Schuckman: Should Loos get draft call, it would be historic moment for Payson, Adams County

Payson native Lucas Loos could get a call during the Major League Baseball draft, which is scheduled for 20 rounds from July 14-16. | Photo courtesy Eastern Illinois University athletics

QUINCY — Random musings after digging into the archives on a random July night … • Lucas Loos finds his name on Baseball America’s list of the top 100 college senior sign targets for the upcoming Major League Baseball amateur draft. Because the Payson Seymour and John Wood Community College graduate has exhausted his NCAA…

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College notebook: Former JWCC women’s coach heads to Colorado, Loos receives all-region nod, Kirn wins Cape Cod opener

Former John Wood Community College women's basketball coach Lauren Bogle is headed to Gunnison, Colo., to be an assistant coach at Western Colorado University. | Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — Lauren Bogle decision to resign as the John Wood Community College women’s basketball coach in early May was partially based on a desire to join a staff where she could learn more from a seasoned head coach. “It’s time to go learn under someone new now, and that means finding another spot,” Bogle…

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Quincy’s Kirn commits to West Virginia to play final season of collegiate baseball

Quincy University left-hander Griffin Kirn, the Great Lakes Valley Conference Pitcher of the Year, is transferring to West Virginia University with one year of eligibility remaining. | Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — Aside from the genuine interest the West Virginia University coaching staff showed in him, Griffin Kirn found another reason to believe he could succeed pitching for the Mountaineers. He saw what Derek Clark had done. A left-hander who transferred to West Virginia from NCAA Division II Northwood with one year of eligibility remaining,…

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Kirn, Kroeger, Simpson collect All-Midwest Region honors from NCBWA

Quincy University redshirt junior Austin Simpson received first-team All-Midwest Region honors as a utility player and second-team honors as a first baseman. | Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — A pair of Quincy University baseball players and a Palmyra product earned first-team All-Midwest Region honors from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. Hawks left-hander Griffin Kirn and Maryville left-hander Jacob Kroeger were two of the four first-team starting pitchers, while Hawks first baseman/designated hitter Austin Simpson was the first-team utility player. Simpson…

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Hawks’ Kirn receives GLVC Pitcher of the Year honor, while Broughton is league’s top freshman

Quincy University left-handed ace Griffin Kirn was named the Great Lakes Valley Conference Pitcher of the Year in a vote by the league's coaches. | Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — Griffin Kirn proved unbeatable in Great Lakes Valley Conference play. David Broughton became the tone-setter for one of the GLVC’s hottest teams. The league’s coaches couldn’t ignore either player’s success. Kirn, the Quincy University baseball team’s left-handed ace, was named the GLVC PItcher of the Year on Tuesday night by a vote of…

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Birthday bonanza: Kirn twirls gem, Hawks’ offense comes alive in victory over Bearcats to open series

Quincy University left-hander Griffin Kirn delivers a pitch during Friday's game against Southwest Baptist at QU Stadium. Kirn struck out eight in the Hawks' 13-1 victory. | Shane Hulsey photo

QUINCY — Griffin Kirn would have been satisfied with a victory for his 22nd birthday. His performance on the mound became the icing on the cake. Kirn allowed just one run over six innings and struck out eight in the Quincy University baseball team’s 13-1 victory Friday over Southwest Baptist to open the four-game Great…

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Bullpen narrowly avoids spoiling Kirn’s masterful effort as QU baseball team wins series opener

Quincy University junior right-hander Griffin Kirn throws a pitch during Friday's game against Rockhurst at QU Stadium. Kirn struck out a career-high 15 batters in Quincy's 10-9 victory. | Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — Film study paid off. In the days leading up to Friday’s start against Rockhurst, Quincy University left-handed pitcher Griffin Kirn reviewed as much video as possible of his previous starts this season and past seasons, looking for any mechanical tweak that could give him an edge. Whatever he found worked wonders. The Quincy…

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Kirn, Hawks take advantage of coming home to earn first victory of season

Quincy University left-hander Griffin Kirn struck out 11 over 6 1/3 innings Friday to lead the Hawks to a 5-1 victory over Davenport at QU Stadium. | Photo courtesy Olivia Kindt, QU Athletics

QUINCY — Welcome home. After enduring a seven-game losing streak on its season-opening road trip and falling out of the NCBWA Division II Top 25, the Quincy University baseball team used Friday’s home opener as a fresh start and took advantage of the comfortable confines of QU Stadium. Junior left-handed starter Griffin Kirn threw 6…

