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QUINCY — The weather hasn’t always been ideal, but Saturdays at QU Stadium throughout the spring have been perfect nonetheless. One more flawless Saturday is needed. The Quincy University baseball team finds itself in a win-twice-or-it’s-over scenario following Friday’s 4-3 loss to Indianapolis in the opening game of the NCAA Division II Midwest Super Regional,…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Spencer Walker never saw exactly where Luke Napleton caught the fastball or where it crossed the plate. He didn’t think he needed to look. With runners on second and third and two outs in the top of the eighth inning Friday at QU Stadium, the Quincy University senior right-hander felt he’d painted the…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The opening game of the NCAA Division II Midwest Super Regional turned into a pitchers’ duel, one the seventh-seeded University of Indianapolis baseball team won with a 4-3 victory over top-seeded Quincy University on Friday at QU Stadium. The Hawks (47-10) must win twice Saturday to advance to the D-II World Series in…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Luke Napleton’s historic season has him in line for All-American honors. The Quincy University junior catcher was named the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association’s Midwest Region Player of the Year and a first-team all-region selection, which makes him eligible for All-American consideration. QU coach Matt Schissel was named the Midwest Region Coach of…
Read Full Article QUINCY — A walkie talkie hangs from the netting stretched around the Quincy University baseball team’s dugout and always within Hawks coach Matt Schissel’s reach. It’s how he communicates with the bullpen during a game. Saturday, he hardly touched it. Right-handed starter Jay Hammel alleviated any pressure on Schissel and the bullpen during the final…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Griffin Kirn could have snuck away to the bathroom or a corner of the dugout at any point during the final two innings Friday to see just what kind of mark was left by the line drive that hit him squarely below the rib cage on his left side. He didn’t bother. It…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Going 20 at-bats without hitting a home run may not seem like much of a drought, but Luke Napleton knew he had taken several swings since his last blast. None of them felt like the right rhythm. “I’ve been rolling over the past few games, being a little early,” the Quincy University catcher…
Read Full Article QUINCY — As each day passes, the Quincy University baseball team moves a step closer to its ultimate goal. Saturday, the Hawks can take a leap forward. They will face Northwood at noon Saturday at QU Stadium, needing to win just once to capture the regional title and advance to the super regional. The top-seeded…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Two teams that have gone head-to-head in NCAA Division II regional play twice before with try to eliminate each other once again. The top-seeded Quincy University baseball team and fifth-seeded Northwood both beat Wayne State on Thursday on the opening day of the Midwest Regional at QU Stadium. The Timberwolves scored three times…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Nolan Wosman has never lost sight of what matters. A frustrating weekend swinging the bat couldn’t change that. A week ago, during the Quincy University baseball team’s four-game march to the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament championship, the senior second baseman struggled to marry the barrel to the ball. He went 2 for…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The Quincy University baseball team’s pursuit of a trip to Cary, N.C., begins in earnest Thursday with the start of NCAA Division II Midwest Regional play. The top-seeded Hawks, who carry a 44-9 record into the postseason, will face either Northwood or Wayne State at 3:30 p.m. Thursday at QU Stadium. The Timberwolves…
Read Full Article MARION, Ill. — Tyler Carpenter got mad. Then he got nasty. That made the Maryville baseball team’s plans to rally obsolete. The Quincy University left-handed reliever entered Saturday’s Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament game in the fifth inning with the Hawks ahead 9-7, two outs and two runners on base. The Saints’ Jed Zebig greeted…
Read Full Article MACOMB, Ill. — The move makes sense. Western Illinois University athletic director Paul Bubb announced Friday the school had accepted an invitation to join the Ohio Valley Conference and will begin competing in its new league this fall. WIU president Guiyou Huang signed the agreement Friday morning. The decision puts WIU in a league that…
Read Full Article MARION, Ill. — A glimpse at the future of the Quincy University baseball program enabled the present-day Hawks to see how to keep their championship aspirations on course. It takes patience and persistence. The two freshmen inserted into the starting lineup — Joe Huffman started just three games in the last month and Ben Dahlof…
