Oakwood started postseason play in softball on Wednesday (Sept. 8) by matching its season-high for runs scored in a 15-4 IESA Class 1A regional quarterfinal win at fourth-seeded Shiloh.

Sophia Hart was 4-for-5 to lead the Knights’ 14-hit attack. Teammates with at least two hits were Brooklynn Myers, Karleigh Nelson and Kendyl Rogers.

Caydence Vermillion stole four bases.

Matilyn Griffis pitched a complete game, allowing seven hits in seven innings. She recorded three strikeouts.

Fifth-seeded Oakwood (2-8) saw its season end on Saturday (Sept. 11) in a regional semifinal game at top-seeded Westville, 10-0.

Griffis pitched four innings and struck out three batters. Sophia Aquino had the lone hit for the Knights.

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Gracie Hanner and Caydence Vermillion both belted two hits on Thursday (Sept. 3), but the Oakwood Knights dropped an 11-3 softball decision on the road against Gifford.

Hanner’s run-scoring hit in the first lifted Oakwood into the early lead.

Vermillion pitched all seven innings and struck out five batters.

On Tuesday (Sept. 7), Oakwood outhit Salt Fork 10-5 but fell short in the runs scored column, 7-5, in the team’s regular-season finale.

The game at Salt Fork was called in the bottom of the fifth inning by lightning.

Vermillion, Matilyn Griffis and Karleigh Nelson led the hit parade for the Knights with two hits apiece.

Griffis pitched four innings, yielding five hits. She struck out one batter.

Fifth-seeded Oakwood (1-7) plays its Class 2A IESA regional opener on Wednesday (Sept. 8) at fourth-seeded Shiloh. The winner will play at top-seeded Westville on Saturday (Sept. 11).

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Caydence Vermillion pitched a complete game and Matilyn Griffis drove in three runs as Oakwood defeated Georgetown 8-6 in softball.

Vermillion struck out eight in seven innings.

Griffis knocked in two first-inning runs to get Oakwood into an early lead.

Brooklyn Myers had four hits and stole three bases. Teammates with at least two hits were Gracie Hanner, Sophia Hart and Karleigh Nelson.

The post Oakwood softball defeats Georgetown first appeared on SJO Daily.

Kendyl Rogers’ second-inning single was the lone hit for the Oakwood Knights’ softball team on Thursday (Aug.  19) in a 12-0 loss at home to Bismarck-Henning.

Caydence Vermillion pitched five innings for the Knights and struck out two batters.

Oakwood (0-5) returns to action on Thursday (Aug. 26) against Schlarman Academy in Danville.

The post Oakwood Softball falls to Bismarck-Henning first appeared on SJO Daily.

After the offense struggled in the first three games, the Oakwood Junior High Knights broke loose for 15 runs in their fourth softball game of the season, but dropped a heartbreaking 16-15 decision on Tuesday (Aug. 17) at Georgetown Mary Miller.

Karleigh Nelson and Matilyn Griffis each swatted three hits for the Knights, who out-hit Georgetown 14-3. Caydence Vermillion and Khloe Brouner had two hits apiece.

Vermillion pitched six innings in relief of Kendyl Rogers. She recorded three strikeouts.

On Monday (Aug. 16), Oakwood was shut out in its home opener, dropping a 15-0 decision to Westville. The Knights were limited to three hits, one each by Gracie Hanner, Sophia Hart and Sophia Aquino. Vermillion had two strikeouts in three innings.

Oakwood also lost twice in its season-opening tournament at Casey-Westfield on Saturday (Aug. 7). The Knights were beaten by Mount Zion 14-1 and by Hutsonville 11-1.

Vermillion collected two of the team’s three hits against Mount Zion. She also pitched five innings and had two strikeouts.

Against Hutsonville, Rogers fanned three batters in four innings. The Oakwood hits were by Nelson, Hart, Hanner and Brooklynn Myers.

Oakwood (0-4) returns to action on Thursday (Aug. 19) at home against Bismarck-Henning.

