Bombers finish third at regional, advance to sectional for fifth consecutive season

MONMOUTH, Ill. — Make it five in a row for the Macomb boys golf team. The Bombers advanced to sectionals for the fifth straight season, taking third Wednesday at the Class 2A Monmouth-Roseville Regional at Gibson Woods Golf Course. Macomb posted a 329 total, four strokes better than fourth-place Galesburg. Jacksonville won the regional championship…

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Raiders’ resiliency put to test in regional title game, Kindhart’s sac fly helps knock off Saukees

Quincy Notre Dame principal Mark McDowell, right, hands the Class 2A regional championship plaque to the Raiders' Dalton Miller, left, and Jake Schisler following Saturday's 2-1 victory over Pittsfield at Ferd Niemann Jr. Memorial Ballfield. | Matt Schuckman photo

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…

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Like Schis and like that: QND right-hander refuses to give in, strikes out 13 in regional title victory

Quincy Notre Dame right-handed starter Jake Schisler delivers a pitch in the first inning of Saturday's Class 2A regional championship game against Pittsfield at Ferd Niemann Jr. Memorial Ballfield. | Matt Schuckman photo

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…

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Photo gallery: QND baseball team survives regional title tussle with Pittsfield

Quincy Notre Dame catcher Michael Stupavsky receives a strike from starting pitcher Jake Schisler during Saturday's Class 2A regional championship game against Pittsfield at Ferd Niemann Jr. Memorial Ballfield. | Matt Schuckman photo

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…

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Momentum-swinging plays send Raiders home with regional title and another chance to play at The Backyard

The Quincy Notre Dame softball team won the Class 2A Canton Regional championship Friday night with a 10-0 victory over Canton. | Submitted photo

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…

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Bombers bomb away, hit four home runs in regional championship victory

The Macomb softball team repeated as regional champion with Friday's 11-2 victory over Rushville-Industry in the Class 2A Macomb Regional. | Submitted photo

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…

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Motivated Saukees ride Allen’s bulldogged pitching into regional title game

Pittsfield junior right-hander Konner Allen delivers a pitch during Wednesday's Class 2A QND Regional semifinal victory over Warrensburg-Latham at Ferd Niemann Jr. Memorial Ballfield. | Matt Schuckman photo

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…

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Photo gallery: QND, Pittsfield to renew longstanding rivalry in regional title game

Quincy Notre Dame first baseman Dalton Miller completes the force out of Pleasant Plains leadoff hitter Charlie Severino in the first inning of Wednesday's 9-1 victory in the Class 2A QND Regional semifinals. | Matt Schuckman photo

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…

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Hoyt delivers on cue as Raiders beat Titans to capture Class 2A regional championship

Quincy Notre Dame guard Jake Hoyt, left, drives around West Hancock's Bryan Gerhardt during Friday night's Class 2A regional championship game at The Pit. | David Adam photo

QUINCY — Jake Hoyt made sure the playful razzing he received ended with an exclamation point.  At Friday’s pregame shootaround, the Quincy Notre Dame boys basketball coaches ran a set play for their senior point guard to shoot a 3-pointer and Hoyt missed the first attempt. “We teased him a little bit,” Raiders coach Kevin…

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Raiders’ size, experience takes over in second half, carries them into regional championship game

Quincy Notre Dame's Alex Connoyer drives to the basket during the first half of Wednesday night's Class 2A regional semifinal against Illini West at The Pit. | Photo courtesy Aaron Beaston, Day Off Media

QUINCY — A combination of size and experience can carry a team. It’s what helped lift the Quincy Notre Dame boys basketball team to a sectional championship appearance a year ago.  Wednesday night’s start to the postseason showed the Raiders are banking on it again.  Senior post players Jake Wallingford and Alex Connoyer dominated on…

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Titans earn chance for revenge, dispatch Bombers in regional semifinals to get shot at Raiders

West Hancock's Bryan Gerhardt looks to attack during Wednesday night's Class 2A regional semifinal against Macomb at Quincy Notre Dame's The Pit. | Photo courtesy Aaron Beaston, Day Off Media

QUINCY — Eight nights ago, Gavin Grothaus walked off the floor at The Pit with a bitter taste in his mouth. “That one kind of hurt,” the West Hancock sophomore said of the Titans’ 17-point loss to Quincy Notre Dame on Valentine’s Day at The Pit. Grothaus made sure he wouldn’t feel the same disappointment…

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Loud and clear: Raiders feed off crowd’s energy to dispatch Chargers and win regional championship

