Panthers win regional title ‘for our community, for our team, for our program and for our school’

The Camp Point Central volleyball players celebrate their first regional championship since 2012 after beating Mendon Unity in straight sets Thursday night in Camp Point, Ill. | Photo courtesy Mike Pritchard

CAMP POINT, Ill. — That vacancy in the Camp Point Central trophy case has been filled. Finally. Junior defensive specialist Agnes Genenbacher’s thoughts echoed those of her teammates following Central’s 25-14, 25-11 Class 1A regional championship victory over Mendon Unity, a memorable 46-minute match that played out in front of about 550 fans on a…

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Mustangs earn third shot at Panthers with mind set on changing outcome of first two matches

The Mendon Unity volleyball team will attempt to win its fourth straight regional championship when it faces Camp Point Central at 6 p.m. Thursday in Camp Point, Ill. | Matt Schuckman photo

CAMP POINT, Ill. — Maybe the third time will be the charm for the Mendon Unity volleyball team. The Mustangs dispatched Liberty 25-20, 24-26, 25-17 in Wednesday night’s Class 1A Camp Point Central Regional semifinals, which sets up an interesting matchup in the championship match. Unity (25-12) will challenge regional host Camp Point Central (24-7)…

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Photo gallery: QND volleyball team dispatches Unity in two sets in season opener

Quincy Notre Dame senior setter Annie Eaton, left, and senior libero Kourtney Keck listen to the national anthem prior to Wednesday night's match against Mendon Unity at The Pit. | Matt Schuckman photo

To purchase digital downloads or prints of Muddy River Sports photos,click here to visit our SmugMug site. QUINCY — The Quincy Notre Dame volleyball team wants to play at a quicker pace this season. If Wednesday’s season-opening match is any indication of where things are headed, expect them to move at a lightning pace. The…

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Prep volleyball primer: New coach leads deep, talented Illini West squad in chase of more hardware

Illini West's Reagan Reed, left, will be asked to be a dominant player at the net as well as a setter this season foe the Chargers. | Matt Schuckman photo

CARTHAGE, Ill. — Four months ago, Sawyer Johnson was finishing up her animal science degree at Iowa State University. Now, she is the head coach of an Illini West volleyball team that won a regional championship and set a school record with 35 victories in 2023. “It’s been a challenging step for sure, but we’re…

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Leap into history: Barry’s state title in long jump is Unity’s first track champion in more than 40 years

Mendon Unity sophomore Saylor Barry flies through the air on one of her three attempts in the long jump Saturday at the Class 1A state track and field championships in Charleston, Ill. Barry won the state title with a leap of 17 feet, 11 inches. | Photo courtesy Clark Brooks, PhotoNews Media

CHARLESTON, Ill. — The carryover from the preliminary round of the Class 1A long jump put Mendon Unity sophomore Saylor Barry at the top of the leaderboard with three jumps to be made in Saturday’s finals. She didn’t jump any farther, but no one else did either. In fact, she outjumped the field Saturday at…

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One for the road: Cougars beat Mustangs for regional title, send seniors on class trip in style

Winchester West Central right-hander Anthony Hance gets the signal from catcher Mason Berry during the seventh inning of Saturday's Class 1A Liberty Regional championship game against Mendon Unity in Liberty, Ill. | Matt Schuckman photo

LIBERTY, Ill. — A freshman pitcher’s poise and presence is going to allow the seniors on the Winchester West Central baseball team to thoroughly enjoy the road trip that lies ahead. It should enable Grant DeWitt to have a more casual drive, too. Right-hander Anthony Hance wriggled out of a sixth-inning with a five-run lead…

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Mustangs’ Barry qualifies for finals in three events at Class 1A state track championships

Mendon Unity sophomore Saylor Barry lands in the sandpit on one of her attempts in the long jump during Thursday's preliminaries in the Class 1A girls state track and field championships at O'Brien Stadium in Charleston, Ill. | Photo courtesy Clark Brooks, PhotoNews Media

CHARLESTON, Ill. — The Mendon Unity girls track and field program hasn’t had an individual or relay state champion in more than 40 years. Saylor Barry has given herself three chances to make history. The Unity sophomore qualified for the finals in three individual events during Thursday’s preliminaries in the Class 1A state championships at…

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Photo gallery: Pleasant Hill, Camp Point Central advance to regional softball championship

Camp Point Central third baseman Rebekkah Waterkotte, right, awaits the pitch during Wednesday's Class 1A regional semifinal against Southeastern at Camp Point, Ill. | Shane Hulsey photo

CAMP POINT, Ill. — The Camp Point Central softball team walked off with a 5-4 victory over Southeastern in Wednesday’s semifinals of the Class 1A Camp Point Regional, while top-seeded Pleasant Hill rolled to a 12-2 victory over Mendon Unity. The Panthers and Wolves will meet at 10 a.m. Saturday for the regional championship. Muddy…

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Mustangs manufacture five-inning victory over Eagles to reach Class 1A regional title game

Mendon Unity senior Cody Shaffer collected two hits and threw four innings with seven strikeouts in Wednesday's 11-1 victory over Liberty in the Class 1A regional semifinals at Liberty, Ill. | Matt Schuckman photo

LIBERTY, Ill. — Patience, persistence and pitching have put the Mendon Unity baseball team on the verge of both a 20-win season and the program’s first regional title in more than 30 years. The second-seeded Mustangs took advantage of 10 free bases, broke through to take the lead in the third inning and finished off…

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Four-run frame enables Mustangs to build some momentum ahead of regional play