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Click here to see the photo gallery and order individual pictures: https://sjodaily.smugmug.com/2020-Oakwood-Softball/.

The post Oakwood Junior High Softball vs. Bismark Henning 2020 first appeared on SJO Daily.

fred@mahometnews.com

The final installment (fall, winter) in our series on area all-decade athletic teams concludes today with the release of the elite spring-sport athletes.

Before we get to the particular sports, we will recognize two athletes. The designation is for Male and Female Athlete of the Decade.

In a sense, the winners picked themselves for their high level of involvement in sports during their school years. Among the boys, three persons were selected to all-decade teams for each of the three seasons: Cameron Lee, Hunter Phelps and Chase Vinson.

Although the athlete who participates in three sports per school year generally warrants the most consideration for the top all-decade athlete award, it was impossible to overlook the achievements of Jon Davis in his two sports. Davis won a combined nine state championships between cross-country and track and field.

In all, he earned 10 state medals for top two placements and was the choice as Male Athlete of the Decade.

The Female Athlete of the Decade was a choice between three athletes who were recognized on three all-decade teams: Makenzie Baker, Kylie Neuman and Katelyn Young.

Young’s credentials separated her from the field. She is a two-time state-placer in track and field, a three-time All-Area first-team selection in basketball and a three-time All-Area second-team selection in volleyball.

Ten Oakwood girls were two-sport all-decade choices: Grace Davis, Brenna Durst, Sadie Edwards, Angela Elliott, Paiton Frerichs, Makayla Gayler, Amy Martin, Shelby Mascari, Ciara Pierce and Shaelyn Turner.

Thirteen Oakwood boys were feated on two all-decade teams: Mason Ajster, Gevin Ashikyan, Cody Ayers, Skylar Bolton, Cole Burrus, Caide Borden, Jon Davis, Casey Fletcher, Cameron Helka, Parker Lee, Skyler Slade, Hunter Tharp and Cameron Wise.

Before turning our attention to the spring-sport all-decade teams, two points should be remembered. The selections are based entirely on what the athlete did during high school. Subsequent college accolades were not taken into account.

Also, a great number of athletes from the school received All-Area first- or second-team honors during their time in high school and that recognition was the foundation for compiling the all-decade lists.

OAKWOOD BASEBALL

NAME                 POS. GRAD YR.

Skylar Bolton       C         2018
Jake England        P        2013
Casey Fletcher       INF         2011
Kyle Girton            INF 2015
Zach Girton           UTL 2012
Tyler Knight         P         2012
Cameron Lee        INF 2012
Hunter Phelps       INF 2017
Isaiah Ruch          P         2021
Taylor Turner    INF        2016
Chase Vinson      P         2018

Player of the Decade – Casey Fletcher, who earned first-team All-Area honors twice and batted .467 as a senior and .516 as a junior. He also had nine wins and 93 strikeouts as a junior.

OAKWOOD SOFTBALL

NAME                 POS. GRAD YR.

Madison Carleton C            2016
Tessa England     NA    2012
Paiton Frerichs   1B     2019
Hannah Grubb    3B         2016
Shelby Mascari   OF     2016
Karissa Nelson    NA       2012
Kylie Neuman     SS        2019
Kerrigan Shafer    P          2019
Shaelyn Turner    C          2018
Somer Wells        2B        2016
Ashley Wahlfeldt C          2012

Player of the Decade – Kylie Neuman, who burst onto the scene as a freshman pitcher and won 11 games, and then later became a two-time All-Area second-team selection as an infielder.

OAKWOOD BOYS’ TRACK AND FIELD

NAME                EVENT  GRAD YR.

