Sports Spotlight
QUINCY — The Quincy High School baseball team ended the first half of Saturday’s Western Big 6 Conference doubleheader with Sterling in four innings. The Blue Devils made up for it in the nightcap, needing nine innings to walk off with a 14-10 victory and the sweep. Photographer Samantha Carmean captured these images from the…
Read Full Article HANNIBAL, Mo. — The Hannibal girls track team dominated the field at the Mark Twain/Becky Thatcher Relays at Porter Stadium on Friday, scoring 160 points and nearly doubling the second-place total of 89 points scored by Quincy High School. On the boys side, the deep, record-setting Bowling Green squad won the team title with 129…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The Quincy Notre Dame baseball team returned to Ferd Niemann Jr. Memorial Ballfield on Friday after being on the road for 10 games over 20 days. The Raiders won all 10 of those games, and Friday, they scored a 12-0, five-inning victory over Camp Point Central to push their winning streak to 17…
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 BURLINGTON, Iowa — Having played at home only once in the past three weeks and coming off six consecutive road games, the Quincy Notre Dame girls soccer team finally will return to Advance Physical Therapy Field next week. Maybe some good mojo will follow. The Raiders ended their road journey Thursday with a 4-1 victory…
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 PALMYRA, Mo. — It didn’t take long for Palmyra to find its next girls basketball coach. Two weeks after the Palmyra School Board voted not to renew the teaching and coaching contract of Tim Southers after one season as the Panthers head coach, the board voted unanimously in special session Tuesday to hire Kelsey Stuart…
Read Full Article KAHOKA, Mo. — The long road home is finally over, and the Quincy Notre Dame baseball team has no blemishes to show from its travels. The Raiders capped a string of 10 consecutive road games with Tuesday’s 12-1 victory over Clark County in which they put together a pair of five-run innings and received another…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Abbey Schreacke and Danny Stephens each received one final prep basketball honor to add to each of their illustrious careers. The Champaign News-Gazette tabbed them both as first-team all-staters. Quincy Notre Dame’s Schreacke and Southeastern’s Stephens — both are bound for Mizzou — were named respectively to the News-Gazette’s 46th all-state girls basketball…
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 QUINCY — A three-run rally in the bottom of the sixth inning sparked by an RBI single from Payton Stupavsky allowed the Quincy Notre Dame softball team to secure a 6-3 victory over Quincy High School on Monday at The Backyard and sweep in the city series. Muddy River Sports Editor Matt Schuckman spent the…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The Quincy High School boys tennis team outlasted Quincy Notre Dame in the first of their two head-to-head duals this season, winning 5-4 Monday afternoon at the Greeman Tennis Center in Reservoir Park. The Blue Devils rebounded from losing two of the three doubles matches to take four of the six singles matches.…
Read Full Article ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — Bri Lannerd’s goal two minutes into overtime enabled the Quincy High School girls soccer team to change course and get back to winning ways Monday night. Coming off back-to-back losses on the road, the Blue Devils overcame allowing a tying goal in the final 10 minutes of regulation to earn a…
Read Full Article MENDON, Ill. — The Unity baseball team put Quincy Notre Dame in an unfamiliar spot. The Raiders trailed by two runs through three innings Monday. An offense that has pushed QND into this week’s Prep Baseball Report top 25 state poll wouldn’t let the deficit linger. The Raiders scored three times in the fourth inning,…
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 PAYSON, Ill. — It’s not only the top of the Quincy Notre Dame baseball team’s lineup that can inflict pain on opposing defenses. The bottom half of the order is feisty as well. Saturday, in a West Central Conference matchup, the final five batters combined for eight hits, three doubles and nine RBIs in a…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The Quincy Notre Dame softball team rebounded in a big way. Following Friday’s loss at Chatham Glenwood — the Raiders’ first loss of the season — QND swept a pair of games Saturday at The Backyard by beating Petersburg PORTA 16-2 and Jacksonville 14-1 amid cold, windy conditions. Against PORTA, the Raiders (13-1)…
