Photos

A Pearl City 1 Little Miss hitter takes a pitch from the Chadwick pitcher during Carroll County summer league softball action in Chadwick last Thursday evening. (PA photo/Craig Lang)

The Chadwick Little Miss pitcher delivers a pitch to a Pearl City batter as a Pearl City baserunner and Chawick’s first baseman look on last Thursday in Chadwick. (PA photo/Craig Lang)

Sports . . . .

Carroll County Summer League Schedule

Pee Wee Boy’s

June 22

Thomson at Lanark 1

Lanark 2 at Milledgeville

Shannon at Mt. Carroll

Savanna at Pearl City 1

Chadwick at Pearl City 2

June 27

Pearl City 1 at Chadwick

Lanark 1 at Lanark 2

Milledgeville at Savanna

Pearl City 2 at Shannon

Mt. Carroll at Thomson

Small Fry Boy’s

June 24

Lanark 2 at Chadwick

Milledgeville at Lanark 1

Mt. Carroll at Pearl City 1

Thomson at Pearl City 2

Shannon at Savanna 2

June 28

Pearl City 1 at Lanark 2

Savanna 1 at Milledgeville

Lanark 1 at Mt. Carroll

Chadwick at Shannon

Savanna 2 at Thomson

Junior Boy’s

June 23

Shannon at Lanark

Chadwick at Mt. Carroll

Thomson at Savanna

June 27

Chadwick at Savanna

Milledgeville at Shannon

Lanark at Thomson

Senior Boy’s

June 24

Savanna at Mt. Carroll

Chadwick at Pearl City

Albany at Shannon

June 28

Mt. Carroll at Albany

Shannon at Chadwick

Fulton at Savanna

Tiny Miss Girl’s

June 22

Chadwick at Mt. Carroll

Pearl City 1 at Polo

Pearl City 2 at Savanna

Stockton at Thomson

June 24

Lanark at Polo

Pearl City 1 at Shannon

Little Miss Girl’s

No games scheduled

Junior Girl’s

June 24

Pearl City at River Ridge

Chadwick at Savanna

Shannon at Mt. Carroll/Thomson

Senior Girl’s

June 23

Stockton at Chadwick

Lanark at Pearl City 1

Thomson at River Ridge

Pearl City 2 at Savanna

Mt. Carroll at Shannon

Carroll County Summer League Standings

(As of June 20)

Pee Wee Boy’s

1-Milledgeville 6-0 2-Lanark1 5-1 3-Lanark2 5-2 4-Shannon 5-2 5-Savanna 4-3 6-Pearl City2 3-3 7-Chadwick 3-3 8-Pearl City1 1-6 9-Mt. Carroll 1-6 10-Thomson 0-7

Small Fry Boy’s

1-Pearl City1 6-0 2-Milledgeville 4-0 3-Chadwick 5-1 4-Lanark2 3-1 5-Savanna1 4-2 6-Lanark1 4-3 7-Mt. Carroll 2-3 8-Shannon 2-4 9-Pearl City2 1-5 10-Savanna2 0-5 11-Thomson 0-7

Junior Boy’s

1-Shannon 5-0 2-Lanark 3-1 3-Milledgeville 3-2 4-Mt. Carroll 1-1 5-Chadwick 2-4 6-Savanna 0-2 7-Thomson 0-4

Senior Boy’s

1-Chadwick 5-0 2-Fulton 4-1 3-Albany 2-1 4-Pearl City 3-2 5-Savanna 1-4 6-Mt. Carroll 0-4 7-Shannon 0-3

Tiny Miss Girl’s

1-Polo 6-0 2-Savanna 6-1 3-Pearl City1 5-1 4-Pearl City2 4-1 5-Shannon 4-3 6-Lanark 4-4 7-Mt. Carroll 2-4 8-Milledgeville 2-6 9-Chadwick 1-6 11-Thomson 1-6

Little Miss Girl’s

1-Lanark 7-1 2-Stockton1 6-2 3-Milledgeville 5-2 4-Shannon 5-2 5-Mt. Carroll/Thomson 5-3 6-Pearl City2 2-3 7-Polo 2-4 8-Savanna 2-4 9-Chadwick 2-4 10-Stockton2 2-5 11-Pearl City1 0-8

Junior Girl’s

1-Pearl City 7-0 2-Shannon 6-1 3-Chadwick 6-2 4-Milledgeville 3-3 5-Mt. Carroll/Thomson 4-4 6-Lanark 4-4 7-Stockton 2-6 8-Savanna 1-5 9-River Ridge 0-8

Senior Girl’s

1-Pearl City1 6-0 2-Pearl City2 6-1 3-Chadwick 5-1 4-Milledgeville 5-3 5-Mt. Carroll 3-3 6-Stockton 3-3 7-River Ridge 3-4 8-Shannon 2-4 9-Thomson 2-4 10-Lanark 1-6 11-Savanna 0-7

A Championship Season for the Morrison Fillies

By Craig Lang

Prairie Advocate Sports

With this year’s recently completed softball season, the Morrison Fillies did something that no other softball team in school history had accomplished: win a state championship.