Read Full Article MARION, Ill. — The nation’s top home-run hitting team showed it can play small ball when it needs to as well. It caught everyone by surprise, especially Missouri S&T. In the final game of the opening round of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament late Thursday night, the top-seeded Quincy University baseball team fell behind…
Read Full Article KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Dayne Sebranek’s name is officially part of history. One big swing took care of that. A senior infielder on the Quincy University baseball team, Sebranek collected his first career hit Saturday during a 17-3 victory over Rockhurst in the first game of a Great Lakes Valley Conference doubleheader at Loyola Park.…
Read Full Article KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Quincy University baseball team doesn’t need to hit home runs to win. Timely hitting and stellar pitching get the job done, too. Friday night’s Great Lakes Valley Conference series opener against Rockhurst at Loyola Park is a prime example. The GLVC’s top hitting offense and the nation’s No. 1 team…
Read Full Article QUINCY — A coach with ties to the Great Lakes Valley Conference will join new head coach Courtney Boyd on the Quincy University women’s basketball team’s sideline next season. Brooke Bailey will be Boyd’s top assistant, having agreed to join the QU staff after spending the past two seasons as an assistant coach at Hillsdale…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Two former Quincy University men’s basketball players who entered the transfer portal have found new homes. Paul Zilinskas, a 6-foot-6 swingman with two years of eligibility remaining, announced via social media last week he will be joining another Great Lakes Valley Conference program as he plans to sign with the University of Indianapolis.…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The DJ Khaled collaboration “All I Do Is Win” was released in 2010 and remains a ballpark staple more than a decade later. Still, it may be time for some fresh lyrics. The Quincy University baseball team seems to be providing them. It goes a little like, “All we do is crush, crush,…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The Quincy University baseball team doesn’t want Sunday’s 16-6 victory over Drury to complete a Great Lakes Valley Conference sweep to be its final game this season at QU Stadium. The Hawks want to play host to an NCAA Division II regional. Keep hitting the way they are and the Hawks likely will…
Read Full Article QUINCY — A rally that began with a record-breaking home run, ended with an epic bat flip and featured some of the most selfless, mature at-bats in between left everyone exiting QU Stadium with the same train of thought. This Quincy University baseball squad may truly be a team of destiny. “I told you three…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Brock Boynton knew it immediately. The epic bat flip made it obvious to everyone else. The senior center fielder crushed a walk-off grand slam to give the Quincy University baseball team a 12-8 victory in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader against Drury at QU Stadium. The eighth-ranked Hawks completed the sweep with…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Quincy University’s Mart Heinen Booster Club will be the host of its 44th annual Mart Heinen Golf Tournament on Friday, May 5 at the Quincy Country Club, 2410 State. The tournament is played in a scramble format. Lunch begins at 11:15 a.m., and a shotgun tee off begins at 12:30 p.m. Individual and…
Read Full Article QUINCY — If the rest of the weekend follows suit, the seniors on the Quincy University baseball team will create a memorable way to say goodbye. Friday’s start set the tone. Senior right-hander Spencer Walker struck out eight over seven innings, the eighth-ranked Hawks opened the game with five consecutive singles and fifth-year first baseman…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The team that has been virtually unbeatable at home this season continued to show why Friday. The eighth-ranked Quincy University baseball team parlayed a quality start from right-hander Spencer Walker and a 17-hit attack into a 12-5 victory over Drury at QU Stadium. The Hawks are now 23-2 at home this season. Muddy…
Read Full Article BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — The golf ball’s flight didn’t match the power or precision of the swing, which told Alex McCulla the only logical explanation had to be an equipment failure. Looking at the face of his driver, he saw the problem. “I step up and put a pretty big swing on it, and the ball…
Read Full Article CANTON, Mo. — A trio of seniors on the Culver-Stockton College softball team took the idea of going out with a bang literally Thursday. Playing their final game at Himsl Field against nationally ranked Central Methodist University, the Wildcats’ Katelyn Felt, Alle Thompson and Baylee Schneider engineered a three-run, sixth-inning rally that led to a…
Read Full Article CANTON, Mo. — Hunter Davis, the track and field and cross country coach at Iowa Wesleyan University, has been hired as the director of the track and field program at Culver-Stockton College. He also will re-start the cross country program after a one-year hiatus. Doug Savage will not return as head coach of the track…
