Shane Hulsey, Sports Writer
QUINCY — As Wednesday’s first pitch drew near, Quincy Doggy Paddlers general manager Brendan Saak could feel the gravity of the moment grow stronger. “We had a nice, sunny afternoon, and about 3:30, 4 p.m., it was like, ‘OK, let’s go. What do we have to do?’” Saak said. “Once people started to filter in,…
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GREENVILLE, Ill. — For how much beating Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin means to the Quincy Notre Dame girls soccer team, look no further than Sierra and Alena Thomas’ thoughts on that subject. “Sometimes I feel like our team wants to beat them more than we want to beat (Quincy High School), honestly,” said Sierra Thomas, a…
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GREENVILLE, Ill. — Sierra Thomas’ goal in the 12th minute stood up as the only goal in the Raiders’ 1-0 victory over Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin in Tuesday’s Class 1A Greenville Sectional championship game. This was the Raiders’ first victory over the Cyclones since beating them 3-2 in the 2022 sectional title game on their way…
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MENDON, Ill. — Jacksonville Routt baseball coach Ryan Turner admitted the father in him came out as his son, Routt junior left-hander Brady Turner, put the finishing touches on a complete game to help the Rockets beat Brown County 7-1 on Saturday and capture their third straight Class 1A regional title. “I’m his biggest fan,”…
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MENDON, Ill. — The Jacksonville Routt baseball team won its third straight regional championship by beating Brown County 7-1 in Saturday’s Class 1A Mendon Unity Regional title game. Muddy River Sports Writer Shane Hulsey captured these images from Unity High School.
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GREENVILLE, Ill. — Abby Miller’s reaction was equal parts shock and excitement. Given just a handful of minutes in the second half of Friday’s Class 1A Greenville Sectional semifinal game, the Quincy Notre Dame freshman forward made the most of her opportunity in the 51st minute. With QND and Alton Marquette tied at one, Miller…
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GREENVILLE, Ill. — The Quincy Notre Dame girls soccer team scored three unanswered goals in the second half to beat Alton Marquette 3-1 in Friday’s Class 1A Greenville Sectional semifinal. Muddy River Sports Writer Shane Hulsey captured these images at Don Stout Field.
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WINCHESTER, Ill. — A career day dashed the Liberty baseball team’s dreams of playing for a regional title, and it came courtesy of a familiar foe. Rushville-Industry senior right-hander Macon Kessler struck out a career-high 16 batters and tossed a complete-game shutout as the sixth-seeded Rockets ended the fourth-seeded Eagles’ season with an 8-0 victory…
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'That was freaking awesome': Buss delivers game-winning single in bottom of seventh for Brown County
MENDON, Ill. — Good luck wiping the smile off of Jack Buss’ face any time soon. Buss, Brown County’s senior catcher, delivered a walk-off base hit in the bottom of the seventh inning of a 3-2 victory in Wednesday’s Class 1A Mendon Unity Regional semifinal game against Unity. “That was freaking awesome,” Buss said. After…
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MENDON, Ill. — The Jacksonville Routt baseball team’s death-by-a-thousand-cuts strategy paid off in the form of a trip to the Class 1A Mendon Unity Regional championship game. The No. 2 seed Rockets rattled out 12 hits — 10 of them singles — on a blustery day in Mendon and scored in all but one of…
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MENDON, Ill. — Brown County right-hander Myer Maxwell tossed 6 ⅓ innings while giving up two runs and belted his first home run of the season in the bottom of the sixth inning, tying the game and setting the stage for Jack Buss’ walk-off single in the seventh as the Hornets beat Mendon Unity 3-2…
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BARRY, Ill. — Liberty softball coach BJ Fessler remained optimistic while also addressing the elephant in the room in the postgame huddle following a 14-7 victory over Griggsville-Perry in Tuesday’s Class 1A Barry Western Regional semifinal game. The No. 2 seed Eagles did not perform up to their standard. “I wasn’t hard on the girls,”…
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BARRY, Ill. — The Liberty softball team scored four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to pull away from Griggsville-Perry to win Tuesday’s Class 1A Barry Western Regional semifinal game 14-7. The Eagles (22-5) will play for the regional championship on Friday against the winner between No. 3 seed Pleasant Hill and fifth-seeded…
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QUINCY — The fourth annual Muddy River Showcase on Saturday, June 21, will pit the top seniors from Illinois and Missouri in a basketball all-star setting. The girls game begins at 2 p.m. with the boys game to follow at 4 p.m. at John Wood Community College’s Student Activity Center. Illinois Boys West Hancock and…
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QUINCY — QU Stadium will look quite differently when the Quincy Doggy Paddlers take the field for the first Prospect League game in Quincy in nearly two years. The Doggy Paddlers ownership group has partnered with Quincy University and local volunteers to renovate QU Stadium ahead of the Doggy Paddlers’ home opener on May 28.…
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MRN’s Shane Hulsey is back on Schuck’s tailgate. This time with Alex McCulla as he was grabbing yet another Quincy City Golf Championship. Shottenkirk Toyota brings you Schuck on a Truck, Shane in the Fast Lane edition.
