Sports | The Journal-News

Piasa Birds Slip Past Purple Panthers

In a game where hits were a plenty, runs were at a minimum as Southwestern and Litchfield/Mt. Olive would square off in a non-conference affair Wednesday on the campus of Litchfield High School. The … more

4/25/24

Late Charge Pushes Altamont Past Nokomis

The Nokomis Redskins came within a strike of handing Altamont their seventh loss of the season on Monday, April 22, but the Indians proved there is a reason they’ve won 16 games this year. … more

4/25/24

Trojan Ten-Spot Results In Road Loss For Nokomis

On Monday, April 22, the Nokomis Lady Redskins fell to Auburn 16-1 on the Trojans’ home field. The game was closer early on, but a ten-run fourth inning gave Auburn the mercy rule win. … more

4/25/24

Vandenbergh Tops Qualifying Mark

However long it has been since Nokomis had a state qualifier in track, that streak could very well come to an end in a few weeks. On Wednesday, April 19, in Gillespie, Nokomis junior Irene … more

4/23/24

Hillsboro senior Cole Lenczycki uncorks a throw during the Greenville Relays on Friday, April 19. Lenczycki and teammate Austin Newingham finished third in the shot put at the 40th annual event, with the Toppers also finishing third as a team.

Hiltoppers Third At 40th Comet Relays

The Hillsboro boys track team finished third at the Comet Relays on Friday, April 13, coming within two points of second at the 40th annual meet in Greenville. The Toppers finished the day with … more

4/22/24

Hillsboro's Jaida Linn (above) and Maryn Tarver took the top spot in the high jump at the Greenville Relays on Friday, April 19, beating out the second place team from Wesclin by .09 meters. As a team, the Lady Hiltoppers finished third overall.

Lady Toppers Soar At Greenville

The Hillsboro girls track team picked up a pair of wins at the Greenville Comet Relays on Friday, April 19, as they went on to finish third in the team ranks. As a team, Hillsboro finished with … more

4/22/24

Litchfield Takes Two Against Pana

In one of the longest rain delays possible, the Litchfield-Mt. Olive Purple Panthers took down the Pana Panthers 6-2. The contest that began on Thursday, April 18, in Pana would finally come to … more

4/22/24

Nokomis' Reaghan Jonas waits her turn in the on-deck circle during teammate Presley Mehochko's at-bat in the seventh inning of the Redskins' game in Hillsboro on Thursday, April 18. After falling 3-2 to the Redskins at the Montgomery County Softball Tournament, Hillsboro avenged the loss with a 6-3 victory, with senior catcher Sophia Blankenship driving in two runs for the Toppers.

Hillsboro Avenges Loss To Nokomis

Five days after facing off in the Montgomery County Softball Tournament, the Nokomis and Hillsboro softball teams met up again on Thursday, April 18. The game was moved up an hour to try to beat the … more

4/22/24

Hillsboro catcher Landon Summers jumps to snag a high throw and avoid Lincolnwood's Brodey Vanhooser as the sophomore from Morrisonville slides into home plate during the second inning of the game on Saturday, April 20. Vanhooser's run was one of 11 in the inning for Lincolnwood, who defeated the Toppers 13-0 in five innings.

Lincolnwood Slides Past Toppers

Different dates but same teams equals same result, at least in high school baseball. That theory was tested and proven true Saturday morning, April 20, when the Lincolnwood-Morrisonville co-op team … more

by Ron Deabenderfer | 4/22/24

The Litchfield-Mt. Olive softball team huddled up at Casey's in Nokomis when tornado sirens sounded on their way home from their game in Pana on April 18, while the Purple Panther baseball team was just down the street doing the same at the Nokomis Fire Department and Police Department. The hospitality wasn't lost on the Panther parents, some of whom reached out to express their thanks for the hospitality and for helping to keep their kids safe.

Litchfield Falls To Pana In Odd Double Dip

It took two towns, two days and the hospitality of a Montgomery County gas station, but Litchfield and Pana finally got their non-conference game in the books on April 19. The two Panther … more

4/22/24

Nokomis' Ella Huelson tracks her hit toward left field during the Lady Redskins' home game on Wednesday, April 17, against Litchfield. The Redskins scored first, but Litchfield came away with a 5-2 victory, with Litchfield catcher Bella Roach (pictured above) driving in one run and scoring another for the Panthers.

Litchfield Outduels Nokomis

It was a rematch of the championship game of the Montgomery County Softball Tournament on Wednesday, April 17, as the Nokomis Lady Redskins hosted Litchfield as they faced the Purple Panthers for the … more

4/22/24

Lady Toppers Rebound At Carlinville

After dropping a close one to Greenville on April 16, the Hillsboro girls soccer team rebounded with a win over Carlinville on Friday, April 19, to improve to 4-2 in the South Central Conference. … more

4/22/24

Comets Comeback Sinks Hillsboro

The Greenville Comets came back from a 5-0 deficit to beat Hillsboro 10-5 on Friday, April 19, as the Lady Hiltoppers fell to 1-3 in the South Central Conference and 10-9 overall. Hillsboro … more

4/22/24

O’Malley At Her Best At Gillespie

Abygail O’Malley picked up one of Nokomis’ four wins at their meet in Gillespie on Wednesday, April 17, and set two new personal records to help the Lady Redskins finish third at the … more

4/22/24

Nokomis Second At Miner Meet

The Nokomis boys track team finished second in a five-team meet in Gillespie on April 17, with wins in six events. The Redskins finished with 59 points, just five points behind … more

4/22/24

North Mac Survives Slugfest With Nokomis

The good part of the Nokomis softball game on Saturday, April 20, was that the Lady Redskins scored 11 runs, their most since beating Shelbyville 11-2 on March 27. The bad part is that the team on … more

4/22/24

Late Runs Push Nokomis Past Okaw Valley

The Nokomis baseball team were up 7-0 when thunderstorms forced the postponement of their game with Tri-City on Thursday, April 18, but the Redskins managed to carry that momentum over to their next … more

4/22/24

Comets Knock Off Toppers

When Greenville came to Hillsboro for a South Central Conference baseball game Friday afternoon, April 19, it became a pitching duel between two lefthanders, the Comets’ Cohen Alstat and Topper … more

by Ron Deabenderfer | 4/22/24

Seven The Magic Number For Litchfield Boys

The Litchfield boys track team had seven top five finishes and seven new personal records on Friday, April 19, as the Panthers placed seventh at the Rochester Rocket Invitational. Of the seven … more

4/22/24

Stewart Leads Litchfield At Rochester

Kendall Stewart played a part in half of Litchfield’s eight top ten finishes at the Rocket Invitational on Friday, April 19, in Rochester, including her fifth win of the season in the 300 meter … more

4/22/24