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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 Chargers' Deitrich in high jump finals at Illinois boys state track, Eagles' Gimm to throw in discus
CHARLESTON, Ill. — Three Quincy High School runners were unable to advance to the finals in the Class 3A boys state track and field championships during Friday’s preliminaries at O’Brien Stadium on the Eastern Illinois University campus. Boen Brockmiller placed 27th in the 200-meter dash, finishing in 22.90 seconds, while Eric McClelland was 34th in…
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 The Muddy River Showcase featuring 40 of the area’s top senior basketball players from Illinois and Missouri takes place June 17 at John Wood Community College’s Student Activity Center. The girls game begins at 4 p.m. with the boys game to follow at 6 p.m. Admission is $10 at the door. QUINCY — The bookends…
Read Full Article EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. — The Edwardsville baseball team started this postseason how it ended last season. Winning in comeback fashion. The defending Class 4A state champion faced a 3-0 deficit to Quincy High School before coming from behind for a 6-4 victory in the Class 4A Edwardsville Regional semifinals on Wednesday at Tom Pile Field. “Everyone’s…
Read Full Article SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The Quincy Notre Dame baseball team won its 30th consecutive game Wednesday, beating Shelbyville 2-0 in the semifinals of the Class 2A Pleasant Plains Sectional at Lincoln Land Community College’s Claude Kracik Field. The Raiders (33-1) will face Gillespie (32-0) at 11 a.m. Saturday in the sectional title game. Muddy River Sports…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The Dirty Thirty is back, bay-bee. We took some time off last week to take a closer look at the upcoming MARS late model special — and what a special it was, right?! — but now we’re back into the regular-season grind tied to the late models, modifieds, sport mods, street stocks and…
Read Full Article HAVANA, Ill. — One pitch, one swing, one sudden ending. Illini Bluffs catcher Lexi Brinkman jumped on the first pitch from Pleasant Hill’s McKinley Lowe in the bottom of the seventh inning Wednesday and smacked a walk-off home run to center field for a 4-3 victory in the semifinals of the Class 1A Havana softball…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Marko Cucuk understands the competition intensifies this week. Still, the Quincy Notre Dame tennis player is heading to the Class 1A state tournament on quite a roll. The recent QND graduate, who is making his third straight tournament appearance in the singles draw, won the singles bracket at the Class 1A Chatham Glenwood…
Read Full Article The Muddy River Showcase featuring 40 of the area’s top senior basketball players from Illinois and Missouri takes place June 17 at John Wood Community College’s Student Activity Center. The girls game begins at 4 p.m. with the boys game to follow at 6 p.m. Admission is $10 at the door. PALMYRA, Mo. — Tyler…
Read Full Article QUINCY — One scored early and often, the other rallied late. Now, they’ll go head-to-head for a sectional championship. The Auburn softball team scored 11 runs in the first inning and beat Macomb 16-0 in the first semifinal Tuesday in the Class 2A QND Sectional at The Backyard. Quincy Notre Dame followed by scoring four…
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 — Things go awry even with the best-laid plans. Rick Hummel and I laughed about that a couple of times. Last December, with the weather unseasonably warm on the second day of the Collinsville Prairie Farms Holiday Classic, Hummel and I planned to record an episode of “Schuck on a Truck” following one of…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The second verse was highly reminiscent of the first. The same three super late model drivers occupied the podium Sunday night, only in a different order from a year ago. Ryan Unzicker, Jason Feger and Tommy Sheppard dominated the Mid-America Racing Series main event in front of a crowd of about 2,700 at…
Read Full Article QUINCY — After the Illinois State University men’s golf team finished playing in the NCAA regional in Bath, Mich., McCulla first made it back to Bloomington-Normal and then navigated his way home to Westview Golf Course in time to play in the Quincy Men’s City Golf Championship. From there, he simply dominated, winning his second…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Each time the Quincy Notre Dame baseball team seemed poised for a big inning Saturday, something went haywire. Pittsfield right-hander Brennan Tomhave played a role in that. The Raiders’ overaggressiveness did, too. It finally took a simple approach in consecutive at-bats to generate enough offense to survive and advance. After the Raiders loaded…