The Fillies came close in the past few years, finishing in fourth place in 2007, in third place in 2008 and 2010 and finally getting over that hurdle and winning it all this season in Class 2A. Morrison (31-7) ended their season by defeating Shelbyville 4-1 in the championship contest held at the Eastside Centre in East Peoria on June 4th.

The 2011 team consisted of six seniors, five juniors, four sophomores and three freshmen. In 2007, the Fillies went 31-4, beating Downs (Tri Valley) 7-1 before falling to Beecher 2-0 and Taylor Ridge (Rockridge) 10-3 to take fourth place. In 2008, Morrison went 24-5, losing to Stanford Olympia 2-1 before beating Piasa Southwestern 3-2 to take home the third place trophy. Last season, the Fillies were 26-13, losing to Johnston City 3-2 before beating Alton Marquette by an identical score to take home another third place award.

This year’s squad breezed through the Sterling Newman regional, defeating Oregon 13-3 before taking the regional title from Rock Falls 2-0. The Byron sectional saw Morrison beat Harvard 10-0 in five innings and take home the sectional plaque after beating Port Byron/ Riverdale 3-0. The next stop for the Fillies was Rock Island were they faced Quincy Notre Dame and took home the super sectional title 1-0.

Next stop for Morrison was the Eastside Centre as they had punched their ticket to yet another final four appearance. First up for the Fillies was Lisle which Morrison dispatched by a five run 9-4 margin. They would then face Shelbyville with a state championship trophy at stake.

It seems that Morrison had peaked at just the right time to make their run complete. Throughout the regular season the Fillies put together a couple of five game winning streaks but held out their longest beginning on March 13th until the final game of the year. Morrison won three straight games at the Lisle Invitational tournament, defeating Braidwood (Reed-Custer), Elmhurst (Immaculate Conception) and Taylor Ridge (Rockridge) to propel them into regional play on a winning note.

That final stretch of the year gave Morrison their longest winning streak at ten games and couldn’t have come at a more opportune time. The Fillies battled the Lady Rams for five scoreless innings before sophomore shortstop Kaitlyn Finneran blasted a three run home run to right centerfield to give Morrison a lead that they would not relinquish. The Fillies went on to the 4-1 win.

Senior pitcher/first baseman Danielle Stralow, who started the game on the mound and took the victory in the championship game, when asked how the 2011 Fillies were able to get over the hump and finally win it all said, “We were much closer as a team, much more like family, each other’s best friends. We knew each other completely and played the same way. We had a great offense and great defense which carried us through to victory.”

Asked if the coaches told them anything different in the championship contest against Shelbyville, she replied, “They told us to just play this game like any other game we’ve played this year. Don’t think of it as the championship game, it is just another game.”

Regarding her softball future, Danielle said she will attend Clarke College in Dubuque, Iowa in the fall and will play softball for the Crusaders.

Senior catcher/third baseman Marie Deter, the niece of Fillies head coach Tammy Deter, said, “I believe one of the main keys to our success was the leadership that the seniors showed. They led the team and we all played together. We were all so close that each knew what the others would do in an given situation.”

She also commented, “The players behind the scenes and all the support we got from fans, friends and supporters was tremendous. I just wanted to say thank you to them all because they often don’t get the recognition they deserve and without their help and support we wouldn’t be where we are today.”

Marie plans to go to Sauk Valley Community College to play softball for the Skyhawks.

“An unbelievable feeling,” said Assistant Coach Mike Wiersema. “The key to our success was the incredible team chemistry that we had on this squad. They just believed in each other so much and their positive attitude kept all the players focused. Plus, the defense really stepped up big and made some huge plays in the later rounds that allowed us to advance.”

When asked how he thought 2012 would shape up for the Morrison team he said, “It’s no doubt that the graduated seniors will be missed. We have some work to do in a tough conference but I’m confident that the underclassmen will step up and make next season very competitive.”

Our congratulations go out to everyone involved in the Morrison Fillies incredible journey to the top and we look forward to another successful season for an excellent program.

Cougars Roll At The Right Time

Much like the Morrison Fillies run at the end of their season to capture the Class 2A state title, the Eastland Cougars baseball squad took a similar route to their second place finish in the Class 1A state tourney this season.

Eastland put together a five game winning streak after dropping their first game of the year to Morrison. They then reeled off five straight wins before falling to Durand on April 2nd. Their next four games saw the Cougars come out on the winning side in only one of those contests but they never lost their focus and bounced back to win another pair of games in mid April before falling to the Byron Tigers 12-9 on April 13th. The Cougars finished the regular season by reeling off three straight victories with wins over the Galena Pirates, the Le-Win Panthers and the East Dubuque Warriors.

They went into the post season at the Amboy regional and their offense and pitching came alive as they destroyed the AFC Raiders 11-0 in the first semifinal contest and rolled over the Fulton Steamers 17-1 to capture the Amboy regional championship plaque. The next stop for the Cougars was the Le-Win sectional where their offensive surge and great pitching continued with a 13-3 demolition of Somonauk and a thrilling come from behind 9-6 victory over the Freeport Aquin Bulldogs to propel them into their next challenge at the Lisle (Benedictine University) super sectional.