Mendon Unity's Ben McClelland lets a high pitch go by during Thursday's game against Camp Point Central. The Mustangs won a 6-2, rain-shortened game in Camp Point, Ill. | Matt Schuckman photo

CAMP POINT, Ill. — Carter Reeves did exactly what Mendon Unity baseball coach Tyler McAllister has wanted him to do with an outside pitch. Simply punch it into right-center field. With two outs in the top of the fifth inning Thursday, Reeves smacked the first pitch he saw from Camp Point Central reliever Garrett Neisen…

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Oh, so close: Wiewel carries no-hitter into seventh inning as Raiders down Mustangs

Quincy Notre Dame junior right-hander Abram Wiewel delivers a pitch during Monday's game against Mendon Unity at Ferd Niemann Jr. Memorial Ballfield. | Shane Hulsey photo

QUINCY — Off the field, Quincy Notre Dame junior Abram Wiewel is a light-hearted jokester. On the field, he turns into a junkyard dog. “When I’m pitching, I get into a completely different mindset,” Wiewel said. “I want to hunt you down and destroy you.” Monday, Wiewel annihilated the Mendon Unity baseball team’s offense, throwing…

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Stellar pitching helps Saukees regain their footing, end Mustangs’ win streak

Pittsfield baseball coach Zach Ferguson talks to his players on the mound during Saturday's game against Mendon Unity in Pittsfield, Ill. | Matt Schuckman photo

PITTSFIELD, Ill. — Mired in a midseason slump, the Pittsfield baseball team needed a turn-things-around moment. Ending Mendon Unity’s 13-game win streak may be it. Two Saukees combined to limit the Mustangs to two hits, and a five-run fifth inning helped propel Pittsfield to a 9-0 victory Saturday. The Saukees had lost three of their…

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Epic rally allows Mustangs to keep win streak alive with extra-inning victory

Mendon Unity right-hander Sawyer Allen threw three innings of scoreless relief to earn the victory in Wednesday night's 15-12 come-from-behind victory over Bushnell-Prairie City. | Matt Schuckman photo

BUSHNELL, Ill. — With two runners on base and two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning, the Bushnell-Prairie City baseball team was one run away from a 10-run rule victory. The Spartans didn’t get it, and that gave Mendon Unity new life. The Mustangs scored five times in the top of the sixth,…

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Mustangs keep win streak alive by fighting back for nine-inning victory over Panthers

Unity's Cody Shaffer drove in the winning run with a single in the bottom of the ninth inning Monday, lifting the Mustangs to a 9-8 victory over Palmyra in Mendon, Ill. | Matt Schuckman photo

MENDON, Ill. — The manner in which the Palmyra baseball team rallied for two runs in the top of the seventh inning Monday to tie the game could have put Mendon Unity on its heels. Instead, the Mustangs proved they refuse to buckle. Cody Shaffer’s single through the left side of the infield with one…

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Shaffer, Sims put up zeroes before Mustangs score twice in eighth inning to get past Eagles

Mendon Unity senior right-hander Cody Shaffer delivers a pitch during Thursday's game at Liberty. The Mustangs scored twice in the top of the eighth inning for a 2-0 victory in Liberty, Ill. | Matt Schuckman photo

LIBERTY, Ill. — The line drive hit Cody Shaffer’s upper right arm with enough force that the ricochet led to an out at first base and had people scrambling to check on the Mendon Unity right-hander. Immediately, the umpires called time and Mustangs coach Tyler McAllister popped out of the dugout to assess Schaffer’s injury…

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Photo gallery: Old-fashioned pitchers’ duel breaks out as Mustangs, Eagles go extra innings

Liberty catcher Jarred Owens sets himself to receive a pitch during Thursday's game against Mendon Unity in West Central Conference play in Liberty, Ill. | Matt Schuckman photo

LIBERTY, Mo. — A pair of right-handed hurlers engaged in a pitchers’ duel Thursday as neither Mendon Unity’s Cody Shaffer nor Liberty’s Jackson Sims allowed a run over the first six innings. The relievers were just a stingy in the seventh inning. It wasn’t until the eighth inning when a pair of errors enabled Unity…

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Around the diamond: Mustangs rally in seventh, Blue Devils scored 11 in first, Saukees suffer first loss

MENDON, Ill. — Trailing by two runs heading into the bottom of the seventh inning Thursday, the Mendon Unity baseball team needed baserunners to even think about a rally. Six consecutive batters safely reaching did the trick. Ben McClelland and Sawyer Allen started the rally with back-to-back singles before the Mustangs’ patience kicked in. Three…

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Around the diamond: Saukees stay perfect, Raiders back sophomore righty, Shaffer mows down Tigers

Pittsfield's Konner Allen struck out five in two hitless, scoreless innings of relief against Brown County on Wednesday in Pittsfield, Ill. | Matt Schuckman photo

PITTSFIELD, Ill. — Three Pittsfield pitchers limited the Brown County baseball team to two hits and the Saukees used a four-run third inning to catapult themselves to a 7-1 victory to improve to 5-0 and highlight Wednesday’s action across the area. Pittsfield’s Draven Puterbaugh allowed one unearned run and two hits over the first four…

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Buehler? Buehler? Buehler? Yes, Buehler hits clutch free throws as QND rallies past Unity

Quincy Notre Dame freshman guard Ari Buehler sizes up a free throw during Saturday's game against Mendon Unity at The Pit. | Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — The moment required Ari Buehler to ignore, focus and follow through. Not an easy task on any front. Fouled with 14.4 seconds remaining in regulation and the Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball team clinging to a two-point lead, the freshman guard first had to become oblivious to the chatter from the Unity players…

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