Read Full Article QUINCY — A six-run rally in the seventh inning Tuesday — a “Quincy six-spot” as center fielder Brock Boynton called it — pushed the 13th-ranked Quincy University baseball team to an 8-6 victory over No. 4 Central Missouri at QU Stadium in the Hawks’ final non-conference game of the regular season. Muddy River Sports Editor…
Read Full Article ST. LOUIS — The Quincy University baseball team’s recipe for success worked well Sunday. The Hawks piled up runs, scoring 11 times and collecting 18 hits. Jay Hammel delivered a strong start as the right-hander allowed just two runs over seven innings. The bullpen finished it off with Chase Gockel and Tyler Carpenter each striking…
Read Full Article ST. LOUIS — A record-setting home run was all Spencer Walker needed. After Luke Napleton launched a solo home run in the first inning Friday afternoon, allowing the Quincy University baseball team to break the single-season home run record, Walker followed with eight scoreless innings as the Hawks opened the weekend series against Missouri-St. Louis…
Read Full Article CANTON, Mo. — Culver-Stockton College women’s lacrosse coach Caitlin Erickson and six of the Wildcats were honored with mention on the inaugural All-Heart of America Athletic Conference teams. Erickson, in her fourth season at the helm, was named the Heart Coach of the Year, The Wildcats, under Erickson’s direction, finished with a 6-7 record and…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Opportunity awaits the Quincy University women’s tennis team. For the second time in three seasons, the Hawks have qualified for the Great Lakes Valley Conference postseason tournament, finishing fourth in the league’s West Division after winning two of their final three conference duals. The only drawback, if there is even one, is the…
Read Full Article AUGUSTA, Ill. — Emma Derry is taking her talents to the college game. The Southeastern graduate spent the past two years as the head volleyball coach at Lincoln High School, guiding the Railers to a 30-win season, a regional championship and a second-place finish in the Apollo Conference last fall. The success earned her the…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Luke Napleton’s big weekend earned him another Great Lakes Valley Conference honor. The Quincy University baseball team’s junior catcher was named the GLVC Player of the Week after helping the Hawks go 5-0 last week with a four-game sweep of McKendree to move into sole possession of first place in the league standings.…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Filling out the lineup card isn’t too much of a chore for Quincy University baseball coach Matt Schissel. “It isn’t drawing straws,” he said. Eight starters are hitting .350 or better. Seven starters have each hit six or more home runs. Five have 30 or more RBIs. And every single one of them…
Read Full Article QUINCY — A four-game sweep of McKendree, coupled with a series split between Illinois-Springfield and Maryville, has the Quincy University baseball team alone in first place in the Great Lakes Valley Conference following Saturday’s 13-6 and 15-4 victories at QU Stadium. Muddy River Sports Editor Matt Schuckman was on hand to capture some of the…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The logistical challenges of moving a four-game Great Lakes Valley Conference baseball series from the McKendree campus to QU Stadium were unique, but the end result of Friday’s series-opening doubleheader was expected. The 14th-ranked Hawks swept the Bearcats, winning 15-5 and 5-2. Due to weather concerns, the rest of the weekend schedule has…
Read Full Article MACOMB, Ill. — Western Illinois University found its perfect match, so there was no reason to waste any time making it official. Six days after naming Chad Boudreau as the interim men’s basketball coach in the wake of Rob Jeter’s sudden departure to take over at Southern Utah, WIU athletic director Paul Bubb removed the…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The president of an outdoor sportswear brand. The J.G. Taylor Spink Award winner. An accomplished mixed martial arts fighter. An all-American baseball player. The latest class of inductees into the Quincy University Sports Hall of Fame are trendsetters, icons, acclaimed student-athletes and successful businessmen. QU will honor the Class of 2023 during an…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Luke Napleton tossed the bat away thinking he’d just drawn a walk, but the home plate umpire called it a strike to force the Quincy University catcher back into the batter’s box to face a full-count payoff pitch. But he only had a few seconds to regroup because the pitch clock was running.…
Read Full Article QUINCY — In need of something to lift morale and change momentum, the Quincy University baseball team got a quality start from left-hander Griffin Kirn and a three home run day from Dustin Dupont to sweep Maryville 14-6 and 6-5 in Great Lakes Valley Conference action Friday at QU Stadium. Muddy River Sports Editor Matt…
