More than a week away from the field didn’t seem to affect the Knights, as they returned to action and defeated Marshall 6-1 Tuesday.
ALAH was led by both Brad Miller and Marcus Vanausdoll who each had two hits a piece. Ross Ryan, meanwhile, worked all seven innings from the mound, allowing six hits, one run, and one walk while striking out five. Read More
Photo by Keith Stewart
Sullivan pitcher Jacob Piper eyes an in-field popup while first baseman Dakota Clayton supports and Okaw Valley base runner Justin Johnson watches in anticipation.
T-wolves’ defense lacks in the loss
May 6, 2015
by Keith Stewart
keith@newsprogress.com
Of Sullivan’s 10 runs Saturday, only three were earned. In what was an uncharacteristic day for the typically stalwart Okaw Valley defense, the Timberwolves committed three costly errors and had a handful of dropped third strikes on which Sullivan was able to reach first. And despite a seventh inning rally by OV, Sullivan kept the lid on the Timberwolves, who fell 10-2.
Errors in both the first and second innings helped Sullivan to a 6-0 lead going into the third. From there, the two Moultrie County rivals stood at a stalemate for the next three innings, though OV’s offense finally began to come around in the fifth but was ultimately stopped short, stranding two runners on first and third base. OV would continue the slight momentum into the sixth after Taylor Coleman reached first on a fielding error. After Jacob Piper’s first walk of the day, Garrett Fritz singled between third and short to load the bases. Cody Drake then hit a hard grounder to third baseman Zak Hrvol, who committed a fielding error, allowing Coleman home. But OV would muster no more in the inning and instead again stranded runners. Read More
Harris also highlights with throwout at home
By Matt Kracht
NP Sports Reporter
Levi Nadler can hit the ball a long ways, and Effingham St. Anthony had front row seats to that power when Nadler hit a mammoth three-run homer in the bottom of the first Tuesday at Leon Lane Memorial field.
Nadler bounced a 400 ft. drive midway up the scoreboard in center field that gave Sullivan a 3-0 lead. The three runs were all pitcher Dakota Clayton required. Clayton got the win after pitching five innings of one-hit baseball with Nick Frerichs locking down the final two frames to preserve the shutout.
“He got all of that” said head coach Troy Rogers about the Nadler homer after the win. “Levi got it started early, and that takes the pressure off Dakota a little bit.” Read More
Photo by Keith Stewart
Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond head coach Craig Moffett encourages his team during last Friday’s contest against Cerro Gordo-Bement. The Knights were able to pick themselves up after a poor first two innings to come back and win 11-5.
ALAH reverses tide, takes advantage of Cerro Gordo-Bement mistakes
April 29, 2015
by Keith Stewart
keith@newsprogress.com
After just two innings in Arthur Friday evening, things looked as if they were going Cerro Gordo-Bement’s way.
The Broncos led 3-0 going into the third after a two-error second saw the Knights begin to unravel.
But head coach Craig Moffett remained calm in the dugout, telling his boys to keep their heads up and regain their composure.
They listened.
“We just tried to stay positive,” said Moffett. “Baseball can be a really frustrating game. I just tried to keep them confident, positive, and focused on the next play. They did a good job of coming back.”
Despite a three up, three down second, the Knights came back in the third and forced a quick three batter inning themselves. In the bottom, Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond took advantage of a few Bronco mistakes to score two runs. Read More
Defensive shortfalls part of the loss
by Matt Kracht
NP Sports Reporter
The Lady Knights are ready for warmer weather as the team struggled to score in a cold loss Friday. Macy Hollingsworth battled for seven innings to keep her team in the contest, but mistakes on defense cost the freshman a chance at the win.
Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond head coach Jerry Lane complemented his freshmen starter after the game for firing strikes for seven innings.