Read Full Article QUINCY — An aggressive approach on the base paths and the willingness to be patient at the plate enabled the Quincy High School baseball team to sweep a Western Big 6 Conference doubleheader from Rock Island Alleman on Friday, winning 14-4 and 10-0 at QU Stadium. The Blue Devils have won four consecutive games to…
Read Full Article CARTHAGE, Ill. — As potent as the Quincy Notre Dame baseball team’s lineup is, the Raiders must also show a little bit of patience. Friday, with the wind gusting in from center field and taking away the opportunity to drive the ball deep, the Raiders relied on their ability to work counts, move runners and…
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 CHATHAM, Ill. — The first time through the lineup Friday afternoon, the Chatham Glenwood softball team found Quincy Notre Dame left-handed hurler Caitlin Bunte impossible to hit. The second time through, the Titans figured her out. The first three hitters in the bottom of the fourth inning each singled and Glenwood’s Cassandra Feld followed with…
Read Full Article BEARDSTOWN, Ill. — The Quincy Notre Dame baseball team delivered a strong message to a potential regional opponent Thursday afternoon. The Raiders are ready to Dance. Behind a one-hit shutout by right-hander Tyler Dance and a dominant effort from the top of the batting order, the Raiders rolled to a 13-0, five-inning victory over Beardstown…
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 JACKSONVILLE, Ill. — A counterattack, a cross and a goal by Chatham Glenwood all in the first 90 seconds of Thursday’s match left the Quincy High School girls soccer team reeling just a little. “I thought, ‘Oh, no, how is this going to roll?’” Blue Devils coach Travis Dinkheller said. Forced to alter the lineup…
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 QUINCY — The full potency of the Quincy Notre Dame softball team’s lineup was on display Wednesday in a 12-4 victory over Payson Seymour at The Backyard. The Raiders racked up 16 hits, five doubles, a triple and a home run, while seven different players had at least one hit and six players drove in…
Read Full Article GENESEO, Ill. — The depth the Quincy High School girls soccer worked to build during some of its early-season lopsided victories is going to be put to the test against some of the most stiff competition the Blue Devils will face. The Blue Devils likely will go into Thursday’s game at Chatham Glenwood without three…
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 — The moment “Sweet Caroline” began playing over the Flinn Stadium sound system, Bri Lannerd’s excitement enveloped her teammates. “That’s our song,” she blurted out. The next thing you know, the Quincy High School girls soccer players were singing and dancing to the Neil Diamond tune. Although the song released more than 50 years…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Caitlin Bunte was unhittable in the circle and unstoppable at the plate. The Quincy Notre Dame sophomore tossed a five-inning no-hitter in leading the QND softball team to a 10-0 victory over Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin on Monday at The Backyard. Bunte also belted two home runs as the Raiders improved to 10-0. Muddy…
Read Full Article QUINCY — It took a little from everyone to hold the rope. After surrendering three goals in the game’s first 22 minutes, the Quincy High School girls soccer team’s defense stonewalled Columbia (Mo.) Rock Bridge the final 58 minutes. Two goals in the final three minutes of the first half by Taylor Routh turned 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 — A pair of Quincy doubles teams recently placed in the top four in their respective division at the United States Tennis Association’s NTRP Nationals at the Surprise Tennis and Racquet Complex in Surprise, Ariz. Gerry Korb and Rick Crider placed third in the 55-and-over men’s 3.5 tournament, beating fellow Quincyans Joe Laws and…
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 — If Quincy High School girls soccer coach Travis Dinkheller were to break the regular season down into two parts, the first one wrapped up Saturday. The second part will be more challenging. The Blue Devils dispatched Jacksonville 5-0 at Flinn Stadium to improve to 8-0-2. Muddy River Sports Editor Matt Schuckman captured the…
