Photo by RR Best
Pictured is the Sullivan varsity softball team with the regional plaque they won after defeating Shelbyville 5-3 Saturday. Front row, from left to right, Paislee Meyer, Makenzie Ruppert, Liz Inman, Heidi Clements, Taylor Gottfriedt, and Allison Miller. Back row, left to right: assistant coach Katie Tate, Kailyn Boyer, Bailee Pratt, Emily Stutzman, Maggie Plank, Brittin Boyer, Christina Brown, Elissa Stewart, Abby Elzy, and head coach Ben Richter.

Defeat host Shelbyville 5-3 Saturday

by Keith Stewart
keith@newsprogress.com

According to Sullivan head coach Ben Richter, Saturday’s regional championship victory over Shelbyville marked the first ever in school history. But that’s just icing on an already overtopped cake.

“Let’s just say many of the girls were in tears or almost in tears,” said senior pitcher Elizabeth Inman. “Our team has never been closer than this year, and it feels so great to accomplish something so big with all of these wonderful ladies.”

Sullivan’s biggest inning came in the second starting with Brittin Boyer’s at-bat where she hit the game’s only triple to left center field. Senior and first year participant Maggie Plank then followed with a double RBI to the same spot Boyer found. Kailyn Boyer then reached first on an error, and freshman lead-off Bailee Pratt hit a double to right centerfield, scoring both Plank and Boyer to put Sullivan up 3-0. Read More

Photo by Keith Stewart
Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond senior Karly Goodman earned fifth place in the shot put in Saturday’s finals.

After two years of 8th, senior earns 5th

by Keith Stewart
keith@newsprogress.com

“That number eight, it gets me.”

What Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond senior Karly Goodman is referring to is not only her last two years of finishing eighth at state in the shot put, but even the fact that after Thursday’s preliminaries, the senior was seeded none other than eighth coming into Saturday’s finals.

But Goodman wouldn’t have it a third year. Instead, the senior hurled a throw of 39 feet 3/4 inches for a fifth place finish, just 1 1/2 inches out from fourth. Read More

Photo by Keith Stewart
Kailyn Boyer chases down a ball during Tuesday's sectional semifinal against Fairfield.

Two-run homer in sixth inning deals lasting blow

by Keith Stewart
keith@newsprogress.com

The first three-run homer that Fairfield hit, Sullivan weathered. But the second two run blast in the sixth inning dealt a demoralizing blow from which the Lady Red never recovered, instead falling 7-2 in the sectional semifinal Tuesday. Read More

Photo by Keith Stewart
Tyler Schuring goes to make the tag out at home Monday on St. Thomas More’s Sean Sullivan. The ball would come loose, however, with Sullivan scoring, just one of five unearned runs on the day.

St. Thomas More scores five unearned runs in 7-0 win

by Keith Stewart
keith@newsprogress.com

Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond had just two hits Monday evening, one in the first inning on Shandon Herschberger’s single to right field and the last in the top of the seventh off of Noah Yantis’ hard shot to pitcher Storm Joop in at closer.

But that was about all the no. 6 seed Knights’ offense could muster as the no. 3 host St. Thomas More remained relentless from the mound while taking advantage of several wild pitches and passed balls to score five unearned runs in their 7-0 win, which also marked the Sabers’ head coach Steve Rear’s 200th career win.

“It was a special occasion for me and the team, but throughout the years we’ve been very fortunate here to have good baseball teams,” said Rear. “It’s the players that win the games.” Read More

Sullivan unable to make key hits

by Keith Stewart
keith@newsprogress.com

Slow and steady wins the race, and Cerro Gordo was Monday’s victor as they defeated Sullivan 10-3 in the quarterfinals of the Monticello regional.

True, the Broncos did get out to a 3-0 lead in the first, but the game never got put away until the bottom of the sixth when up 6-2, Cerro Gordo scored four runs. Read More