It was a rough week for the Triopia-Meredosia-Virginia baseball team as they suffered four losses against just one win. Two of the losses were by one run, they were allowed just one hit in the third loss and had only two hits in the last one.
Two long road trips last week resulted in two wins for the Beardstown baseball team, pushing their record to 4-2 on the year. On Friday the boys pounded Pleasant Hill-Western 15 to 3 in five innings and on Saturday, the Tigers made a huge seventh inning comeback to knock off West Hancock 11 to 6.
The Triopia-Meredosia-Virginia baseball team started last week with a home win over Griggsville-Perry then dropped both ends of a Saturday doubleheader at home to Greenfield-Northwestern and PORTA-AC Central. The Trojans are now 3-8 on the season.
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
Following a five-game gauntlet in four days last week, the PORTA-AC baseball team has fought their way back to the .500 mark at 5-5 for the season. Outstanding offense has been the key so far with the team batting .362 and averaging eleven hits and six runs per game. The week did not start out very well, with winnable games turning into losses at both North Mac and Springfield Southeast. The Jays bounced back by winning at Canton on Friday and then winning twice on Saturday in the Jacksonville High School Jamboree.
With the typically unpredictable spring weather in Illinois causing cancellations left and right, the Triopia-Meredosia-Virginia varsity ball teams have not been spared, but they did get some action in last week. Both teams traveled to Carrollton last Thursday and lost to the Hawks. The boys hosted the Athens Warriors on Friday and dropped that one also to fall to 2-6 on the season. The Lady Trojans record sits at 2-3.
The Beardstown Tiger baseball team won twice last week to even their record at 2-2 for the season. They started the week with an 8-1 road loss at Mendon Unity then won a thriller at home, 7 to 5 in nine innings over Augusta Southeastern, before trouncing South Fulton 16 to zip on the road.
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.”
Despite having no seniors, Head Coach Rich Thompson and Assistant Adam Brockhouse led last years Triopia-Meredosia-Virginia baseball team to an 11-15 record. With everyone returning, expectations are much higher this year. Sophomore Grant Fricke did not play like a freshman last year, going 4-3 with a 1.85 ERA on the mound and hitting .398 with 17 RBI and 24 runs scored and will play a major role this year. Sophomore Cooper Parrish returns behind the plate after hitting .328 with 17 RBI, senior Austin Strubbe is back at third base and hit .279 with 22 RBI and 14 runs and Senior Evan Bell can play about
A youth movement is at hand for the Beardstown baseball program. The Tigers have to replace seven departed seniors from last year’s somewhat disappointing 12-16 squad in Head Coach Brian Dour’s debut season. Beardstown is not used to having losing seasons in baseball so expect Coach Dour, his staff and the boys to put in the work required to make sure it does not happen again. He will do so with just two seniors at his disposal and a host of sophomores and freshmen expected to play significant roles.