Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
MENDON, Ill. — Annabelle Schaffnit started to be apologetic for her answer. What the Unity senior softball player didn’t realize in the moment was how much her answer resonated. After chatting a little about the Mustangs and their ongoing season, Schaffnit was asked about how much her life revolves around sports. “I’ll be honest,” she…
Read Full Article Prep baseball At Ferd Niemann Jr. Memorial Ballfield, Quincy Quincy Notre Dame 6, Hannibal 2: A change in venue didn’t slow the Raiders. Field conditions forced the game, which was to played at the Pirates’ Veterans Field, to be moved to the Illinois side of the river and Hannibal took advantage by scoring twice in…
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QUINCY — Caylin Haxel missed the chance Wednesday to witness one of the more unique moments in her husband’s highlight-filled golf career. So George Schrage got the call instead. After using his driver to clear the trees that create a right dogleg on the par-4 13th hole at Westview Golf Course, Blaise Haxel figured his…
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Blessed and spoiled. There is no more apropos description for the fall of 1982. By then, my passion for baseball and complete love for the game was complete. I was blessed to watch my favorite team and my favorite player fight their way to the National League pennant, and I was spoiled to listen to…
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QUINCY — The thought of playing to another draw became increasingly aggravating. “We just knew we couldn’t tie again, not after tying in each of our past three games,” said Grace Bertram, a junior defender on the Quincy Notre Dame girls soccer team. “We just couldn’t.” Yet, through 73 minutes of Monday night’s crosstown showdown…
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QUINCY — For the seventh time in the past nine seasons, the John Wood Community College men’s basketball program has produced an All-American. Sophomore forward Jarvis Jennings was named to the NJCAA Division II All-American third team, making him one of 30 players nationwide as selected by the NJCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Committee. Jennings,…
Read Full Article Prep baseball At Pittsfield, Ill. Pittsfield 10, Calhoun 1: The Saukees scored seven runs in the third inning and had no trouble finishing off the victory in the first game of the doubleheader. The Saukees had four RBI singles and a run-scoring double in the inning. Nate Scranton went 3 for 3 with two RBIs,…
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QUINCY — Asked if he’d found a new leadoff hitter, Quincy Notre Dame softball coach Eric Orne chuckled and shook his head. “No,” he said. “We’ll get healed up and back to normal.” But should he consider leaving Abbey Schreacke in the leadoff spot, it creates a potent starting point as Macomb witnessed Friday at…
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QUINCY — So much of what Jeremiah Talton accomplished throughout his senior season boiled down to character and commitment, and his maturity as a player and a leader came to the forefront. Yet, there was still a kid in him, just the way it should be. Never was that more evident than after a Tuesday…
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LIBERTY, Ill. — For a University of Illinois graduate who has remained loyal to his alma mater and is a basketball junkie through and through, walking out of the tunnel onto the State Farm Center court was like living out a dream. Seeing his players live out their dream of playing for a state championship…
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The success of teams throughout the area on the boys basketball scene led to incredible memories and remarkable performances on both sides of the Mississippi River. Here is the inaugural Muddy River Sports boys basketball all-area team, with the the 10 players listed in alphabetical order:
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CAMP POINT, Ill. — Keaton Dickhut harbored ideas of being a multi-sport athlete when he entered high school, but physically, he didn’t exactly fit the part. “I couldn’t even jump up and touch the net if I wanted to,” said Dickhut, now a senior three-sport athlete at Central who said he checked in at 5-foot-7…
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QUINCY — One of the top prep basketball players in the history of the state of Illinois and an icon from the greatest era in the storied tradition of the Quincy High School boys basketball program is coming home to speak at the Fellowship of Christian Athletes banquet. Hall of Fame point guard Bruce Douglas…
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QUINCY — Add another familiar face to the Quincy University men’s basketball team’s sideline. Tim Walsh, a former QU assistant, is returning to Pepsi Arena to be Steve Hawkins’ top assistant coach. Walsh served as an assistant coach under Hawkins from 1994-98 and also was on the Hawks’ staff for the 1986-87 season, which was…