“Macy throws strikes; she moves the ball around, hits certain spots and tries to change speeds,” he said. “She did that for the most part. We had a couple innings where the defense let us down in a couple situations.” Read More
Last Wednesday Sullivan’s varsity softball team travelled to take on Tuscola and fell 8-6 despite taking an early 2-0 lead, which included a solo home run by Heidi Clements. However, Tuscola would score five in the fourth to take the lead. Down 8-3 going into the seventh, Sullivan strung together three runs with a base-clearing double by Elissa Stewart, but the Redskins would not complete the comeback. Read More
Another early outing for OV with win over Arcola
by Keith Stewart
keith@newsprogress.com
Another early go of it, and another conference win.
Okaw Valley tallied their sixth conference win last Wednesday over Arcola, defeating the Lady Purple Riders 13-1 in just four and a half innings. Hinging on two big offensive-producing frames, Okaw Valley improved to 6-0 in the LOVC northwest standings and 14-1 overall.
The Timberwolves’ ace Amanda McClain claimed yet another win on the year, going all five innings allowing one earned run and one hit along with one walk and six strikeouts. Read More
The SOV girls and boys had several strong performances at a non-scored 10-team meet in Clinton Tuesday evening.
For the Lady Red, Emily Neuhauser won the 200 meter dash in 26.1 seconds. Alyssa Marshall won the 800 meter run in 2:35 and the 4 x 200 relay of Neuhauser, Bailey Turnbaugh, Ashlynd Risley and Amanda McClain won in 1:50. McClain also finished second in the High Jump at 5 feet 2 inches and the 200 in 26.3 seconds. Other second place finishes went to Neuhauser in the 100 (13.1), the 4 x 800 of Kennedy Lucas, Caity Ohm, Tori Murphy and Abby Cravatta (12:05) and the 4 x 400 relay of Nuzzo, Marshall, Risley and McClain in 4:24. Megan Dash was fourth in the HJ at 5-0. Fifth place finishes went to Laine Cameron in the 300 Hurdles (53.3), Dash in the triple jump (29-5), Murphy in the 1600 (6:38) and Nuzzo in the Pole Vault (8-0). Read More
Photo by Keith Stewart
Abby Cravatta eyes the bar during her pole vault attempt Tuesday. She would finish fourth reaching a height of 7-0.
SOV boys finish highest in fourth
April 22, 2015
by Keith Stewart
keith@newsprogress.com
Hosting their second meet of the year, the SOV boys’ track team placed fourth, while the girls settled for fifth. Neighboring Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond’s boys took fifth, while their girls were also a spot back in sixth.
The boys team finished with 72 points, and leading the Redskins was Zane Uphoff, who finished first in the triple jump going 40 feet, 3 inches. Uphoff also earned third in the long jump with a distance of 18-8. Teammate Cody Drake took second in the event with a jump of 19-0. The 4x200 relay of Uphoff, Charlie Goss, Luke Bowman, and Calen Landrus finished in second with a time of 1 minute, 38.26 seconds.
Other top four finishes included Zach Devore (fourth, 300m hurdles, 46.03), Bowman (third, long jump, 5-10), Drew Harris (fourth, long jump, 5-10), JT Bland (fourth, 800m, 2:13.94), Logan Pedigo (third, pole vault, 10-6), and the 4x4 relay of Uphoff, Goss, Landrus, and Devore (fourth, 3:46.42). Read More
Photo by RR Best
Jacob Piper prepares to field a ball Saturday morning.
Last ditch heroics push Sullivan past Altamont Sat.
April 22, 2015
By Matt Kracht
NP Sports Reporter
Sullivan rallied from behind to win in dramatic fashion against the Altamont Indians Saturday at Leon Lane Memorial Field.
Nick Frerichs came up with a clutch two-out two-RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning, and Levi Nadler followed with an RBI single down the right field line for the game winner. The Redskins called on Tom Schibur to close out the final two innings, earning his first win supported by Dakota Clayton who pitched five strong innings of three run ball tallying five strikeouts.
Playing their fifth game in five days, Redskins head coach Troy Rogers saw what he called a gutsy performance.
“Our pitching staff is running on fumes,” he said. “This is only Tommy’s second time pitching varsity. He has pitched really well so far, and if we were not as deep as we are, he would be pitching for us a lot. He has been able to get a lot of innings in JV, but that was the first time I had seen him in a prolonged outing, and I was impressed.” Read More