The Roundup, March 22, 2025: Many teams, standouts flourish on first big Saturday of spring season

Richwoods' Acosia Morris (left) battles with a Morton player for possession. Jonathan Michel/Clutch Sports Media

Saturdays in the spring are always plentiful of high school sports action and the first one of the 2024-25 season featured non-stop action.

On the diamond, Dunlap and Canton were winners in both baseball and softball while numerous other area teams took wins and Little Giants pitcher Kash VanHouten had an impressive showing.

Many of the area’s top squads in girls soccer took the field, including Peoria Notre Dame, Normal U-High, Richwoods and Dunlap but Limestone stole the show again with another shutout win. The Rockets boys track and field team also shined, along with several others, at meets in Normal, Urbana and Monmouth. Dunlap tennis and a few Central Illinois lacrosse teams rounded out the big slate.

Check out all of the scores, recaps and top performers from the day in Saturday’s edition of The Roundup!

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In baseball

East Peoria 7, Farmington 1: East Peoria (2-0, 0-0 Mid-Illini) handled Farmington (0-2, 0-0 Prairieland) to stay unbeaten as RJ Duncheon led the Raiders with a 3-for-4 performance that featured a double and two RBIs. Owen Hidden and Mason Watson both drove in two additional runs for the Raiders. Connor Watson threw a gem for EP with a complete game that featured just one walk and four hits allowed. 

Heyworth 5, Peoria Notre Dame 2: Heyworth took the first game of a doubleheader with PND via a strong second innings, where the Hornets scored all their runs. Maddox Klawitter drove in two of Heyworth’s runs on a double. Caleb Troha (4 IP, 7 K’s, 2 ER) and Noah Eldredge (3 IP, 2 K, 0 ER) combined well on the mound in the win. Lawson Alwan slugged a solo homer for the Irish and Thomas Mickels drove in PND’s other run on a single.

Peoria Notre Dame 18, Heyworth 3: PND (2-1, 0-0 Big 12) threw down the hammer in the second game of its doubleheader with Heyworth (2-1, 0-0 Heart of Illinois). Jackson Campbell (2-4, HR, 3 RBIs), Joe Culp (2-4, 2B, 4 RBIs) and Jack Livengood (2-4, 3 RBIs) formed a big trio for the Irish and Kellen McCavitt (4.1 IP, 3 K’s, 1 ER) took the win. Logan Mills had two hits and an RBI for the Hornets. 

Dunlap 11, De Smet Jesuit (MO) 1: Dunlap (2-1, 0-0 Mid-Illini) brushed off an early run from De Smet Jesuit and ran away with a big win. The Eagles’ Davis Weeks went 2-for-3 with two RBIs at the plate and took the win on the mound with five strikeouts in three innings. Owen Shissler was the most productive Eagle hitting with a single, triple and four RBIs and Christian Ferrari recorded a pair of RBIs as well. 

De Smet Jesuit (MO) 5, Washington 3: Washington couldn’t take down De Smet Jesuit in its first game of the day with the Spartans getting a two-run homer in top of the seventh to take the win. Washington’s Gavin Lawrence tied the game at 3-3 in the sixth on a sacrifice fly and Dylan McGinnis got the Panthers’ scoring started in the fifth with a two-run double. Thomas Diederich threw four shutout innings for the Panthers and struck out four.

Alton 5, Washington 4: Both teams scored four runs in the third and neither blinked until the bottom of the seventh, where Alton beat Washington (2-2, 0-0 Mid-Illini) on a walk-off walk. Micah McCoy hit a grand slam for the Panthers in the loss. 

Normal U-High 7, Columbia 2: Normal U-High broke open a 1-1 game with six runs in the top of the seventh and used a team effort to beat Columbia. Parker Roop, Will Paxson, Lawson Shickel, Griffin Meyer and Deegan Aeilts all had two hits for the Pioneers with Shickel leading the way in RBIs with two. Caleb Hornbrook added a pair of runs driven in as well. Braden Mehn pitched well in relief for U-High, allowing two hits and striking out four in four innings.

Normal U-High 10, Oak Forest 0: Ethan Kieser, Isaiah Giganti and Cole Brent combined to hold Oak Forest to one hit and Normal U-High (2-1, 0-0 Central State Eight) rolled to a big win. Max Wille (2B, HR) and Will Paxson (2B, 3B) both had two extra-base hits and two RBIs. Myles Mitchell doubled and scored twice for the Pioneers and Brent added two hits and an RBI. 

Canton 6, ROWVA/Williamsfield 2: Canton (2-0, 0-0 Mid-Illini) scored in five out of the six innings it batted in and Kash VanHouten was remarkable on the mound in a Little Giants win. Canton’s sophomore hurler struck out 13 and didn’t allow a hit or walk in five innings. Colin Johnson drove in a pair and Miles Hoops was the lone Canton batter with two hits. 

IVC 14, Monmouth-Roseville 3: IVC (2-1, 0-0 Illini Prairie) hit the ground running and came away with a big win over Monmouth-Roseville. Gabe Perez had a strong game for the Grey Ghosts with a double, triple and two RBIs. Brynden Coventry and TJ Dennison both went 2-for-3 with two RBIs as well. IVC starter Keegan Schol was solid with eight strikeouts and one hit allowed in four innings.