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 MENDON, Ill. — Carter Eyler’s high school baseball career is now history, and even though it ended with a loss, there was ample reason for the Central senior to hold his head high. And he did. Eyler, a lanky 6-foot-2 right-hander, held heavily favored and top-seeded Jacksonville Routt at bay for the large majority of…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Given the lead for a second time in Saturday’s Class 2A regional championship game, Quincy Notre Dame right-hander Jake Schisler vowed he was not giving it up. “I think those might have been my exact words,” Schisler said. He had no plans to do it alone either. “I said to myself that I…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Another chapter to the Quincy Notre Dame-Pittsfield rivalry was written Saturday as the Raiders survived the Saukees’ upset bid to win the Class 2A QND Regional championship with a 2-1 victory at Ferd Niemann Jr. Memorial Ballfield. QND’s Jake Schisler outdueled Pittsfield’s Brennan Tomhave, striking out 13 and setting down the side in…
Read Full Article CANTON, Ill. — Caitlin Bunte needed one pitch to erase a threat and one swing to start an onslaught. It all took place in a matter of minutes. “It’s what she’s done all year long. She made great adjustments in the circle and then comes up and hits a blast,” Quincy Notre Dame softball coach…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Travis Dinkheller offered all he could. A hug. A pat on the back. An “I love you” to his players. Those things matter in due time. In the moment, it’s difficult to see past the tears of a season-ending loss, especially one that happened in such heart-breaking fashion. The Quincy High School girls…
Read Full Article MACOMB, Ill. — One swing is all Sarah Stufflebeam needed to set the tone. After Kaitlyn Robinson retired the Rushville-Industry softball team in order in the top of the first inning of Friday’s Class 2A Macomb Regional championship game, Stufflebeam cracked a two-run home run in the bottom of the frame and propelled Macomb to…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The effort was commendable, especially the manner in which the Quincy High School girls soccer team locked down defensively on Edwardsville in the second half of Friday night’s Class 3A regional championship at Flinn Stadium. However, the Tigers scored with 29.5 seconds remaining in regulation to earn a 2-1 victory and end the…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The root of their lies in their success of their sons, but the parents of the Quincy University baseball players have formed a bond that is as tight as a baseball family gets. The shared a house during the season-opening road trip to Florida. They tailgate together wherever the Hawks play. They text.…
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 — Quincy Medical Group is offering free sports physicals for all area student athletes at its locations in Quincy, Mount Sterling and Keokuk, Iowa. All who attend a sports physical at QMG will receive a complimentary T-shirt. Appointments are required. The QMG locations, dates and times of the physicals are: Quincy Call (217) 222-6550,…
Read Full Article The Muddy River Showcase featuring 40 of the area’s top senior basketball players from Illinois and Missouri takes place June 17 at John Wood Community College’s Student Activity Center. The girls game begins at 4 p.m. with the boys game to follow at 6 p.m. Admission is $10 at the door. QUINCY — The fact…
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 MARS cars are on the way. Adams County Speedway hosts its first major event of the season Sunday when the MARS (Mid-America Racing Series) super late models arrive for their second visit in as many years to the Broadway Bullring. The 2022 MARS show drew an enthusiastic crowd of about 3,000, and…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The winningest girls soccer coach in Illinois High School Association history impacted the lives of those he coached far beyond the white lines. That became abundantly clear with the reaction three decades worth of Quincy Notre Dame players had Tuesday when Mark Longo announced he was retiring following 34 years at the helm.…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The Pittsfield baseball players didn’t understand it, nor did they appreciate it. A year ago, toting a 21-5 regular-season record, the Saukees were the No. 4 seed in their sub-sectional. This season, with a 25-4 regular-season record, they were relegated to being the No. 5 seed heading to the Class 2A Quincy Notre…
