Around the area: Dance, Trail Blazers sweep twinbill; Pirates, Eagles split doubleheader

VINCENNES, Ind. — Tyler Dance found his footing.

The John Wood Community College freshman right-hander threw six scoreless innings Saturday, striking out eight and walking one as the Trail Blazers opened a four-game Mid-West Athletic Conference series with an 8-0 victory over Vincennes University. JWCC also won the nightcap of the doubleheader 14-4.

Dance, a Quincy Notre Dame graduate, has won his last three starts, going 16 2/3 innings with 16 strikeouts. In two of his last three starts, he has not allowed a run.

He benefitted Saturday from the Trail Blazers collecting 14 hits. Payton Mansfield went 3 for 4 with two home runs and three RBIs, while Ben Kasparie was 2 for 4 with two runs scored in the leadoff spot. Garrett Meyer, Andrew Sreboski and Haidyn McGill each had two hits apiece.

In the nightcap, the Trail Blazers scored nine runs in the first inning and were never threatened. Meyer went 3 for 3 with two doubles, three runs scored and three RBIs. Byron Blaise and Alex Loman each had two hits for John Wood (22-29, 11-19 MWAC).

Pirates come to life in nightcap, split with Eagles

HANNIBAL, Mo. — The Liberty and Hannibal baseball teams earned a split decision Saturday at the Veterans Sports Complex.

After the Eagles won the first game 11-9, the Pirates responded with a 13-0 victory in five innings in the nightcap. In the third inning of the opener, Eagles second baseman Evan Sims reached on an error that allowed Jackson Sims to score and give the Eagles a 7-1 lead, but the Pirates chipped away at the deficit over the next three innings.

Hannibal took an 8-7 lead on a Cooper Scott RBI single with two outs in the bottom of the fifth, but Liberty responded with four runs in the top of the sixth. Reed Sparrow delivered an RBI double with two outs, allowing Levi Hoener to score and give the Eagles a 9-8 lead. A Colton Dryden error brought in two more runs in the inning. The Pirates got the potential winning run to the plate in the bottom of the seventh, but Jack Sparrow struck out Alex Arthaud to end the game.

Pirates shortstop Kane Wilson homered in the fourth inning of the second game as he went 3 for 4 with three runs scored and three RBIs. Wilson, Cooper Scott and Colton Dryden — the top three in the Pirates’ order — combined to go 7 for 11 with seven RBIs and seven runs. The Pirates (13-12) sent 12 batters to the plate and scored seven runs in the second inning to jump out to a 9-0 lead. Dryden and Cade Hoskins combined to hold the Eagles (6-13) to one hit.

Raiders fall twice in Glenwood Tournament

CHATHAM, Ill. — The Quincy Notre Dame girls soccer team wrapped up play at the Chatham Glenwood Tournament on Saturday with a 3-0 loss to Morton.

On Friday, the Raiders nearly came back from a three-goal deficit but lost 3-2 to Maine South. The Hawks jumped out to a 3-0 lead 25 minutes into the first half. Raiders junior Makayla Patton scored two goals in the final five minutes of the half, including one with five seconds left, but Maine South held on in the second half.

The Raiders (8-9) will play three games in four days beginning at Jacksonville on Monday.