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Kirn ready to shoulder load of being No. 1 starter in Hawks’ rotation

Quincy University left-hander Griffin Kirn, a Quincy Notre Dame graduate, went 7-2 last season and will be the Hawks' No. 1 starter this spring. | Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — Griffin Kirn understands the expectation and the challenge. “It’s all about giving the guys a chance to win,” he said. The No. 1 starter in the Quincy University baseball team’s rotation has a history of doing just that. Over the past four seasons — the first two with left-hander Riley Martin as the…

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Hawks’ Kirn earns chance to pitch against college baseball’s best in Cape Cod League

Griffin Kirn, a senior left-handed pitcher for the Quincy University baseball team and a Quincy Notre Dame graduate, will finish the summer pitching in the prestigious Cape Cod League. | Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — Griffin Kirn happened to be enjoying a relaxing midsummer afternoon when Quincy University baseball coach Matt Schissel unexpectedly called. “I figured it was to check in and see how my summer was going,” said Kirn, a 6-foot-3, 225-pound senior left-handed pitcher. There was a little more to this call. Schissel had been contacted…

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Kirn’s bulldogged performance is further proof nothing can knock Hawks down for good

Quincy University left-hander Griffin Kirn, left, stretches to help alleviate the pain after getting hit just below the rib cage with a line drive during the third inning of Friday's game against Northwood in the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional. | Matt Schuckman photo

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…

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Kirn dials in, mows down Tritons with career-high 13 Ks as No. 13 Hawks reach 30-victory plateau

Quincy University left-hander Griffin Kirn struck out a career-high 13 batters in Saturday's 6-1 victory over Missouri-St. Louis in Great Lakes Valley Conference action in St. Louis. | Matt Schuckman file photo

ST. LOUIS — Maybe Griffin Kirn should have known something special lied ahead. “Typically, it seems the better games a pitcher pitches their catch is bad or their bullpen is bad,” the Quincy University left-handed pitcher said. “For me, my catch was the worst game of catch I’ve had in a long time.” Prior to…

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Kirn, Hawks turn up heat on Bearcats, open weekend series with doubleheader sweep

Quincy University left-hander Griffin Kirn delivers a pitch in the third inning against McKendree during Friday's doubleheader at QU Stadium. Kirn struck out 10 in the 5-2 victory in the nightcap. | Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — Of all the unusual pieces to the puzzle the Quincy University baseball program had to maneuver into place to play its Great Lakes Valley Conference series at home this weekend, dealing with the heat wasn’t on the list of concerns. At least not until gametime. The 84-degree afternoon temperature at QU Stadium was…

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QU baseball notebook: Triple in first at-bat gets Napleton close to hitting for cycle

Quincy University catcher Luke Napleton slides safely into third base with a triple in the first inning of Friday's game against Augustana (S.D.) at QU Stadium. | Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — Luke Napleton wasn’t stopping for anyone or anything. In the bottom of the first inning in the first game of Friday’s doubleheader, the Quincy University baseball team’s junior catcher rifled a ball over the head of Augustana center fielder Trevor Winterstein that reached the warning track. Although third base coach Chandler Purcell threw…

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Kirn-el of hope: Left-hander’s bounce-back game moves Hawks to brink of super-regional bid

Quincy University left-hander Griffin Kirn delivers a pitch Friday against Northwood in an NCAA Division II Midwest Regional elimination game in Caledonia, Mich. Photo courtesy Stephanie Boynton

CALEDONIA, Mich. — Griffin Kirn couldn’t figure out what had gone wrong. Last weekend against Lewis in the Great Lakes Valley Conference baseball tournament, the Quincy University left-hander retired the first nine batters he faced without incident. Then in the fourth inning, everything unraveled. He allowed the first six Flyers to collect hits, including four…

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Pair of QND baseball products pick up Great Lakes Valley Conference weekly honors

Quincy University left-hander Griffin Kirn earned Great Lakes Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week honors after shutting out Truman State last Saturday. Photo courtesy Stephanie Boynton

QUINCY — A pair of Quincy Notre Dame graduates showcased their wares on the baseball diamond last week and came away with Great Lakes Valley Conference Pitcher and Player of the Week honors. Quincy University sophomore left-hander Griffin Kirn threw a complete-game shutout in a 10-0 victory over Truman State on Saturday in Kirksville, Mo.,…

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