Read Full Article QUINCY — A West Central Illinois rivalry gets a postseason chapter added to it Saturday. The Quincy Notre Dame and Pittsfield baseball teams advanced to the championship game of the Class 2A QND Regional by winning Wednesday’s semifinals and will square off at 11 a.m. Saturday in the title game at Ferd Niemann Jr. Memorial…
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 QUINCY — Mark Longo was asked to coach the inaugural Quincy Notre Dame girls soccer team with no expectations and no preconceived notions of success. The next coach won’t be so lucky. From 1990 until now — 33 seasons total — Longo has been the only head coach the Raiders have had, and with him…
Read Full Article QUINCY — With a choice to make — left or right — Taylor Fohey kept hearing what Quincy High School assistant girls soccer coach Chad Struck had to say. “He said, ‘Go left no matter what,’” Fohey said. “I trusted him.” So left she went. The QHS junior goalkeeper looked at how Granite City’s Peyton…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The Quincy High School girls soccer team refused to falter, and the reward for that is the opportunity to play for a regional championship. The Blue Devils played Granite City to a 1-1 tie through regulation and two 10-minute overtime periods Tuesday night before winning a penalty-kick shootout 2-1 at Flinn Stadium. The…
Read Full Article CANTON, Ill. — The Quincy Notre Dame softball team didn’t allow Petersburg PORTA’s momentum to last long. Abbey Schreacke and Brooke Boden took care of that. After the Bluejays scored twice in the top of the fifth, reducing the Raiders’ three-run edge to one, Schreacke led off the bottom of the frame with a single…
Read Full Article SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — The trio of South Shelby boys golfers playing in the Class 2 state tournament made the most of their final round. All three have all-state honors to show for it. Jaaron Durbin and PJ Schmidt each leapfrogged more than a handful of golfers Tuesday at Rivercut Golf Course — Durbin climbed nine…
Read Full Article COLUMBIA, Mo. — Trevor Biggerstaff’s blistering start Monday at the Country Club of Missouri positioned him to chase a top-10 finish at the Class 1 state tournament. The Canton junior opened with an even-par 36, and although he found some trouble on his closing nine, Biggerstaff posted an 8-over 80 and is tied for seventh…
Read Full Article The Muddy River Showcase featuring 40 of the area’s top senior basketball players from Illinois and Missouri takes place June 17 at John Wood Community College’s Student Activity Center. The girls game begins at 4 p.m. with the boys game to follow at 6 p.m. Admission is $10 at the door. MACOMB, Ill. — Connor…
Read Full Article The Muddy River Showcase featuring 40 of the area’s top senior basketball players from Illinois and Missouri takes place June 17 at John Wood Community College’s Student Activity Center. The girls game begins at 4 p.m. with the boys game to follow at 6 p.m. Admission is $10 at the door. PALMYRA, Mo. — The…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Jay Hammel wrestled with the decision. Should he stay or should he go? Last May, Hammel graduated from Quincy University with a bachelor’s degree in communications and media studies. He also fashioned a 9-2 record as a right-handed starter for the QU baseball team, helping the Hawks get within one victory of a…
Read Full Article EWING, Mo. — When Payton Miller made it home Friday night, she had some serious packing to do. Saturday, she was off to Shelbina to compete in the Class 2 sectional track and field meet with the Highland girls track team. That night, she and her family headed to Springfield, Mo., to get prepared to…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Where Mother’s Day is positioned on the calendar makes sense. The beauty of spring and the breath of fresh air May brings plays hand-in-hand with the love and nurturing we receive from our mothers. Florists love it, too, because moms love receiving fresh bouquets as much as love giving them. Yet, the one…
