It was a tough week on the field for the PORTA-AC Central Lady Bluejays as they lost on a walk off in the seventh inning to New Berlin and were no hit in a loss to Stanford Olympia. The Lady Jays are now 11-7 on the year.It was a back-and-forth battle early on Monday at New Berlin as PORTA-AC scored two in the first and three in the second only to have the Pretzels score three in the first and two in the second making it 5 to 5 after two innings.
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.
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.
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.
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.