Read Full Article MACOMB, Ill. — Chad Boudreau is getting the chance to prove he deserves an NCAA Division I head coaching position with a live audition. After news broke Friday that Western Illinois University coach Rob Jeter was finalizing a deal to take over at Southern Utah, Leathernecks athletic director Paul Bubb named Boudreau as the interim…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Brett Panick’s wildness, Maryville’s patience and an inopportune time for a letdown has the nationally ranked Quincy University baseball team needing to rebound. The ninth-ranked Hawks took a three-run lead to the ninth inning Thursday in the opening game of a four-game Great Lakes Valley Conference series, but Panick was unable to close…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Spencer Walker delivered. So did Jacob Kroeger. Once the two starting pitchers exited, it was up to their respective bullpens to determine which team won the opening game of the Great Lakes Valley Conference series. Give the edge to the Maryville baseball team. The Saints rallied for four runs in the top of…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Kaci Bailey never intended to leave Quincy University as abruptly as she did. “Obviously, I wouldn’t have bought a house,” she said. Bailey never sold it as a lifelong commitment to coach women’s basketball here either. “As I told (QU athletic director Josh Rabe), QU has never been in the mix to be…
Read Full Article HANNIBAL, Mo. — After two seasons at the helm of the Hannibal-LaGrange University women’s volleyball program, Maliah Blakemore is leaving to join the coaching staff at Kansas Wesleyan University. Blakemore, a Quincy High School graduate, was a graduate assistant at HLGU during the 2020 season before taking over as the interim head coach two weeks…
Read Full Article SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Jay Hammel delivered his best when the Quincy University baseball team needed it most. Having lost the first game of Sunday’s Great Lakes Valley Conference doubleheader with Illinois-Springfield, the Hawks needed a victory in the nightcap to split the day and the four-game series between two nationally ranked teams. Hammel made certain…
Read Full Article SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Chase Gockel’s job Saturday was to keep the Great Lakes Valley Conference doubleheader from teetering to the point of no return. Three scoreless innings did the trick. After the Illinois-Springfield baseball team won the first game of the twinbill 9-3 by scoring three times in both the sixth and seventh inning, the…
Read Full Article HAMDEN, Conn. — Former Hannibal multi-sport standout Dezi Jones was arrested by the Hamden Police Department on Tuesday night and charged with misdemeanor strangulation/suffocation and disorderly conduct, according to police reports. The arrest was first reported by NBC Connecticut. Jones, a 5-foot-10 guard who spent the previous two seasons on the Quinnipiac University men’s basketball…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Doubt comes when confidence wanes. Everything Jay Hammel experienced in the first six weeks of the Quincy University baseball team’s season could have created doubt in himself, his ability to contribute on a nationally ranked team, and his decision to return for a final year of eligibility. Never once has he doubted any…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The Quincy University baseball team bookended its weekend sweep of Truman State with offensive outbursts, complementing Friday’s 14-run effort with Sunday’s 20-7 victory at Stadium. The Hawks hit seven home runs with Nolan Wosman going 5 for 5 with two home runs and four runs scored. Muddy River Sports Editor Matt Schuckman spent…
Read Full Article QUINCY — It’s a simple philosophy with proven results. Win the inning. “I don’t know if you can hear me in the dugout, but I’m always saying ‘win the inning,’” Quincy University baseball coach Matt Schissel said. “Whether we give up four or give up two or give up none, go win the inning. If…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Spencer Walker paused as he searched for the most apropos way to describe his mindset when he took the mound Friday afternoon. “I can’t find the word,” he frustratedly said. He needed more than one. “I went out there with a little more of a chip on my shoulder,” Walker said. He pitched…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Everyone got into the act. The Quincy University baseball team scored 12 runs over the final three innings Friday to post a 14-4, seven-inning victory over Truman State at QU Stadium. All nine of the Hawks in the lineup reached base, seven had hits and eight scored at least one run. Muddy River…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The Quincy University men’s lacrosse team scored seven goals in the third quarter Monday, erasing a one-goal halftime deficit and propelling itself to a 13-8 victory over Colorado State-Pueblo at QU Stadium. Quincy scored three times in the first 90 seconds of the third quarter. Neal Dardis tied the game at 5 off…
Read Full Article QUINCY — A pair of former Prospect League hurlers are making strong pitches to land on major league rosters when spring training breaks. Left-hander Dylan Dodd, who played for the Hannibal Hoots in 2018, is in the conversation to be the Atlanta Braves’ fifth starter. Meanwhile, right-hander Cam Sanders, who played for the Quincy Gems…