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 QUINCY — The Quincy Notre Dame baseball team is proving it can overcome adversity. That’s a trait that could come in very handy in the postseason. In Saturday’s final game of the regular season, the Raiders erased a three-run deficit by scoring four times in the bottom of the fifth inning and beating Jacksonville Routt…
Read Full Article SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The reign is over, undone by the Quincy Notre Dame girls soccer team’s inability to find a consistent rhythm or flow to its season. Injuries curtailed that. Inconsistency did, too. Unable to create their own lucky bounces or breaks, the Raiders played catch-up too often, just like they did Friday during a…
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 HANNIBAL, Mo. — A record-setting regular season landed Hannibal junior shortstop Kane Wilson and three teammates on the All-North Central Missouri Conference baseball team. Wilson established new single-season program records for hits and RBIs and takes a .400 average into the postseason. He is joined on the All-NCMC team by freshman first baseman Cooper Scott,…
Read Full Article The Muddy River Showcase featuring 40 of the area’s top senior basketball players from Illinois and Missouri takes place June 17 at John Wood Community College’s Student Activity Center. The girls game begins at 4 p.m. with the boys game to follow at 6 p.m. Admission is $10 at the door. EWING, Mo. — Ansley…
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 MACKINAW, Ill. — Josie Bryan decided to try tripling jumping about three weeks ago. It turns out she’s pretty good at it. State-level good in fact. The Illini West junior track standout finished second in the triple jump during Thursday’s Class 1A Deer Creek-Mackinaw Sectional, leaping 10.15 meters to qualify for the girls state track…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The Quincy High School baseball team was the one putting together a late-inning rally this time. Blake Bunch singled with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh Thursday as Blue Devils walked off with a 3-2 victory over Brown County at the QHS field. The Blue Devils lost twice earlier in…
Read Full Article PALMYRA, Mo. — The Palmyra coaching staff is getting an injection of youth across the board. During its May meeting, the Palmyra R-I Board of Education approved the hiring of Jenny Jansen, a 2022 graduate of Southern Illinois University, as the new varsity softball coach and two former Culver-Stockton College football players — Dalton Huffman…
Read Full Article RUSHVILLE, Ill. — Unity’s Saylor Barry won two events and finished second in another, Liberty’s Arianna Neisen dominated the distance events and a bevy of area athletes punched their ticket to the state track and field championships during Wednesday’s Class 1A Rushville Sectional. The state championships take place May 18-20 at O’Brien Stadium on the…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Slowly, but ever so surely, the Adams County Speedway dirt-track racing season is beginning to take shape. Hopefully, the weatherman will cooperate Sunday night and for the first time this year we’ll have back-to-back weeks of sheet-metal mayhem at the Broadway Bullring. Until Sunday evening, here’s this week’s Dirty Thirty — 30 thoughts…
Read Full Article MENDON, Ill. — With postseason play beginning next week, the Unity baseball team sent a message to those in the Class 1A Brown County Sectional complex on Wednesday. Don’t count the Mustangs out. Quincy High School learned that lesson. Unity scored twice in the bottom of the fifth inning to take the lead and Sawyer…
Read Full Article CAMP POINT, Ill. — Senior Night turned into quite the affair for the Central baseball and softball teams. The Panthers punctuated a 10-1 victory over Triopia on the baseball diamond by bookending the game with four-run innings in the first and sixth, while on the softball field, the Panthers made a pair of third-inning runs…
Read Full Article The Muddy River Showcase featuring 40 of the area’s top senior basketball players from Illinois and Missouri takes place June 17 at John Wood Community College’s Student Activity Center. The girls game begins at 4 p.m. with the boys game to follow at 6 p.m. Admission is $10 at the door. MENDON, Ill. — A…
Read Full Article QUINCY — In the final dual match of the regular season for both teams, the Quincy High School boys tennis squad beat Quincy Notre Dame 7-2 Tuesday in the Greeman Tennis Center in Reservoir Park. The Blue Devils swept the season series, beating the Raiders 5-4 on April 24. Muddy River Sports Editor Matt Schuckman…
