The Mustangs extended their winning streak to six games on Thursday (Sept. 2), scoring the tie-breaking run in the sixth-inning of a 7-6 triumph at Georgetown.

The teams were tied, 5-5, after five innings.

Coy Hayes picked up his third win of the season, yielding three hits in five innings of work. He struck out nine.

Pacing PVO’s 11-hit attack were Vance McComas, Kaden Wedig, Dalton York and Graham Ray with two hits apiece. Wedig also stole two bases.

PVO (10-2) returns to action on Thursday (Sept. 9) at home against Bismarck-Henning.

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The St. Joseph Panthers collected a 9-1 baseball win on Monday (Aug. 23) over Champaign Edison, the team’s third straight win.

Bryson Houchens picked up the win. In six innings, he allowed five hits, no walks and struck out seven.

Gary Page pitched the final inning to close out the win.

Houchens also delivered a two-run single in the first inning to get the Panthers on the board.

Houchens and Logan Rosenthal each had three hits. Cam Schluter and Luke Smith contributed two hits apiece. St. Joseph pounded 13 hits in all.

Smith and Trevor Ames drove in two runs apiece.

On Friday (Aug. 20), St. Joseph blanked Jefferson 20-0 in Champaign.

Schluter pitched four innings of two-hit ball, walking no one and striking out five. Finn Miller pitched the fifth inning and retired all three batters he faced.

Houchens knocked three hits. Ames had two hits as did teammates Tim Blackburn-Kelley and Hunter Van Meenan.

Will Haley had three RBI. Ames and Rosenthal also drove in three runs. Van Meenan and Nolan Franzen both knocked in two runs.

On Thursday (Aug. 19), Asher Pruemer pitched a three-inning no-hitter in a 15-0 win at home over Villa Grove. He struck out eight batters.

Finishing with two hits apiece were Jake Carlson, Rosenthal, Houchens, Ames, Smith and Cameron Buskirk. Smith had three RBI.

The Panthers (7-2) return to action on Wednesday (Aug. 25) at Mahomet.

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A pitcher’s duel on Saturday ended when Tuscola scored a run with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning at Illinois Wesleyan University to edge St.  Joseph-Ogden 1-0 in a Class 2A sectional baseball tournament game.

SJ-O, which had a 10-game winning streak ended by the 29-2 Warriors, outhit Tuscola 4-2.

Crayton Burnett was the hard-luck loser. He pitched all 6 2/3 innings, allowing two hits, two walks and striking out six. Burnett carried a no-hitter into the bottom of the seventh inning.

Spartans with hits were Adam Rose, Nicholas Boggs, Zack Martinie and Blake Primmer.

SJ-O ends the season with a 27-9-2 record.

The Spartans’ seniors are Nicholas Boggs, Adam Frerichs, Kaden Jacobs, Caleb Johnson and Adam Rose.

Tuscola advances into the Elite Eight and a super-sectional game on Monday against Pleasant Plains.

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Playing its 37^th game of the season on Wednesday, St. Joseph-Ogden’s baseball team scored its highest number of runs since the second game of the year.

SJ-O crushed Bloomington Central Catholic, 16-8, in a Class 2A sectional semifinal game on the Saints’ field at McGraw Park. BCC scored the game’s first two runs.

In its second game of the season, SJ-O put up 23 runs against Armstrong-Potomac.

Wednesday’s win was the team’s 10^th in a row. During the winning streak, SJ-O is averaging 7.4 runs per game.

The Spartans rapped 18 hits against BCC. Seventeen were singles.

Drew Coursey was 4-for-5 (including a double), Adam Frerichs was 3-for-3, Crayton Burnett was 3-for-5, Brayden Weaver was 3-for-5, Adam Rose was 2-for-3 and Blake Primmer was 2-for-3.

Burnett drove in five runs. Frerichs had three RBI. Coursey, Rose and Weaver all scored three runs.

Keegan McCarty pitched the first five innings and earned the win. He allowed seven hits, walked one and struck out four.

Rose worked the last two innings, fanning four and walking no one. He allowed one hit and one unearned run.

The Spartans (27-8-2) will seek the school’s fourth sectional crown in the past five years on Saturday in an 11 a.m. championship game against Tuscola. In an early-season meeting between the schools, Tuscola won 11-5.

The sectional champion will advance into the Elite Eight in Class 2A.

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Sophomore Crayton Burnett registered his seventh win on Saturday as SJ-O defeated Monticello 3-1 in the championship game of the Tolono Class 2A baseball regional.

