Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
April 20, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — Bri Lannerd called Rian Moore’s corner kick the perfect ball. “You can’t get better than that,” Lannerd said. Moore had a pretty good idea what the end result of it would be. “I can tell when Bri has her eyes on a ball,” Moore said. “She saw it, it was right at her…
Read Full Article April 18, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — A trio of minor league pitchers with Quincy ties enjoyed a stellar week as the season is starting to find some rhythm. In the Class A Carolina League, Quincy Notre Dame graduate Johnny Ray made his first start last Saturday night and earned his first victory for the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers, an affiliate…
Read Full Article April 16, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — Brandon Crisp hoped to find the best of both worlds. The Palmyra School district is affording him that. The Quincy High School baseball coach informed his staff and players Wednesday he is resigning at season’s end to become the head baseball coach and an elementary school physical education teacher at Palmyra. The Palmyra…
Read Full Article April 16, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
PALMYRA, Mo. — Timothy Southers’ interest in watching the Palmyra girls basketball team develop was piqued from the start. “Being on the front line of watching of them this year, watching how they competed this year was very intriguing,” Southers said. “I remember the very first time I saw them play after (Palmyra boys basketball…
Read Full Article April 13, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — Everything about Alex Pribyl’s routine needed to change. Most things, such as when to start his warm-ups and how many pitches he should throw, the sixth-year Quincy University pitcher could figure out by feel or by asking. Still, the transition from bullpen mainstay to the starter on the backend of a doubleheader created…
Read Full Article April 12, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — Nolan Wosman finally got his groove back. Hit in the helmet by a pitch in the first game of a four-game series against Illinois-Springfield on March 25, the Quincy University junior third baseman didn’t play the remainder of the weekend. He returned the following week and played in three of the four games…
Read Full Article April 10, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — The reaction to Mike Baker’s two-rail shot that kicked the eight ball into the side pocket to win a world 8-ball team championship loudly resonated. “When Mike made that eight ball and everybody erupted, the entire exposition hall heard us,” said John Ellis, a member of Quincy’s Bar Box Bandits, who won the…
Read Full Article April 10, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — Quincy University football coach Gary Bass made it clear to the Hawks’ defense what the matra needed to be throughout spring practice. Play smart. Play hard. Play fast. So far, that’s working. The Hawks showed considerable improvement defensively during Saturday’s controlled scrimmage at QU Stadium, doing more gang tackling than one-on-one tackling as…
Read Full Article April 10, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — Solid starts in both games of Saturday’s Mid-West Athletic Conference doubleheader put the John Wood Community College baseball team in good position. Poor finishes led to JWCC getting swept. Lewis & Clark rallied late in both games to snare a 9-8 victory in the opener and a 6-4 victory in the nightcap. JWCC…
Read Full Article April 8, 2022 | By 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 April 7, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
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…
Read Full Article April 7, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
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…
Read Full Article April 7, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
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…
Read Full Article April 5, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
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…
Read Full Article April 4, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
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 April 3, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
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,…
Read Full Article April 1, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
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…
Read Full Article April 1, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
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…
Read Full Article April 1, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
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…
Read Full Article April 1, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
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:
Read Full Article March 31, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
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…
Read Full Article March 30, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
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…
Read Full Article March 30, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
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…
Read Full Article March 29, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
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,…
Read Full Article March 29, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
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…
Read Full Article March 29, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
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:
Read Full Article March 28, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
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…
Read Full Article March 27, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
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…
Read Full Article March 27, 2022 | By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
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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