both finished with three RBI and two runs scored.

Villa Grove (6-11) returns to action on Friday (May 6) at home against Heritage.

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Sam Bender continued his recent torrid hitting streak, registering three of five Villa Grove hits on Thursday (April 28) in a 3-0 baseball loss at home to Arcola.

In his last three games, Bender is 8-for-12.

Other teammates with hits against Arcola were Carson Block and Tyler Wilson.

Brady Clodfelder pitched a complete game, walking one and striking out five.

Villa Grove (6-10) returns to action on Monday (May 2) at Okaw Valley.

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Peyton Smith drove in five runs on Monday (April 25), but Heritage came up on the short end of a 16-9 baseball loss at home to Toledo Cumberland.

Smith and Sam Bender each logged three hits. Bender and Luke Zimmerman both scored three runs. Tyler Wilson drove in two runs.

Bender pitched five innings and struck out four. He took the loss. Parker Knierim worked the final two innings and recorded three strikeouts.

On Wednesday (April 27), Cooper Clark fired a seven-inning three-hitter and picked up the win after a two-run seventh-inning rally by the Blue Devils resulted in a 2-1 win at Decatur Lutheran.

Liam Barr and Jake Gillis scored the team’s two runs. Bender collected two of the six VG hits and Brady Clodfelder had an RBI.

Clark walked no one and struck out five. He did not allow an earned run.

Villa Grove (6-9) returns to action on Friday (April 29) at home against Arcola.

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Brady Clodfelder and Parker Knierim combined on a five-hitter  on Friday (April 22) as Villa Grove posted its second straight shutout victory, 5-0, at Blue Ridge.

Clodfelder struck out four and walked two in six innings. He scattered four hits. Knierim worked the final inning, logging three strikeouts and yielding one hit.

Peyton Smith and Luke Zimmerman laced two hits apiece. Zimmerman stole three bases on a day the Blue Devils swiped nine bases.

Jake Gilles scored two runs and stole two bases. Tyler Wilson also swiped two bases.

Villa Grove (5-8) returns to action on Monday (April 25) at home against Toledo Cumberland.

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All nine Villa Grove starters produced at least one hit – and Chloe Reardon, Maci Clodfelder and Madison Hinds each had three – as the Blue Devils overpowered Georgetown-Ridge Farm, 11-1, in Georgetown.

Two of Reardon’s hits were doubles.

Kaylee Arbuckle, Emma Bratten-Noice and Logan Lillard wound up with two hits apiece. Alex Brown collected three RBI and Arbuckle knocked in two runs.

Bratten-Noice, Clodfelder and Alison Pangburn all tallied two runs.

Lillard pitched two innings and earned the win. She allowed one unearned run, walked no one and struck out two. Brown worked four innings in relief, issuing no walks while recording four strikeouts.

Villa Grove (12-11) returns to action on Monday (April 25) at Cerro Gordo.

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Cooper Clark threw the first shutout by a Villa Grove baseball pitcher this spring on Tuesday (April 19), in a 13-0 decision at home over Fisher.

Clark scattered three hits and issued two walks in his five-inning stint. He struck out six batters.

He was backed by an offense that included three hits from Sam Bender and two from Luke Zimmerman. Each player had two RBI.

Parker Stevens drove in three runs and Liam Bar added two RBI. Scoring two runs apiece were Clark, Stevens, Tyler Wilson and Zimmerman.

On Monday (April 18), the Blue Devils were handed a 16-1 loss at Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond.

Jake Gilles drove in Brady Clodfelder with the lone VG run. Clodfelder stole three bases.

Bender took the pitching loss. Parker Knierim recorded two strikeouts in11/3 innings of relief.

Villa Grove (4-8) returns to action on Friday at Blue Ridge.

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