Burnett, who had a no-hitter through four innings, scattered three hits, walked one and struck out 11.

“He’s doing a nice job,” SJ-O coach Josh Haley said. “He’s throwing a lot of strikes and getting ahead of hitters.

“We have a couple kids who are throwing well.”

The regional title was the seventh in a row for SJ-O under Haley, who is in his eighth year as head coach.

SJ-O provided Burnett all of the offensive support he needed, scoring runs on a sacrifice fly by Nicholas Boggs, a groundout by Zach Martinie and a groundout by Burnett.

The Spartans (26-8-2) play Bloomington Central Catholic at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday on the Saints’ field in a sectional semifinal game. When the teams met in the regular season, SJ-O prevailed, 6-0.

Postseason success, Haley said, “is our expectation every year. They are doing what they should be doing.”

SJ-O has a nine-game winning streak.

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The relay runners were Hannah Rajlich, Rylee Sjuts, Kailyn Ingram and Addie Allen. The foursome was timed in 10 minutes, 41.99 seconds.

That relay is one of four the Spartans have qualified for state, along with seven individuals. The Class 1A portion of the state meet, at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, starts today.

Boys’ track and field

Hayden Knott secured two top four placements on Monday in the 38^th-annual News-Gazette Honor Roll Meet at Urbana High School.

Knott placed third in the discus (149 feet, 1 inch) and fourth in the shot put (49 feet, 3 inches).

The Spartans had placers in two other events.

Sprinter Aiden Meyer was second in the 100-meter dash (11.14 seconds) and the SJ-O 1,600-meter relay unit was also second, posting a time of 3 minutes, 32.47 seconds.

The relay runners were Brady Buss, Lane Gaskin, Kaleb Harshbarger and Ethan Vanliew.

The Spartans return to action on Friday when they host their own Class 1A sectional meet.

Softball

Bailey Dowling had her first three-home run game of the season on Tuesday as the Spartans opened postseason play with an 11-0 triumph over Monticello in the Maroa-Forsyth Class 2A Regional.

Dowling was 4-for-4 and drove in six runs in the five-inning game. Hannah Dukeman had two RBI and Jacey Lewis scored three runs.

Dowling’s outburst raised her season total to 22 home runs and her all-time state career record to 65 homers.

Tori Witruk pitched a complete-game one-hitter.  She walked two and struck out five.

SJ-O (21-9) will play the host Trojans in Saturday’s 11 a.m. regional championship game. In an early-season game, SJ-O shut out Maroa-Forsyth, 9-0.

The Spartans are chasing an 11th consecutive regional crown in softball.

Baseball

The Spartans ran their winning streak to eight games on Wednesday, edging Villa Grove/Heritage 3-2 in a semifinal game of the Tolono Class 2A Regional.

SJ-O will play in Saturday’s 11 a.m. championship game against the winner of today’s contest between the host Rockets and Monticello.

Adam Rose pitched a complete-game in the regional semis. He allowed three hits, walked one and struck out 11.

He was backed by an errorless defense and a six-hit attack, which included a 3-for-3 showing from Drew Coursey. One of Coursey’s hits was a home run.

Spartan teammates who drove in runs were Adam Frerichs and Kaden Jacobs. Coursey, Frerichs and Rose scored the SJ-O runs.

Frerichs, Crayton Burnett and Brayden Weaver collected the Spartans’ other hits. Weaver’s double was the team’s other extra-base hit.

SJ-O has a 25-8-2 season record.

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The Spartans needed eight innings to subdue Danvillle 11-7 in Danville.

Joseph Acton – who pitched three innings of one-hit ball – picked up the win in relief of Zach Martinie. Crayton Burnett pitched the final inning.

Acton struck out four and walked three in his stint. Burnett walked one and fanned one.

Burnett and Jaden Miller led SJ-O offensively, finishing with two hits apiece.

Martinie drove in two runs.

Sam Wesley and Nicholas Boggs each scored two runs.

On Wednesday, Drew Coursey pounded three hits – two of which were doubles – as the Spartans won their fourth straight game, 7-3 over visiting Monticello.

Winning pitcher Adam Rose worked six scoreless innings, yielding four hits, walking one and fanning seven.

Coursey pitched the final inning and did not allow an earned run.

Other offensive leaders were Burnett with two hits, Adam Frerichs with two runs batted in and Rose with two runs scored.

SJ-O (21-8-2) returns to action, weather permitting, today at Mattoon.