The Warriors and Cougars would battle back and forth before Eastland was able to punch their ticket to the state tournament’s final four with a 5-4 win. It was on to O’Brien Field in Peoria for Eastland and their semifinal opponent the Goreville Blackcats.

The Cougars were able to pull out the 2-1 victory again in dramatic fashion to secure their spot in the Saturday, June 4th title game against the Carrollton Hawks. Of the one hundred and eighty three Class 1A schools in competition at the beginning of the season, only two remained.

On a blazing hot and humid afternoon in Peoria, the Cougars and Hawks faced off for the big trophy. Carrollton was able to get on the board with two quick runs, but Eastland was able to counter with a run to cut the Hawk lead in half. The Hawks were able to take advantage of Eastland miscues with timely hitting and behind the pitching of starter Joey Coonrod rolled to the 8-1 victory.

This season’s talented squad of Cougars was able to take the bar two notches higher than the 2009 team that finished fourth in the state and brought home the IHSA Class 1A second place trophy to put in an already growing trophy collection from the past few seasons of sports competition for Eastland High School.

“Pitching was huge for us this season,” said Cougar head coach Weston Burkholder. “Tyler (Giedd), Jordan (Blair) and Reid (Lessman) gave us a lot of quality innings and kept us in ball games.” When asked who he would choose off an excellent squad to be his Most Valuable Player, Weston said, “We voted Tyler Giedd as our team MVP.”

Asked how he thought the 2012 Eastland Cougars baseball team would shape up he commented, “We’ll have Tyler back as a senior and we also have a bunch of talented underclassmen coming up. Out JV squad went 21-1 this season so we’ll be fine and should be competitive.”

Senior shortstop Brad Dunlap, when asked why he thought the Cougars were so successful this year, said, “Experience helped us a lot, being there before in 2009 as a sophomore and playing with the state’s best teams. Also, the coaches and players work ethic and always pushing ourselves to succeed.” When asked to pick his personal MVP on the team Brad replied, “I’d have to go with co-MVP’s in Tyler Giedd and Jordan Blair because those guys were our two aces whose pitching kept us in every ball game we played.”

Brad plans to go on to college at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa to play basketball for the Kohawks.

Senior first baseman/third baseman Collin Macomber when asked how the Cougars were able to find the success they had this year, replied, “We all just tried to stay focused on the big goal and if we played up to our abilities that we could compete with any baseball team in the state.”

When asked who he would choose for Eastland’s MVP this season, he said, “I think it would have to be our catcher Dylan Stichter because he was always able to keep us focused on what we needed to do.” Collin plans on attending the University of Wisconsin in Platteville to play basketball.

Congratulations go out to everyone involved in the exciting run of the 2011 Eastland Cougars baseball team and we’ll be looking forward to continued success in 2012.

IIowa Speedway Goes Green

Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa is going green, literally, for the IZOD Indy Car Series race on Saturday, June 25th. Inspired by the environmentally friendly “green movement”, track officials are encouraging fans to wear green apparel to the Iowa Corn Indy 250 presented by Pioneer.

Cars will run on 100 percent corn ethanol which has cleaner emissions and burns more efficiently than other fuel sources during this race. This is the first time a “color out” is being held at Iowa Speedway.

“Ethanol is a ‘green’ energy source and our race sponsors’ corporate colors are green,” explains Iowa Speedway Vice-President of Sales and Marketing Chuck Spicer. “So, we want fans to pack the stands in a field of green to celebrate the 5th annual Iowa Corn Indy 250 presented by Pioneer.”

The race is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. Parking is free and there will be a fireworks show after the checkered flag. Fans are invited to enjoy live musical entertainment provided by the pop/rock band We the Kings on the Grinnell Mutual Stage following the Pizza Ranch Victory Lane celebration. Tickets are still available by calling 1-866-RUSTY-GO or visiting www.iowaspeedway.com.

Baseball Tryout & Hitting Camp

Coast to Coast Baseball would like to invite local players (ages 10-18) to one of our upcoming tryout events. At the tryout, our staff will evaluate your skills in four areas: hitting, fielding, arm strength and speed.

Since the summer of 2001, over 2,000 athletes (ages 11-12,13-14,15-16 &17-18) from 46 different states have participated in the Coast to Coast Baseball program. Our alumni now compete at every level of collegiate baseball and even professionally. Players who are accepted to the program may choose to represent the USA in competition in Puerto Rico or work with top college coaches and pro scouts at one of our four Florida or Arizona Camp & Showcase events held at a MLB spring training complex.

In addition to the tryout, an instructional hitting camp will be held the same day. The goal of the camp is to help players improve hitting fundamentals as well as their mental approach at the plate. The next event will be held at Rock Valley College in Rockford, IL on Friday, June 29th. Tryout begins at 10 a.m. and hitting camp begins at 2 p.m. For more information, players and parents can visit our website at www.CoastToCoastAthletics.com.