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QUINCY — In the hallway outside the Illini West gym, in the wake of the Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball team’s 40-38 victory in a battle of state-ranked teams, Raiders freshman guard Sage Stratton struggled to shake what might have been. With less than four seconds remaining and QND inbounding the ball from the baseline,…
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QUINCY — It’s better to burn out than fade away. Those words are in the lyrics to the rock anthem “Rock of Ages,” released by Def Leppard in May 1983. Four decades later, they still ring true. Eric Orne burned out, but he never faded away. Following the Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball program’s fifth…
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The success of teams throughout the area on the girls basketball scene led to a vast number of players on both sides of the Mississippi River receiving postseason honors. Here is the inaugural Muddy River Sports all-area team, with the the 10 players listed in alphabetical order:
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Jordan Hildebrand’s decision to stay at Millikin University for an extra year of eligibility, pursue a master’s degree and help the Big Blue women’s basketball team chase NCAA glory turned out to be a wise move. Not only will Hildebrand walk away later this year with two degrees in her hip pocket, but the 6-foot…
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QUINCY — In what they had dubbed a make-or-break weekend, the Quincy University baseball players made a strong case they intend on being a postseason contender. The Hawks may even be the Great Lakes Valley Conference’s team to beat. Taking three of four games from 13th-ranked Illinois-Springfield in the opening GLVC series of the season…
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QUINCY — Gino D’Alessio‘s demonstrative reaction to being called out on a stolen base attempt and insistence he was safe made the decision easy for Quincy University baseball coach Matt Schissel to ask for a video review. After that, all they could do was wait. “I didn’t know what kind of view of the play…
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QUINCY — Clutch at-bats in extra innings from both the Quincy High School and Springfield baseball teams allowed the clubs to split Saturday’s doubleheader at Ferd Niemann Jr. Memorial Ballfield. The twinbill was moved to the turf field on the Quincy Notre Dame campus due to wet field conditions at QHS. Quincy won the opener…
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QUINCY — A split of the first Great Lakes Valley Conference series of the season is guaranteed. Still, the Quincy University baseball team wants more. The Hawks want to send a definitive message they intend to compete for league and region titles, and to do so, it will take putting an exclamation point on the…
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QUINCY — Quincy High School girls soccer coach Travis Dinkheller’s preachings in practice rattled around in Bri Lannerd’s head as she stood over a 30-yard free kick. “I knew if I put it on frame it had a chance,” Lannerd said. “I tried to just give it a chance.” She might have to do that…
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QUINCY — Spencer Walker has found a neighborhood where he’d like to stay. That’s down in the zone. The Quincy University senior right-hander thrived there for a majority of Friday afternoon’s series-opening game against No. 13 Illinois-Springfield, enticing the Prairie Stars into 12 groundouts over 8 ⅓ innings in a 7-5 victory at QU Stadium.…
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Lone Elk Park in Saint Louis County, Mo., is one of the few areas in the Midwest where the American bison roams and park visitors can view them in close proximity. This photo was taken within 20 feet of the bison from inside a vehicle. Do you have a Shot of the Day you would…
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The Rock Island Alleman athletic department may finally have hit rock bottom, and it’s time for the Western Big 6 Conference to address it. Last week, the Pioneers informed the remainder of the WB6 they would not be fielding a girls softball team this spring. Dwindling numbers saw less than nine players attend the first…
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Do you have a Shot of the Day you would like to submit? Send it to Muddy River Sports Editor Matt Schuckman at mschuckman@muddyrivernews.com.
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QUINCY — How many roads intersect with the Quincy High School boys basketball program? Quite a few it turns out. For example, the University of Missouri men’s basketball program’s newest coach, Dennis Gates, was a starting guard on the Chicago Whitney Young powerhouse that beat the Blue Devils in the semifinals of the Class AA…
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MONROE CITY, Mo. — Brock Edris wondered aloud if Joshua Talton is the first player in the history of the Monroe City boys basketball program to be named the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association’s Class 3 Player of the Year. “It’s a pretty special honor,” the Monroe City coach said. It’s a rare one indeed. Talton,…
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