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 BEARDSTOWN, Ill. — The Quincy Notre Dame baseball team didn’t record a hit until the fifth batter of the first inning Friday against Carrollton in the opening game of the Beardstown Tiger Showcase and had only two hits in the inning thereafter. The Raiders still scored 12 runs in the frame. Capitalizing on walks, hit…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The wait is almost over. For the past six months, dirt-track race fans have been anticipating what Sunday night will bring at 8000 Broadway — the first green flag of the season at Adams County Speedway. “Everything is a go,” said Jimmy Lieurance, who with his wife, Tammy, will begin their second season…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Dirt track racing guru Steve Eighinger offers his insight into each of the five classes which will be featured at the Adams County Speedway this season, beginning with this season’s lid-lifter Sunday night: LATE MODELS Defending champ: Denny Woodworth. Best bet to dethrone the king: Tommy Elston. Dark horse to watch: Darin Weisinger…
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 — Caitlin Bunte was dominant in the pitcher’s circle. The Quincy Notre Dame softball team collected timely hits. And Quincy High School struggled to generate an answer offensively. The end result in the first of two crosstown showdowns this spring was a 10-0 victory for the Raiders on Wednesday night at the QHS field.…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The Quincy Notre Dame girls soccer team scored five goals in the first 10 minutes of Wednesday’s game against Macomb at Advance Physical Therapy Field and rolled to a 10-0 victory. Sage Stratton recorded a hat trick and Jaden Tchapda scored her first varsity goal for the Raiders. Stratton finished a Lilly Schuette…
Read Full Article HANNIBAL, Mo. — No one wanted to go home, not until every last opportunity to score had been exhausted. That explains why the Hannibal baseball team’s 15-14 victory over Quincy High School at Veterans Field on Wednesday took 10 innings and 3 hours, 45 minutes to complete. Ultimately, a ground ball by Pirates freshman Tre…
Read Full Article PITTSFIELD, Ill. — The Quincy Notre Dame baseball team just keeps hitting. The Raiders collected 12 hits, scored in four of the six innings played Wednesday and rolled to a 14-4 victory over Pittsfield. The Raiders have scored 10 or more runs in eight of their 12 games this season and have collected 10 or…
Read Full Article PALMYRA, Mo. — The state of flux the Palmyra High School athletic department finds itself in continued Tuesday night when the school board voted unanimously to not renew the contract of Tim Southers as both a teacher and the varsity girls basketball coach. Southers was informed at noon Tuesday both of his positions would be…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Despite losing two of the top three singles matches Tuesday, the Quincy High School boys tennis team showed resilience in fighting back to defeat Macomb 6-3 by winning three tiebreakers in singles at the Greeman Tennis Center at Reservoir Park. No. 2 Surya Reddy rebounded for a 6-2, 2-6 (10-6) victory over the…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Craig Schimmel is no physician, but his diagnosis was spot on. “We had about a five-minute stretch that was uncharacteristic for us,” the Moline baseball coach said. “We looked like we were brain dead out there.” Yes, the bottom of the third inning proved to be a bit testy for the Maroons, but…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The lopsided nature of Monday’s Western Big 6 Conference game suggested there wasn’t much for the Quincy High School girls soccer team to gain from its effort. Reality proved otherwise. The 12-0 victory over Sterling at Flinn Stadium kept the Blue Devils undefeated through eight games, a significant fact when it comes time…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Bri Lannerd racked up five goals. Ava Soltwedel and Maddie O’Brien, a pair of defensive stalwarts, scored their first career goals. And the Quincy High School girls soccer team rolled to a 12-0 victory Sterling in Western Big 6 Conference action Monday night at Flinn Stadium. The Blue Devils are 6-0-2 overall and…
Read Full Article RUSHVILLE, Ill. — Colin Kurk’s home-run trot got interrupted. The No. 9 hitter in the Quincy Notre Dame baseball team’s lineup, Kurk cracked what everyone believed to be a grand slam to left-center field in the top of the fifth inning Monday against Rushville-Industry. However, he pulled up rounding second as one umpire called it…
Read Full Article QUINCY — An overturned call gave the Pittsfield baseball team new life, and the Saukees took advantage of it. With the game tied and two outs in the top of the seventh inning, Pittsfield’s Justin Pennock was called out at first base after hitting a ground ball to Quincy High School shortstop Blake Bunch. However,…