Softball

Ashtyn Cromwell pitched a complete game and earned her 40^th career varsity victory on Monday as the Spartans handled visiting Monticello 11-1 in an Illini Prairie Conference game.

Cromwell was backed by an offense that featured home runs by Katie Poulter and Kaylee Ward.

Hannah Dukeman swatted three hits for the Spartans. Bailey Dowling had two hits and scored four runs.

On Tuesday, Zoey Witruk struck out 13 batters in a complete-game pitching performance as the Spartans won at Olympia, 7-2.

Pouter and Dowling each cracked home runs. Savannah Smith contributed two hits and drove in four runs.

SJ-O (17-7) returns to action, weather permitting, tonight at home against Champaign Central.

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Kaden Jacobs’ seventh-inning double delivered the game-winning run on Saturday as St. Joseph-Ogden pulled out a 2-1 baseball victory over IVC in Chillicothe in the first game of an Illini Prairie Conference game.

IVC posted an 8-6 win in the second game.

SJ-O is 15-6-2 overall and 5-1 in Illini Prairie games.

Jacobs had two of the Spartans’ three-first game hits. Teammate Sam Wesley was the only SJ-O player with hits in each game. He was 3-for-5 for the doubleheader.

Zach Martinie pitched two hitless innings of relief in the first game and earned the win. He walked one and struck out two.

Starter Adam Rose allowed three hits and no earned runs over five innings. Rose walked three and fanned seven.

Drew Coursey suffered the second-game loss.

Besides Wesley and Rose, Crayton Burnett had two hits in the second game.

Adam Frerichs and Blake Primmer each scored two runs in the nightcap. Wesley had two RBI in the second game.

The post Jacobs delivers game-winning run against IVC first appeared on SJO Daily.

Adam Rose and Nicholas Boggs drove in runs on Tuesday to support the two-hit pitching of Crayton Burnett, who shut out Urbana, 2-0, for the second time this baseball season.

Rose also stole two bases.

SJ-O was limited to four hits.

Burnett struck out 10 and walked no one. He faced one batter over the minimum (22) in the seven-inning game.

On Wednesday, the Spartans went on the road and edged Pontiac, 13-12, to stay unbeaten after four Illini Prairie Conference games.

Rose was 4-for-4 to lead the 10-hit SJ-O attack.

Brayden Weaver had two hits and Drew Coursey drove in three runs.

Keegan McCarty pitched the first 4 2/3 innings and earned the win. Zach Martinie worked the final 2 1/3 innings and registered a save.

McCarty struck out eight and walked three.

SJ-O (14-4-2) returns to action on Saturday at Chillicothe against IVC.

Girls’ track and field

The Spartans took first in eight events on Tuesday in a four-school meet at Tolono.

SJ-O was competing against Unity, Salt Fork and Georgetown-Ridge Farm.

Sprinter Maclayne Taylor was a double winner, capturing the 100 meters (12.55 seconds) and the 200 meters (26.54 seconds).

Hannah Rajlich led a 1-2 SJ-O finish in the 800 meters. Her time was 2:28.22. The runner-up was teammate Cassidy Bagby (2:29.82).

The Spartans had three field event winners.

Atleigh Hamilton led all long jumpers (17 feet, 7 inches), Abby Behrens won the high jump (4-10) and Grace Schmitz captured the pole vault (9-0).

SJ-O had the winning 400-meter (58.68) and 1,600-meter (4:41.68) relays.

The school’s 800-meter relay was second (2:00.46).

Hamilton ran second in the 300 hurdles (49.02) and Spartan Ashlynn Lannert was third (53.34).

Angela Chahine was third in the 100 hurdles (19.05).

SJ-O also received points from triple jumper Jenna Albrecht. She was second at 32-11 1/2.

Softball

Unity won the home run derby as well as the ball game on Monday, outscoring St. Joseph-Ogden 15-10 on the Spartans’ field.

SJ-O received two home runs from Bailey Dowling and one apiece from Hannah Dukeman and Lauren Trankina.

Unity sent five balls out of the park.

On Tuesday, also at home, the Spartans were edged by Mattoon, 18-17, in a slugfest.

Dowling and Trankina each homered twice. Trankina had five hits and six RBI and Dowling totaled four.

Adding a home run apiece were Kaylee Ward and Savannah Smith.

On Wednesday, the Spartans lost their third game at home in three days this week, 14-3 to Mount Zion.

Dukeman had three hits for the Spartans, including a home run.

SJ-O (13-4) returns to action on Saturday in the Clinton Tournament.

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