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.
It was an exciting last week of baseball for the PORTA-AC Central Bluejays with a nine-inning loss, an eighth inning win, and a two-hit shut out win. The 2-1 week moves the Jays record to 7-6 on the season.
Mother Nature wiped out the beginning of the week, but the Jays got back in action on Friday when they traveled to Riverton and battled the Hawks on another cool and misty afternoon. Riverton took the early lead with three runs in the bottom of the first, but the Jays tied it up in the top of the second on three consecutive singles by Hunter Roberts, Brody Landon and Jett Kerrick, and a sacrifice fly by Barrett Morse. Kendall Davis, who got the start on the mound, settled in, and kept Riverton scoreless over the next five innings, striking out eight. On offense, the Jays had multiple chances, outhitting Riverton 11 to 6
The PORTA-AC Central Lady Bluejay softball team and senior pitcher Gabbie Branson certainly made the most of their only opportunity to play last week.
Branson tossed her first career perfect game as the Lady Jays destroyed the Riverton Hawks 18 to 0 at Riverton. Branson struck out ten batters in her four-inning perfecto, while also going 1 for 2 with two RBIs and two runs scored. PORTA-AC had just seven hits but took advantage of fifteen free passes from the Hawk pitching staff.
Photos from The Cass County Health Department in Virginia, Porscha Stone, Kaitlyn Copley and Connect.
The boys and girls track teams for PORTA-AC Central both dashed to first place finishes in a six-team meet last week in Havana.
Bryson Schachtsiek brought home first place in the 110- and 300-meter hurdles and the long jump. Isaac Rennecker won both the high jump and the triple jump. Kade Parker won the 1600-meter run and Justin Zimmerman was second. Daxton Trueblood won the 800-meter run and Quincy Stuhmer was second. Jacob Vogel finished second in the 100 and third in the 200 and Noah Hardy placed third in the 400 meters.
The PORTA-AC Central softball team continued their impressive play, moving to 8-2 on the season with three wins in four games last week. The Lady Bluejays won a tight one, 4 to 2 on the road at Taylorville last Wednesday. They played host to Rochester, Warrenburg-Latham, and Liberty in the Bluejays Spring Slam at the University of Illinois-Springfield on Saturday. They lost 5-0 to the Rockets but knocked off the Cardinals 8 to 0 and the Eagles 17 to 4.
Returning all but three players from last year’s sixteen-win team, this year’s PORTA-AC Central baseball team has high hopes for the season. Head Coach Brett Leischner along with assistants Doug Blakeman, Rick King, Devon Roach, Jared Canterbury, and Dave Leischner are eager to build on a successful 2023 campaign. Coach Leischner knows it won’t be easy but feels the pieces are there to push towards twenty wins, improve on a 4-4, fifth place conference finish and make some hay in the postseason. According to Leischner, “there are high internal expectations this season. The schedule is very competitive, and the Sangamo Conference is one of the best small school conferences in the state. This year could prove to be a great one if we can stay healthy and pull together as a team.”
With their top three hitters and their top pitcher returning from last year’s 16-13 team, the PORTA-AC Central Lady Bluejays are looking to take the next step forward this season. Fourth year Coach Andrew Biermann (39-33 overall record) and asistants Mike Logsdon and Kassidy Johnson are hoping to improve on a 4-4 record and fifth place finish in the Sangamon Conference, push towards the twenty-win mark and make some postseason noise.
The Ashland Fire District Board voted to purchase body armor for firefighters at last week’s board meeting. The purchase is for four sets of armor at a cost near $8,400. At the suggestion of former fire chief Tylor Latham, they also voted to purchase extra trauma pads at a price of $1,000.
Over the first few months of 2024, two members of Troop 125 have traveled to Jacksonville to appear before their respective boards of review to be evaluated to determine whether or not they would receive the rank of Eagle Scout. Troop 125 is elated to report that Connor DeFord (Chandlerville) passed his Board of Review on January 17 and Evan Bell (Virginia) passed his Board of Review on March 6.