The Quincy Notre Dame volleyball players on the court and on the bench react to finishing off the Class 2A regional championship victory over Illini West on Thursday night at The Pit. | Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — The bouncy, boisterous, energetic way the Illini West volleyball team plays can be distracting or intimidating. Quincy Notre Dame combatted that with plenty of noise of its own. Buoyed by a sizable, vocal crowd, the Raiders maintained an even-keel approach throughout Thursday night’s Class 2A QND Regional championship match at The Pit to…

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Bombers hope to continue trend taking them toward sectional volleyball championship

A 25-12, 25-19 victory over Monmouth-Roseville in the Class 2A regional championship sends the Macomb volleyball team to the Farmington Sectional. | Submitted photo

MONMOUTH, Ill. — Each season, the Macomb volleyball team has inched closer to being a sectional champion. Monday, the Bombers hope the trend continues. Macomb will carry its 32-3 record to the Class 2A Farmington Sectional, where it will face Sherrard in the semifinals following Thursday’s 25-12, 25-19 victory over Monmouth-Roseville in the Class 2A…

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Eaton guides power-hitting QND to quick victory over Pittsfield in regional semifinals

The Quincy Notre Dame volleyball players celebrate winning a point during Tuesday's Class 2A QND Regional semifinal match against Pittsfield at The Pit. | Photo courtesy Mathew Kirby

QUINCY — Annie Eaton’s smile is infectious, but don’t let that nice-girl persona fool you. She’s the quiet assassin of the Quincy Notre Dame volleyball team. And she relishes that role. “I like to control things out there,” Eaton said. “I like to run the offense.” The Raiders’ floor general was at her directorial best…

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Youthful, exuberant Chargers prepare to face Raiders for regional championship

Illini West's Reagan Reed, center, reacts to winning a point during Tuesday's Class 2A QND Regional victory over West Hancock at The Pit in Quincy. | Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — If pressed, Dakota Lafferty will admit, at times, it is difficult not to look toward next season. Considering her Illini West volleyball team will play Quincy Notre Dame for a Class 2A QND Regional title Thursday, what’s the deal, Dakota? “We don’t have any seniors,” she said. “We start two freshmen, three sophomores…

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Gold, Geisendorfer top regional field, lead QHS girls to sixth straight regional golf championship

The Quincy High School girls golf team won its sixth straight regional championship by shooting a 334 on Thursday at the Class 2A Peoria Richwoods Regional at Newman Golf Course in Peoria, Ill. | Submitted photo

PEORIA, Ill. — The kinship Sophia Gold and Saya Geisendorfer share made the idea of an on-course playoff for the regional championship between the Quincy High School golfers incredibly unappealing. So they asked if they could avoid it. Gold, a sophomore, and Geisendorfer, a senior, topped the field in the Class 2A Peoria Richwoods Regional…

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‘Nail-biting scenario’: QND boys golf team sweats out tense finish, advances to Class 2A sectionals

Quincy Notre Dame senior Ross Thompson shot a 4-over 76 to help the Raiders finish third at Wednesday's Class 2A Maroa-Forsyth Regional and advance to sectionals. | Matt Schuckman file photo

FORSYTH, Ill. — The Quincy Notre Dame boys golfers realized circumstances seemed bleak. “We didn’t have a hot front nine,” senior Colin Larson said following Wednesday’s Class 2A Maroa-Forsyth Regional at Hickory Point Golf Course. “We definitely did not start off strong. On or about the 12th or 13th hole, we were four shots back…

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Watson’s strong finish helps Macomb boys golf team secure regional championship

The Macomb boys golf team won the Class 2A Macomb Regional championship Wednesday at Macomb Country Club with a 315 team score. | Submitted photo

MACOMB, Ill. — The electronic scoring system the Illinois High School Association uses for postseason golf puts the leaderboard at everyone’s fingertips. That makes it tempting to peek at where the field stands. “When you have to put the scores in on your phone, it’s hard to stay away and not hit the leaderboard button,”…

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First-inning onslaught propels QND softball team to Class 2A regional championship

The Quincy Notre Dame softball team celebrates winning the Class 2A Petersburg PORTA Regional championship following a 10-3 victory over Pleasant Plains on Friday. Ron Kinscherf photo

PETERSBURG, Ill. — Heading into her first regional championship, Quincy Notre Dame freshman pitcher Caitlin Bunte admittedly was jittery. “I was really nervous,” Bunte said. “I felt pretty confident, but there were some nerves.” After recording the first two outs of the top of the first inning — the first on an amazing catch by…

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