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HS Baseball: Clinton Rolls Bloomington Cornerstone Christian Academy

The Clinton Maroons bats were cooking again on Saturday in an easy 19-1 win over Bloomington Cornerstone Christian Academy in non-conference high school boys baseball action in Bloomington.

 

Colton Walker paced the Maroons' offense going 3-for-4 with four RBIs, two stolen bases and two runs scored. Josh Bass was 3-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored. Ryan Pine and Jon Smock drove in two runs for Clinton. Smock had a double and drew a walk. 

 

Jack Manning struck out eight in three scoreless innings. The sophomore allowed a hit and a walk. 

 

Since its opening-day loss to Delavan, the Maroons have rattled off three wins in a row to go to 3-1 overall. They are back home Tuesday afternoon hosting Mahomet-Seymour. 


HS Baseball: Monticello Sweeps Two in Southern Illinois

Luke Teschke hit a go-ahead three-run home run in the sixth inning of the second game of Monticello's Saturday double-dip, propelling them to a 7-2 win over Waterloo from Southern Illinois.

 

With Monticello down 2-0 in the sixth inning, Teschke's home run started a seven-run inning for the Sages. The senior Illinois State committ struck out 13 in six innings of two-run ball - one run was earned. Teschke allowed a hit and two walks.

 

Brody Billedo finished off the game with a scoreless inning of relief. 

 

Matt Swartz, Koyie Williams, and Raiden Colbert drove in runs in the seven-run frame as Monticello finished off a 3-0 weekend in southern Illinois.

 

In the first game Saturday, Monticello rolled past Murphysboro 10-0 in six innings thanks to another explosive inning. 

 

The Sages led 3-0 headed to the top of the sixth and scored seven runs to go up 10-0.

 

Carter Foran was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored for the Sages. Eli Craft was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and Colton Vance was 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run. 

 

Swartz and Williams scored twice in the first contest Saturday for Monticello. Dylan Brown, Ike Young, and Teschke added RBIs as well.

 

Young went five innings of shutout ball. The junior allowed two hits and walked two while striking out three. 

 

Monticello is 5-0 on the season and returns home to take on Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond on Tuesday afternoon. Hear Tuesday's action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com.


HS Baseball: Maroa-Forsyth Rolls Champaign St. Thomas More

The Maroa-Forsyth Trojans offense started fast Saturday and never let up as they rolled to a 19-2, five-inning win over Champaign St. Thomas More in Champaign in non-conference high school boy's baseball action Saturday.

 

Zayn Giles was 4-for04 with three RBIs and three runs scored. Andy Munjoy was 3-for-5 with a double, four RBIs, and a run scored. Miles Leach was 3-for-5 with a double, three RBIs, and a pair of runs scored. Connor Kelly was 1-for-3 with three RBIs, a double, and two runs scored. Kaiden Maurer was 1-for-4 with two runs scored and Mitch Williams was 2-for-3 with four runs scored. 

 

Tate Brandenburg, Cayden Rose, and Ace Giles also drove in runs for Maroa-Forsyth. 

 

Kelly struck out seven in five innings for the Trojans. He allowed two unearned runs and two hits. 

 

Maroa-Forsyth is 4-0 on the season. They will host Mt. Zion today.


HS Baseball: Normal Community Takes Two in Belleville

The Normal Community Ironmen had a strong showing in a showcase tournament in Belleville this weekend with a 2-0 win over Belleville East and an 11-0 win over Moline.

 

Brady Bengston struck out 11 in five no-hit innings. The 6-foot-6 senior allowed just a walk, facing two over the minimum. 

 

Riley Hendren was 2-for-4 with an RBI for Normal Community. Sal Gura drove in the other run for the Ironmen.

 

In its 11-1 win over Moline, Ryan Theile was 2-for-2 with a pair of RBIs and a pair of walks. Brady Burkhart was 1-for-4 with a pair of RBIs and Lucas Drengwitz was 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored. 