Read Full Article QUINCY — When the Quincy University baseball team starts rattling the bats, there’s no slowing down the offense. The Hawks tagged nine Missouri S&T pitchers for a combined 30 runs in sweeping Sunday’s doubleheader at QU Stadium, winning 11-2 and 19-11 to take three of the four games in their first Great Lakes Valley Conference…
Read Full Article QUINCY — What’s the best way to respond to a pummeling? Come back and deliver the final blow. The Quincy University baseball team is pretty good at finishing with a punch. After allowing the most runs in a Great Lakes Valley Conference game in at least two decades in a 20-10 loss, the Hawks salvaged…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The Fox Sports 2 broadcast team handling the play-by-play of Monday’s World Baseball Classic matchup between Colombia and Great Britain pointed out multiple times the number of professional scouts in attendance. If any are looking for a right-handed reliever, Graham Spraker may have piqued their interest. The former Quincy University ace came out…
Read Full Article QUINCY — For the fifth straight season and the eighth time in the past 10 seasons, the John Wood Community College men’s basketball team has produced the Region 24 Player of the Year. This year, for just the second time in that stretch, the Trail Blazers swept three major postseason awards. Credit Jeremiah Talton for…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Luke Napleton’s first at-bat set the tone for quite a weekend that earned him Great Lakes Valley Conference Player of the Week when all was said and done. The Quincy University baseball team’s junior catcher roped a line drive over Augustana center fielder Trevor Winterstein that turned into a triple thanks to his…
Read Full Article QUINCY — A pair of Quincy University men’s basketball players have entered the transfer portal. Junior guard Paul Zilinskas and redshirt freshman forward Connor Davis announced their decisions on social media last week. Zilinskas, a 6-foot-5 swingman from , was the Hawks’ third leading scorer, averaging 10.9 points while shooting 42 percent from the field…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Seven combined shutout innings from four pitchers and a four-RBI effort from the No. 9 hitter propelled the Quincy University baseball team to a 10-0 victory over Augustana on Saturday at QU Stadium and a three-game sweep of the Vikings. Muddy River Sports Editor Matt Schuckman hung out at the windy, cold stadium…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Luke Napleton wasn’t stopping for anyone or anything. In the bottom of the first inning in the first game of Friday’s doubleheader, the Quincy University baseball team’s junior catcher rifled a ball over the head of Augustana center fielder Trevor Winterstein that reached the warning track. Although third base coach Chandler Purcell threw…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The nationally ranked Quincy University baseball team hit six home runs and got scoreless outings from its starting pitchers in sweeping a doubleheader from Augustana (S.D.) on Friday at QU Stadium, winning both games 7-2. Muddy River Sports Editor Matt Schuckman spent the afternoon at QU Stadium and created this photo gallery:
Read Full Article CANTON, Ill. — The dark ride home gave John Wood Community College men’s basketball Brad Hoyt to accept there will be no tomorrow, at least not for this year’s team. “The reality has sunk in,” Hoyt said. “You get spoiled.” For the first time in six years, the Trail Blazers won’t play for the Region…
Read Full Article HANNIBAL, Mo. — Dezi Jones’ junior season proved to be one that made the men’s basketball coaches around the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference take note. The Hannibal native received second-team All-MAAC honors this week after guiding Quinnipiac to a third-place finish in the regular-season standings. The 5-foot-10 guard led the Bobcats in scoring at 12.4…
Read Full Article ST. CHARLES, Mo. — An outsized and physically overmatched Quincy University men’s basketball team did everything it could on Thursday afternoon, but it couldn’t change the outcome — a gritty 79-77 double-overtime loss to top-seeded Indianapolis in the first round in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament. What the Hawks did change this season, however,…
Read Full Article ST. CHARLES, Mo. — It wasn’t quite the U.S. national hockey team over the Russians in 1980, but for NCAA Division II women’s basketball, it was darned close. Nobody could even fathom the Quincy University women’s basketball team staying remotely close to Drury, ranked No. 2 nationally, in the first round of the Great Lakes…
Read Full Article ST. CHARLES, Mo. — The eighth-seeded Quincy University women’s basketball team nearly pulled off one of the biggest stunners in the history of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament, falling 79-78 to top-seeded Drury in Thursday’s tourney quarterfinals. MRN Editor David Adam put together this photo gallery:
Read Full Article ST. CHARLES, Mo. — The eighth-seeded Quincy University men’s basketball team took top-seeded Indianapolis to double overtime before falling 79-77 in the quarterfinals of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament. MRN Editor David Adam captured these images for a photo gallery:
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