Read Full Article BURLINGTON, Iowa — Sage Stratton’s remarkable start to her prep career — three seasons, three state trophies — now includes a prestigious individual honor. The sophomore tied a Quincy Notre Dame girls soccer program single-half record. Saturday, during an 7-1 victory over Burlington, Stratton assisted on four first-half goals, while scoring one herself. The midfielder…
Read Full Article COLUMBIA, Mo. — Three weeks after its season was scheduled to begin, the Quincy High School boys tennis team finally got on the court Saturday. The delay didn’t deter the Blue Devils from coming out ready. Quincy won two of its three duals against a trio of Mid-Missouri schools and Will Hanlin went 6-0 on…
Read Full Article QUINCY — A six-run loss to Chatham Glenwood last April was one of only three setbacks the Quincy Notre Dame baseball team suffered last season. That didn’t sit well with the Raiders. Saturday, a five-run first inning propelled the Raiders to a 9-5 victory over the Titans at Ferd Niemann Jr. Memorial Ballfield. “We had…
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 SALEM, Mo. — The issues that resulted in former Palmyra football coach Kevin Miles tendering his resignation as a teacher March 30 have forced him to resign from his new job. According to the Salem News, the Salem R-80 Board of Education accepted Miles’ resignation as a teacher, head football coach and assistant athletic director…
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 HANNIBAL, Mo. — Mark Longo is confident the best is yet to come for Quincy Notre Dame’s girls soccer team. “We’re still a long way from where we need to be, but we’ll be OK,” said Longo, now in his 33rd season as Raiders coach. Longo had just watched QND down Hannibal 5-2, erupting for…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The Quincy Notre Dame baseball team’s 4-3 victory over Hannibal on Wednesday at Ferd Niemann Jr. Memorial Ballfield proved neither is going to be an easy out in the postseason, not when solid pitching and opportunistic play offensively are at the core. Muddy River Sports Editor Matt Schuckman captured the action from Wednesday’s…
Read Full Article QUINCY — A seven-run outburst in the sixth inning allowed the Quincy High School baseball team to survive a tumultuous seventh inning and earn an 11-8 victory over Granite CIty on Wednesday at the QHS field. The Blue Devils (4-3) have won three of their last four games to climb above the .500 mark. Quincy…
Read Full Article HANNIBAL, Mo. — The physical play of the Quincy Notre Dame girls soccer team and the second-half intensity of the attack brought about by senior forward Lia Quintero and sophomore forward Makalya Patton led to a 5-2 victory over Hannibal on Wednesday at Veterans Field. Photographer Mathew Kirby put together this photo gallery from the…
Read Full Article PALMYRA, Mo. — Expressing regret over what has transpired within the Palmyra football program and school district within the last six months, former Panthers coach Kevin Miles made his first public comments following his resignation as a teacher last week. Miles spoke with Dave Roberts of the Salem (Mo.) News and said “All I can…
Read Full Article GALESBURG, Ill. — The path of Tuesday’s severe storms that led to funnel clouds being spotted in McDonough and Fulton Counties not only forced the Quincy High School girls soccer off the field, but it kept the Blue Devils grounded in place. “The storm was south of us and they weren’t going to make us…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Perched at first base, Addi Zanger gets a daily bird’s-eye view of Caitlin Bunte in the pitcher’s circle. Most games, it can be a little monotonous, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. “I don’t really do anything,” Zanger said with a chuckle. “She rolls us a lot of ground balls which is…
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 QUINCY — Photographer Samantha Carmean spent time Saturday at the Quincy High School track and field invitational at Flinn Stadium and created this photo gallery:
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 QUINCY — Blustery conditions at Ferd Niemann Jr. Memorial Ballfield didn’t alter the Quincy Notre Dame baseball players’ approach at the bat. The Raiders simply keep on swinging. QND collected 17 hits, including five for extra bases, in a 19-0 whitewashing of Jacksonville on Saturday. Muddy River Sports Editor Matt Schuckman captured the action for…
Read Full Article QUINCY — From Darrell Henze’s perspective, the glass remains half full. Sure, the Quincy High softball coach watched his club drop a 15-6 Western Big 6 Conference game on a breezy Thursday afternoon to undefeated Sterling, but Henze was far from despondent. The Blue Devils, now 3-3 overall and 0-2 in the conference, are working…
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