 

Kaileb Hackman was 1-for-3 with an RBI and scored twice. Owen Cavanaugh and Dexter Niekamp each scored two runs and drove in an RBI.

 

Jake Branch went 3 2/3 innings, allowing a run on four hits with two walks and a strikeout. Hackman struck out five in an 1 1/3 scoreless relief.

 

Normal Community is 4-0 on the season and will return to action for a 4 pm game on Wednesday at Morton High School. 


HS Baseball: Normal West Falls to Lockport

Lockport gradually pulled away from Normal West for a 7-2 win on Saturday in non-conference high school boys baseball action from Normal.

 

The Wildcats were paced by Brady Hart who finished 2-for-3 with an RBI. 

 

Bradyn Whitehead and Ryder Coone stole bases for Normal West who fell to 0-3 on the season. They will host Pekin this afternoon.


Illinois Wins Big Ten Trounament, Secures Three-Seed in NCAA Tournament

Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 34 points on 15-for-17 shooting from the free-throw line, helping 13th-ranked Illinois outlast Wisconsin 93-87 in Big Ten tournament championship game on Sunday.

 

Marcus Domask added 26 points, eight assists and seven rebounds and Dain Dainja had nine points and seven rebounds for the Illini (26-8), who won their second conference tournament title in four years after shooting 16 of 26 in the second half. They faced a double-digit deficit in all three games.

 

A.J. Storr had 24 points and Chucky Hepburn added 20 points for the Badgers (22-13), who went 7 for 20 from 3-point range after going 33 for 79 over their first three games.

 

Shannon finished with 102 points in three games, one short of the Big Ten Tournament record, and was voted the Most Outstanding Player. Keegan Murray had 103 points for Iowa in 2022, but the Hawkeyes played four games that year on the way to the title.

 

After celebrating in a shower of orange-and-blue confetti and cutting down the nets at Target Center, the Illini hustled to a side room for the NCAA Tournament selection show to learn they're the No. 3 seed in the East Region, with a first-round game on Friday against Morehead State.

 

The defending champion Huskies earned the top seed in the NCAA Tournament, joined by Houston,Purdue and North Carolina as No. 1 seeds in a bracket that started going haywire even before the pairings were announced Sunday evening.


Bears Trade Justin Field to Steelers

he Chicago Bears traded Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday night, clearing the way for them to draft a quarterback with the No. 1 overall pick — perhaps USC’s Caleb Williams.

 

The Bears received a 2025 sixth-round draft pick that could potentially become a fourth-rounder in return.

 

Fields figures to back up nine-time Pro Bowler Russell Wilson, who signed a one-year deal with the Steelers on Friday. Pittsburgh also traded Kenny Pickett to the Philadelphia Eagles once it added Wilson.

 

Fields, drafted 11th overall in 2021 by the Bears and former general manager Ryan Pace, struggled as a rookie under former coach Matt Nagy. Though he produced big plays with his legs and arms, he did not develop as a passer the way the team hoped the past two years under Poles and coach Matt Eberflus.

 

Fields completed 578 of 958 passes for 6,674 yards with 40 touchdowns and 30 interceptions in three seasons. He has just one 300-yard passing game in his career.

 

Chicago could have gotten a big haul by trading the No. 1 pick. But it’s not often the historically quarterback-challenged Bears have a chance to draft a prospect such as Williams. The 2022 Heisman Trophy winner is largely expected to be picked first overall after he threw 72 touchdown passes with only 10 interceptions the past two seasons at USC after a year at Oklahoma.

 

The trade of Fields comes two days after the Bears acquired Keenan Allen from the Los Angeles Chargers in their second deal for a star receiver in as many years.

They dealt the No. 1 pick in 2023 to Carolina for DJ Moore last March. The Bears also got the Panthers’ first-rounder this year. And with Carolina finishing a league-worst 2-15 record, Chicago wound up with the No. 1 pick this year.


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