Schuck on a Truck: Brown County baseball coach Jared Hoots talks historic postseason run

By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor | June 2, 2022
Brown County coach Jared Hoots and the Hornets will appear in the Class 1A state final four this weekend at Dozer Park in Peoria. Matt Schuckman photo

MOUNT STERLING, Ill. — The Brown County baseball team will be making the program’s first appearance in the state final four Friday when it faces Ottawa Marquette at 10 a.m. at Peoria’s Dozer Park in the Class 1A state semifinals. Hornets coach Jared Hoots sat down with Muddy River Sports Editor Matt Schuckman for an…

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Brown County pours heart and soul into supporting its state-bound baseball team

By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor | June 1, 2022
The Brown County baseball players ride a fire truck down Main Street in Mount Sterling on Wednesday night to celebrate their Class 1A state final four berth. Matt Schuckman photo

MOUNT STERLING, Ill. — A slow drive down Main Street on Wednesday night — the way the posted speed limit intends it — allowed onlookers and gawkers to witness what community spirit truly is. Outside Hagel 1891, a modern American cuisine restaurant located next to Dorothy’s Market in the historic Hagel building, had green and…

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No interfering with history: Hornets snuff out Hawks’ seventh-inning threat to reach state finals for first time ever

By Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor | May 30, 2022
Brown County baseball coach Jared Hoots, left, and starting pitcher Colby Wort celebrate after the final out was recorded in the Hornets' 4-3 victory over Carrollton in Monday's Class 1A super-sectional at Lincoln Land Community College's Claude Kracik Field. Matt Schuckman photo

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Everyone in the Brown County baseball team’s dugout and those on the field could see Carrollton’s Grant Pohlman looming in the on-deck circle and casting a rather sizable shadow over the Claude Kracik Field grass. “We knew he was coming up and we knew what he had done to us,” Hornets catcher…

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