For love of the game: Raiders’ year-round passion for baseball leads to unparalleled success

Quincy Notre Dame senior co-captains Jake Schisler, left, and Dalton Miller, smile as they get ready to accept the Class 2A sectional championship plaque. | Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — At the most elemental level, it’s a warehouse. The building has been remodeled and retrofitted to be a baseball haven, but the brick exterior, the large, garage-style doors and the location close to the Mississippi River suggest it once was used for storage, construction or manufacturing. The Quincy Notre Dame baseball players embrace…

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Working on a chain gang: Raiders use unique home run celebration to inject energy into state championship pursuit

Quincy Notre Dame first baseman Dalton Miller gets the gold chain put around his neck after hitting a home run against Jacksonville Routt at Ferd Niemann Jr. Memorial Ballfield. | Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — Mason Winking’s employee discount probably saved him $3 or $4 on the welded galvanized steel chain he purchased at Farm & Home Supply. Yet, the real value of those 35 gold-painted links is immeasurable. That chain is part of what links the Quincy Notre Dame baseball players so strongly together. It stands for…

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Adapt and overcome: Raiders’ Dance responds to one big swing by shutting down Cardinals in complete-game regional semifinal victory

Quincy Notre Dame's Mason Winking congratulates starting pitcher Tyler Dance after he finished a complete-game effort in a 9-1 victory over Pleasant Plains in the Class 2A regional semifinal Wednesday. | Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — Tyler Dance threw 34 innings during the Quincy Notre Dame baseball team’s regular season without allowing a home run. One inning and 18 pitches into the postseason, that changed. Pleasant Plains’ Zach Ponce led off the top of the second inning by driving a two-ball, two-strike curveball to left field for a home…

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Raiders rally on record-setting day to end regular season with confidence boost and victory

Quincy Notre Dame closer Dalton Miller reacts to striking out the final batter in Saturday's 6-4 victory over Jacksonville Routt at Ferd Niemann Jr. Memorial Ballfield. | Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — The Quincy Notre Dame baseball team figured out there’s an immediate need for a sense of urgency with the postseason on the horizon. Another deficit, a lengthy weather delay and a senior-led pep talk brought that into focus. The Raiders stared down history Saturday in the regular-season finale against Jacksonville Routt at Ferd…

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‘I had a job to do’: Miller focuses on taming Hannibal’s hitters, not missed opportunity while pushing QND to one-run victory

Quincy Notre Dame right-handed reliever Dalton Miller delivers a pitch during Wednesday's game against Hannibal at Ferd Niemann Jr. Memorial Ballfield. | Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — Bob Seger sang it a half-century ago, but the words remain meaningful today. In fact, Dalton Miller carried their theme to the mound with him in the top of the seventh inning Wednesday. Turn the page. Leading Hannibal by a run in the bottom of the sixth inning at Ferd Niemann Jr. Memorial…

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Championship aspirations: Depth, talent, know-how give QND baseball players confidence they can chase state title

Quincy Notre Dame senior right-hander Tyler Dance, left, and senior first baseman Dalton Miller will each play a critical role in the Raiders' success this spring. | Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — Dalton Miller admits the luxury of experience and camaraderie enjoyed by the Quincy Notre Dame baseball team can get taken for granted. “We’ve been playing together for so long it’s a security I’ve become numb to almost,” the senior first baseman said. “Sometimes I can’t say I appreciate the security of my teammates…

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Hornets’ Blakeley, Raiders’ Miller pick up all-state accolades from IHSBCA

Brown County's Gabe Blakeley, left, and Quincy Notre Dame's Dalton Miller were named to the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association all-state teams. | Matt Schuckman photos

QUINCY — It’s only fitting the final two area baseball teams left standing in the Land of Lincoln were honored with spots on the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association all-state teams. Brown County senior center fielder/pitcher Gabe Blakeley and Quincy Notre Dame junior first baseman/pitcher Dalton Miller were named to the Class 1A and…

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