Read Full Article SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Weather and scheduling conflicts forced the regular-season matchup between the Quincy Notre Dame and Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin girls soccer teams to first be postponed and then shelved. Nothing will stop them from going head-to-head now. QND began the defense of its Class 1A state championship by hammering Riverton 8-0 Tuesday night in…
Read Full Article MACOMB, Ill. — For the third straight game, the Quincy Notre Dame baseball team trailed heading to the fifth inning or later. Yet again, the Raiders rallied. This time, though, they did so against an NCAA Division I arm. QND tagged Macomb’s Jack Duncan, who has signed with Western Illinois University, for two runs in…
Read Full Article SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Luke Guthrie moved a step closer to playing in another U.S. Open this week thanks to a birdie barrage and a flawless back nine. The Quincy native finished tied for second at a U.S. Open local qualifying event at Illini Country Club, shooting 5-under 66 to earn one of five advancing spots…
Read Full Article The Muddy River Showcase featuring 40 of the area’s top senior basketball players from Illinois and Missouri takes place June 17 at John Wood Community College’s Student Activity Center. The girls game begins at 4 p.m. with the boys game to follow at 6 p.m. Admission is $10 at the door. MOUNT STERLING, Ill. —…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Trailing by two runs heading to the seventh inning, the Quincy Notre Dame baseball team scored three times with two outs to rally for a 4-3 victory over Quincy High School at the QHS field and sweep in this season’s city series. Photographer Samantha Carmean captured some of the action for this photo…
Read Full Article Pirates' Thomas finishes as district runner-up, will be joined at state tournament by freshman Locke
WENTZVILLE, Mo. — Quinn Thomas said he struggled hitting his drive during Monday’s Class 4 District 2 tournament at the Golf Club of Wentzville. Yet, it was the driver that turned everything around. Opening his round on the par-4 10th hole, the Hannibal junior golfer bogey two of his first three holes as he hit…
Read Full Article HANNIBAL, Mo. — Six area golfers qualified for the Class 2 boys state golf tournament by finishing among the top 15 individuals Monday at the Class 2 District 2 tournament at Norwoods Golf Course. South Shelby and Palmyra finished third and fourth, respectively, in the team standings, but only the top two teams advance. Lutheran…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Now that’s more like it. Both Austen Becerra and Adam Birck looked more like defending track champions Sunday night, rolling to dominant feature victories at Adams County Speedway. Becerra and Birck stumbled out of the gate on opening night back on April 23, having to drop out of their respective main events with…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The two-run lead vanished, and with it seemed to go with the momentum and the energy the Quincy Notre Dame softball team brought to The Backyard on Saturday. Mackenzie Flachs brought it all back. After Pleasant Hill’s Ava Wombles scored on Jade Peebles single in the top of the third inning to tie…
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 QUINCY — The Quincy Notre Dame baseball team showcased more than this ability to hit Saturday. The Raiders showed some wherewithal to overcome anything. After a nearly two-hour weather delay, the Raiders beat Hannibal 12-5 and then rallied from a seven-run deficit to knock off Macon 12-10 at Ferd Niemann Jr. Memorial Ballfield. Muddy River…
Read Full Article QUINCY — With the postseason looming, a couple of regional title hopefuls went head-to-head Saturday at The Backyard as the Quincy Notre Dame softball team upended Pleasant Hill 11-2 during the QND Slam. The Raiders also beat Pittsfield 13-5. Muddy River Sports Editor Matt Schuckman spent time at The Backyard and put together this photo…
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 — The Quincy High School and Quincy Notre Dame girls soccer programs played their first seasons in the spring of 1990 and have been scheduled to meet twice every spring since. Not once in the first 32 seasons of head-to-head competition — they didn’t play in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic — had…
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