High School Baseball
Offense was the name of the game last night in New London as the Panthers and Tigers combined for 33 runs. A strong wind to left field led to a J.C. Sitar two-run blast to get Mt. Pleasant on the board in the top of the first inning. The Panthers appeared in control after adding a run in the top of the second inning, but the Tigers responded by batting around in the bottom of the second and scoring six runs, including a two RBI double off the bat of Memphis Watson.
The Panthers and Tigers traded two runs in the third and a run in the fourth, which still kept New London in front 9 to 7 heading into the 5th inning. A leadoff double by Payson Coleman set the tone for the inning as he would gather two more hits before the end of the inning. Every starter would finish with an RBI in the 5th inning for the Panthers as they put up 16 runs. An RBI single by Gage Burden would cement the final score of 23-10 in favor of Mt. Pleasant.
One of the senior leaders for the Panthers Payson Coleman, who tabbed two RBIs in the win and got the rally started, talked about his team’s success at the plate,
“You know, we’ve really, I think we’ve swung it well all year. It was one of those tonight that we knew that coming into this game with playing Fairfield last night, that this was easily one we could have dropped and we just, you know, couldn’t show up. And you know, just because they didn’t have a winning record just. You know, didn’t want to drop this game, so we knew coming in that we were gonna have to put it on him. And you know, we struggled on the mound a little bit. And in the field. But our bats were there all night. And, you know, we’ve been working every day in the cage getting our swings in and it showed tonight.”
New London will stay at home to take on West Burlington on Friday, June 21st, at 5:30 pm.
Mt. Pleasant will host Fairfield tomorrow, June 20th, at 7:30 pm. KILJ 105.5 FM, kilj.com, will be on the call with the pregame show at 7:15 pm.
Fairfield fell to Mid-Prairie last night 12-6. Sam Weaton went 1 for 3 with two RBIs for the Trojans.
Winfield-Mt. Union will host West Burlington tonight at 5:30 pm.
West Burlington snuck away with a one-run win against Danville last night 5-4. Brock Thuleen and Isaac Beard tallied two RBIs apiece as they notched five of the seven team’s hits. The Bears will face off against Mediapolis tomorrow, June 20th, at home at 5:30 pm.
Van Buren County will take on Wapello tonight at 5:30 pm on the road.
Mediapolis will travel to Highland tonight at 5:30 pm.
Central Lee lost to Burlington Notre Dame last night 11-4. Brayden Wyrick led the Hawks with two RBIs. Central Lee will face off against Hillcrest Academy on the road today.
Burlington Notre Dame will host Regina Catholic tonight at 7 pm.
High School Softball
West Burlington utilized a 12-run second inning to put Danville away after three innings, 18-1. The Falcons will square off against Winfield-Mt. Union tonight at 6 pm on the road.
Winfield-Mt. Union fell to Pekin last night 6-4. Jessi Renken finished 2 for 3 with a triple in the loss.
Van Buren County’s offense woke up late in the game to down Mediapolis 12-6 last night. The Warriors scored 11 of their 12 runs in the final three innings, while shutting down the Bulldogs. The Warriors will compete against Wapello tonight at 5:30 pm on the road.
Mediapolis will take on Highland tonight at 7 pm on the road.
Central Lee lost to Washington 12-2 last night. Isabella Salazar slugged two doubles and brought home six RBIs for the Demons, while Colbie Greiner added two RBIs towards the win. The Hawks will take on Holy Trinity Catholic tomorrow, June 20th, in a doubleheader with game one at 5:30 pm.
Holy Trinity Catholic smacked New London last night 12-2. The Tigers will stay on the road to face off against Louisa-Muscatine tonight at 5:30 pm.
WACO scored their season high in runs last night, but it was not enough as Columbus exited with the win 19-7. The Warriors will travel to Winfield-Mt. Union tomorrow at 6 pm.
Mt. Pleasant will travel to Cardinal tonight at 7 pm.
Fairfield will face off against Washington tonight at 7:30 pm at home.
High School Cross Country
Mt. Pleasant’s optional summer runs officially get underway this week. The runs are a great way to get in shape and to run with others. The runs are available for 7th through 12th graders and will often be led by upperclassmen as coaches may not be present for every run.
On Mondays and Wednesdays the runs will start at 6:30 am at the Old Threshers Museum Theatre and on Tuesdays and Thursdays they will be at Saunders Park by the swimming pool at 7 pm.
If you have any questions, contact Coach Murray at 319-850-0867.
Prospect League
The Burlington Bees could not stop the cascade of runs last night, losing 17-9 against the O’Fallon Hoots. Merrick Mathews finished 3 for 6 at the plate with a team leading three RBIs. The Bees will finish their matchup from June 13th against the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp that was halted in the 5th inning with the Bees up 11-10 tonight and then start another game against the Pistol Shrimp at the conclusion of game one.
The Clinton LumberKings’ 9th inning rally ended up one run short of forcing extras as the Pistol Shrimp came out on top 4-3 last night. RJ Sherwood rocked a two-run homer to left field for the LumberKings. Clinton will get their rematch tomorrow, June 20th, at home at 6:30 pm.
This Day in Sports History
1943 – NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers merge to become the Steagles.
1999 – Stanley Cup, Marine Midland Arena, Buffalo, NY: the Dallas Stars edge the Buffalo Sabres 2-1 in triple overtime for a 4-2 series win; Brett Hull clinches the series with infamous “No Goal” ruling.
1970 – Jim Bouton’s controversial baseball diary “Ball Four” is published.