The PORTA-AC Central baseball team rebounded from an ugly loss to pick up two wins last week and move to 12-9 on the season.
On Monday the Jays managed just one hit in a 12 to 1 loss to New Berlin. The Pretzels scored five in the first, four in the second, one in the third and two in the fourth of the ten-run rule win. Drew Atwater had the only Bluejay hit.
The PORTA-AC Central boys’ and girls’ track teams both finished in first place as a team at last week’s five-team meet at Havana.
Jacob Vogel won the 100 and was second in the discus, Lane McNally was sixth in the 100, Jophy Lin was second in the 200, Drew Carter was fifth in the 200, Cael Cotner won the 400, Noah Hardy placed second in the 400 and the 800 and third in the long jump, Justin Zimmmerman won the 800 and was third in the 400, Kade Parker won the 1600, Quincy Stuhmer placed second in the 1600, Bryson Schachtsiek won the 110 hurdles and was second in the high jump, Logan Baker was second in the 110 hurdles, Avery Jockisch was third in the 110 hurdles and fifth in the 300 hurdles, Logan Baker won the 300 hurdles, Chase Pratt placed second in the 300 hurdles and fifth in the triple jump, AJ Fickas was sixth in the shot put, Anthony Loxley was sixth in the discus, Owen Gilbert won the shot put and placed third in the discus, Isaac Rennecker won the high jump and was second in the long jump, and Deacon Stroupe was fourth in the high jump.
Ashland Fire Protection District Chief Shane Hall reported at last week’s meeting of the district board that Crisis Management Services would be on hand to assist firefighters dealing with emotional trauma. Several of the district’s firefighters responded to the tragic death of Ethan Mahoney the day before the meeting and crisis counselors were being made available to firefighters needing them. At the suggestion of former fire chief Tylor Latham, a moment of silence was held for Mahoney.
The A-C Central school board discussed running a water line to the school’s baseball diamond at last week’s meeting. The discussion was prompted by a request from the Ashland Youth Association to purchase the dugout bleachers at A-C for the AYA’s baseball diamond. The A-C trustees expressed they would rather have the AYA play more games at A-C’s ball diamond so they did not vote to sell the bleachers and instead decided to see if a water line could be run to the school’s field.
With the PORTA-AC Central administration making the prudent and compassionate decision to cancel numerous activities last week following the tragic passing of an AC-Central student athlete, the Bluejays competed in just two sporting events last week.
Three wins out of five games last week improved the PORTA-AC Central baseball team’s record to 10-8 on the season. An 8 to 2 road win over Midwest Central on Monday kicked things off for the Jays. They led just 3 to 2 after five innings before pushing across five runs in the sixth to put the game on ice. Jett Karrick gave up seven hits in seven innings and had three RBIs on offense. Levi Hoagland had a triple and an RBI, Barrett Morse had a double and an RBI and Brady Kinney and Drew Marr each had a single and an RBI. Kendall Davis added a double while Hunter Roberts and Kolin Johnson added singles.
The PORTA-AC Central Track Teams swept to victory in the boys and girls meet at the PORTA Co-Ed Invitational last week. Jacob Vogel won the 100 and 200 meter dash, Daxton Trueblood won the 800 meters and Justin Zimmerman placed second, Kade Parker won the 1600, Bryson Schachtsiek won the 110 and the 300 hurdles and the long jump, and Isaac Rennecker won the high jump and the triple jump. Alanna Sparks was second in the 1600, Maggie Zimmerman was second in the 3200, Lauren Harrison won the 100 hurdles and was second in the 300 hurdles, Tristan Shaub was second in the shot put and the discus and Summer Perman won the high jump.
It was a frustrating week for the PORTA-AC Central softball team as they went 2-2 with both losses coming in rivalry games. The Lady Jays beat Midwest Central then lost to Athens and Pleasant Plains before knocking off Jacksonville to end the week.
Solor Eclispe on Monday, April 8, in Ashland. Photo by Mike Kloppenburg
It was a very impressive performance from the PORTA-AC Central boys’ track team last Friday afternoon on the campus of Western Illinois University for the Lee Calhoun Invitational. The Jays won First Place in the very competitive, eighteen team event, outscoring second place Monmouth-Roseville by 21.5 points, 97 to 75.5. The Lady Bluejays finished in fourteenth place out of seventeen teams.