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LIBERTY, Ill. — Ally Lefringhouse would rather stay out of the spotlight, but her softball talents make it difficult for her to avoid it. Lefringhouse, a senior catcher for Liberty, has been a consistent force over the last four seasons. She has played at least 25 games each season, made just five errors behind the…
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QUINCY — For the third straight year, Adam Pfieffer will have to go toe-to-toe with the man who has denied him of that elusive, record-setting ninth Quincy men’s city golf championship. In his fifth attempt at breaking a tie with Mike O’Connell for most city tournament crowns, Pfeiffer enters the second and final round in…
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QUINCY — On Friday, redemption was spelled “Q-N-D.” Ten days after losing to Quincy High School 10-0, the Quincy Notre Dame baseball team exacted crosstown revenge by beating the Blue Devils 9-6 on Friday. “We really needed this,” QND junior catcher and right-handed pitcher Oliver Triplett said. Triplett’s tightrope act in the bottom of the…
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CAMP POINT, Ill. — Dakota Neisen is no stranger to high expectations, which gives promise to the belief that his transition into his first full-time head coaching job will be a seamless one. Neisen, a Liberty High School graduate, has spent the last five seasons as an assistant for Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of…
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QUINCY — Quincy Notre Dame freshman infielder Kaden Marth hit the first home run of his high school career in the seventh inning of a 9-6 victory over Quincy High School on Friday. Oliver Triplett escaped a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the seventh by striking out Jacob Salisbury to end the game. Muddy…
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LIBERTY, Ill. — Ally Lefringhouse’s home run sparked the Liberty softball team’s comeback, Chandler John’s homer completed it, and Claire Obert’s slam put an exclamation point on it. Lefringhouse got the Eagles within a run with a solo blast in the bottom of the third inning, John gave the Eagles a one-run lead with her…
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LIBERTY, Ill. — The Liberty softball team belted three home runs, including a grand slam by sophomore first baseman Claire Obert in the sixth inning, in a 12-7 victory over Pittsfield on Thursday. Muddy River Sports Writer Shane Hulsey captured these images from the Liberty softball field.
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RUSHVILLE, Ill. — Central-Southeastern track coach Brad Dixon is about to have a busy week, but he doesn’t mind. “It’s going to be a heck of a lot of fun next week,” Dixon said. Dixon can have fun because at Wednesday’s Class 1A Rushville-Industry Sectional, the Panthers captured their first sectional title since 2005 and…
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Here is the area scoreboard for Wednesday, May 14: Prep baseball Illini West 8, Orion 7 Liberty 15, Pleasant Hill/Western 0 Macomb 5, Beardstown 3 Winchester West Central 1, Mendon Unity 0 Kirksville 10, Palmyra 0 Rock Island Alleman 4, Quincy High School 2 Prep softball Quincy Notre Dame 10, Camp Point Central 8 Quincy…
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Several area athletes earned berths to the Class 1A state track and field championships at Wednesday’s Rushville-Industry Sectional. Here is a list of state qualifiers from that meet: 100 meters 200 meters 400 meters 800 meters 1600 meters 3200 meters 100-meter hurdles 300-meter hurdles 4×100-meter relay 4×200-meter relay 4×400-meter relay 4×800-meter relay Shot Put Discus…
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LIBERTY, Ill. — After the bottom of the first inning in which the Pittsfield baseball team gave up four runs and fell behind Liberty 4-2, Saukees coach Zach Ferguson gathered his team in front of their third-base dugout. Ferguson did not disclose exactly what he said to his troops. Rather, he gave the PG version.…
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CARTHAGE, Ill. — The Illini West baseball team got back to its winning ways on Tuesday, and a big third inning was the catalyst in doing so. Trailing Beardstown 4-3 entering the bottom of the third, the Chargers cashed in six runs to take a 9-4 lead and never looked back, tacking on five more…
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LIBERTY, Ill. — The Pittsfield baseball team rebounded from a slow start and scored eight unanswered runs two different times to beat Liberty 18-7 on Tuesday. With victories in their final two regular season games, the Saukees (18-10) can reach 20 wins for the fourth year in a row. Muddy River Sports Writer Shane Hulsey…
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HANNIBAL, Mo. — The South Shelby boys golf team has been agonizingly close to qualifying for the Missouri state tournament the last two seasons, missing out by one stroke each time. The golf gods were on the Cardinals’ side on Monday. South Shelby posted a team score of 328 at Monday’s Class 2 District 2…
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