Cole Burrus   Mid-Distance            2014
Jon Davis           Distance         2016
Bryce Dillman   Weights                 2017
Brandon Divan    Distance         2012
Shane Foley        Sprints         2012
Tyler Grey      Mid-Distance       2011
Cody Hansbraugh  Weights       2019
Cameron Helka     Distance 2019
Cameryn Taylor Sprints          2020
Erik Tharp               Jumps 2012
Cody Watson     Weights       2012
Jeremy Watson     Weights     2014
Cameron Wise       Jumps     2018

Athlete of the Decade – Jon Davis, who won both the 1,600- and 3,200-meter state championship races in Class 1A as a sophomore, junior and senior. He broke the state-meet record as a junior in the 3,200 and has overall times in the 1,600 (4:05.81) and 3,200 (8:55.17) that are among the top 11 all-time in state history. As a freshman, Davis was the state runner-up in the 1,600.

OAKWOOD GIRLS’ TRACK AND FIELD

NAME                   EVENTS GRAD YR.

Makenzie Baker   Hurdles    2012
Lynzie Corzine     Weights      2011
Hailey Bennett     Hurdles    2014
Grace Davis           Distance   2020
Aalijah Denius        Sprints   2021
Angela Elliott        Sprints        2012
Makayla Gayler    Hurdles     2016
Haven Harrison     Distance   2019
Summer Kitchens  Sprints    2015
Amy Martin          Jumps        2010
Shelby Mascari     Jumps         2018
Ciara Pierce            Distance   2012
Cheyenne Sadlek   Sprints    2015
Katelyn Young        Weights   2020

Athlete of the Decade – Katelyn Young, who won back-to-back state medals in Class 1A in the shot put as a sophomore and a junior, breaking her own school record along the way.

The post Kroner’s Picks: Oakwood’s All-Decade Teams (Spring), Davis and Young named Athlete of the Decade first appeared on SJO Daily.

Junior Katelyn Young was the girls’ shot put winner in Monday’s 38^th News-Gazette Honor Roll Track and Field meet at Urbana High School.

Her winning toss was a season-best 43 feet, 5 inches.

The Comets had two other girls who placed individually.

Aaliyah Denius was fifth in the 400 meters (1 minute, 9.05 seconds).

Grace Davis finished eighth in the 1,600 meters (6 minutes, 5.82 seconds).

Young is the school’s lone Class 1A state meet-qualifier and will compete in the preliminaries today at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston.

Softball

Kylie Neuman and Kerrigan Shafer each hit home runs on Monday as the Comets completed a three-game season sweep of Westville with a 7-4 victory over the Tigers in a Class 2A first-round regional tournament game.

Neuman, Shafer and Karsen Rupp all finished the game with two hits.

Neuman has crashed 10 of the team’s 16 home runs this spring.

Neuman earned the pitching win. She pitched all seven innings, yielding five hits, walking four and striking out nine.

On Tuesday, Unity ended the Comets’ season with a 7-2 regional semifinal victory at Tolono.

Rupp had two hits and drove in a run for Oakwood. Alaina Rockwell also had an RBI. Paiton Frerichs scored the Comets’ other run.

Shafer pitched two innings and suffered the loss.

The Comets (13-15) were held to five hits.

The post Young wins shot put at News-Gazette Honor Roll Track and Field, Oakwood softball finishes season first appeared on SJO Daily.

Isaiah Ruch had his first two-home run game of the spring on Monday, leading the Comets to a six-inning, 15-5 baseball triumph over visiting Hoopeston Area.

Oakwood is 11-8 overall and 5-3 in Vermilion Valley Conference games. The Comets have won eight of their last 11 games.

Ruch drove in four runs as did teammate Elijah Harden.

Other offensive leaders were Brady Howard (4-for-5) and Koby Fletcher (3-for-4).

Howard scored four runs and Lucas Huchel crossed home plate three times.

Harden pitched all six innings. He walked one and struck out four.  Harden yielded six hits and one earned run.

On Tuesday, Oakwood scored twice in the bottom of the fifth to overcome a 3-2 deficit and rally for a 4-3 triumph over North Vermillion (Ind.).

Howard led the way (3-for-4), swatting two doubles, and Ruch contributed two hits.

Reliever Josh Young worked the final 2 1/3 innings and earned the win. He permitted one hit in his stint and fanned three batters.

Starter Andy Hohn gave up three hits in 4 2/3 innings while striking out four.

On Wednesday, Salt Fork scored twice in the bottom of the seventh to pull out a 6-5 Vermilion Valley Conference win over the Comets.

Oakwood held a 14-9 edge in hits, with Noah Ruch and Josh Young garnering three apiece.

Fletcher and Jacob Spear each landed two hits.

Noah Ruch knocked in two runs and Spear scored twice.

Howard pitched the first six innings, striking out five and walking four.

Huchel worked one-third of an inning and suffered the loss after allowing an unearned run.

The Comets return to action today at Milford.

Softball

Eight Comets had hits on Monday, but Oakwood dropped a 9-7 decision to visiting Hoopeston Area.

Paiton Frerichs and Tiffany Paris each knocked in two runs. Kylie Neuman scored twice.

Kerrigan Shafer allowed six hits in seven innings. She walked six and struck out four.

Oakwood is 9-12 overall and 5-6 in Vermilion Valley Conference games.

On Tuesday, Neuman slugged her ninth home run among her two hits in a 10-2 loss at home to North Vermillion (Ind.)

Ashlynn Pinnick also chipped in with two hits.

Karsen Rupp pitched all seven innings. She walked three batters and struck out two.

On Wednesday, Neuman had two of the Comets’ four hits in a 3-0 loss to Salt Fork. Frerichs and Aubrie Wells had the team’s other hits.

Neuman also pitched six innings. She walked one and struck out four, allowing the Storm five hits.

Oakwood returns to action today at Milford.

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Savannah Nevitt, Kylie Neuman and Kerrigan Shafer had two hits apiece for the Comets, who dropped a 7-4 Vermilion Valley Conference softball decision at home against Bismarck-Henning on Monday.

Neuman and Kennedy Price each drove in two runs.

Neuman suffered the loss, pitching all seven innings. She struck out eight and walked one.

Shafer pitched a three-hitter and didn’t allow an earned run on Tuesday as the Comets won the first game of a doubleheader against visiting Schlarman, 16-1.

Neuman had two hits, including her team-best sixth home run, and Shafer had two hits, including a double.

Neuman scored three runs. Driving in three runs apiece were Karsen Rupp and Alaina Rothwell.

Shafer struck out six batters and walked two.

In the second game, Oakwood posted a 14-1 triumph behind the two-hit pitching of Rupp, who became the team’s third squad member with a pitching win this spring.

She struck out five and walked four in five innings.

Ashlynn Pinnick had four hits in the nightcap. Paiton Frerichs stroked three hits as did Tiffany Paris.

Frerichs scored three runs and drove in three runs.

Comets with hits in both games were Aubrey Wells, Frerichs, Shafer, Nevitt, Neuman and Rupp.

On Wednesday, Shafer drove in Rupp with the lone Oakwood run in a 13-1 defeat at Georgetown-Ridge Farm.

Neuman took the loss. She struck out seven and walked four in four innings.

Oakwood (9-9) returns to action, weather permitting, today at Heritage. The Comets are 5-4 in Vermilion Valley Conference contests.

Baseball

Noah Ruch hit a home run and a double on Tuesday, driving in four runs, but the Comets lost at home to Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin, 19-6, in a Vermilion Valley Conference game.

Ruch was the only Oakwood player with more than one hit. The team managed six hits in the five-inning contest.

Elijah Harden, the first of three Comet pitchers, took the loss. He struck out two in 1 1/3 innings.

On Wednesday, Isaiah Ruch pitched a five-hit complete game and the Comets broke a 2-2 deadlock with a four-run sixth inning en route to a 6-2 victory at Georgetown-Ridge Farm.

Isaiah Ruch struck out four and walked three.

Brady Howard knocked in two runs for the Comets.

Oakwood (9-7) returns to action today, weather permitting, at home against Seeger, Ind.

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