Tremont 16, Milledgeville 0: Tremont (3-0, 0-0 Heart of Illinois) smoked Milledgeville and has now outscored its three opponents by a combined 37-1 this season. The Turks hung 11 runs up in the first inning as Blaine Williams had a big day with four hits and four RBIs. Brady Booth and Hunter Smith put up matching lines of 2-for-3 with four RBIs and two runs at the plate. On the mound, Smith and Andrew Dawson combined to allow just two hits and struck out eight batters.

Eureka 5, Spring Valley Hall 3: Eureka’s pitching trio of Andrew Zimmerman, Teagan McLaughlin and Parker Roberts combined to allow three hits and lead the Hornets (2-0, 0-0 Heart of Illinois) to a close win. Each pitcher threw at least two innings and Roberts earned the save with Zimmerman picking up the win. Eureka got good production out from the bottom of its lineup as John Martin went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and Cooper Peterson drove in another run.

Munford (TN) 4, Morton 3: Morton (1-5, 0-0 Mid-Illini) suffered its third one-run loss of the season as it wrapped up play in Memphis, Tennessee. Hudson Lovell hit another home run for the Potters and Matt Sander and Alex McKie combined for a quality game on the mound.

LaSalle-Peru 4, Pekin 3: Pekin (2-2, 0-0 Mid-Illini) dropped its second straight one-run contest on a walk-off from LaSalle-Peru. The Dragons tied the game at 3-3 in the sixth, despite only finishing with three hits, on a two-run single from Owen Sanders and Gabe Schwermin drove in a run as well. 

Byron 14, Limestone 5: Limestone (2-2, 0-0 Mid-Illini) couldn’t survive a constant barrage from Byron at the Jacksonville Jamboree. Bryce Chapman drove in a pair for the Rockets and Alec Williams and Gavin Kleist both plated runs too via a triple and double, respectively. 

Genoa-Kingston 23, Peoria Heights 5: Peoria Heights (1-1, 0-0 Inter-County) couldn’t handle an onslaught of runs from the Cogs, falling at the Jacksonville Jamboree. Barrett Marfell led the Patriots with a two-run triple.

Lincoln 5, Olympia 2: Olympia (1-2, 0-0 Sangamo) gave up three runs to Lincoln in the bottom of the sixth that led to a loss. The Spartans had four hits on the day, led by a triple from Carson Birky and Kyle Gellner recorded Olympia’s only RBI. 

Putnam County 5, Delavan 3: Delavan (2-1, 0-0 Inter-County) dropped its first game of the season despite out-hitting Putnam County 9-4. The Panthers weren’t able to get an extra-base hit but got three singles and two RBIs from Braden Arrenholz, plus RBIs from Kelton Nafziger and Kyi Westbrook. 

Galena 4, Princeville 2: Princeville (0-4, 0-0 Lincoln Trail) committed six errors but still put up a good fight in a loss to Galena. Coley Palmer had one of the Princes’ three hits and their lone RBI and Parker Dickinson took the loss on the mound with six K’s, four walks and one hit allowed in 4.2 innings. 

In softball

Olympia 7, Dee-Mack 2: Olympia (1-0-1, 0-0 Sangamo) plated five runs in the bottom of the first to build a lead, which they hung onto against Dee-Mack in the Chiefs’ season opener. Gabby Frye did it all for the Spartans with 10 strikeouts and no earned runs allowed in a complete game pitching and two hits, including a home run. Lydia Rutledge singled twice and had a double and was one of five Olympia players with an RBI. Byrkleigh Kraft went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a double and Kenzie Knowles doubled twice for Dee-Mack. 

Limestone 8, Farmington 1: Limestone (1-2, 0-0 Mid-Illini) rode the strong pitching of Liz Grube en route to a victory over Farmington (1-1, 0-0 Prairieland). Grube allowed three hits, one walk and fanned 13 Farmers in the win and also drove in a run. Allison Mehn and Kyla Fox both drove in two runs for the Rockets. Ava Essex tripled and scored to lead Farmington. 

Brimfield/Elmwood 17, Pekin 10: Brimfield/Elmwood (3-0, 0-0 Inter-County) continued its hot start with a huge scoring output against Pekin (1-1, 0-0 Mid-Illini). Brooke Allen tripled and drove in three runs and two hits for the Indians, a line that was matched by teammate Schyer Meinders. Layni Linthicum was one of four additional B/E players with multiple hits, going 3-for-5 with a double and two RBIs. Meinders and Layla Hersemann both added exclamation points to the wins with home runs. Pekin’s Jaeleigh Decker went 4-for-4 with two RBIs and was a triple shy of the cycle and Lilly Daniels was another Dragons leader with a two-run double. 

Dunlap 5, Port Byron Riverdale 0: Dunlap blanked Riverdale in its season opener and scored all five of its runs in the first inning. Pitcher Sutton Centoni was on point for Dunlap with 15 strikeouts, no walks and two hits allowed in a complete game. Hannah Parker and Addison Forsythe both drove in two for the Eagles and Ella Cunningham added two hits and an RBI. 

Rochester 8, Normal Community 7: Normal Community (0-3, 0-0 Big 12) suffered its third close loss of the week against Rochester. The Iron took a 5-1 lead in the top of the second but five runs in the bottom of the frame and two in the sixth from the Rockets led them to victory. McKenna Baughman delivered Normal Community’s biggest hit with a three-run blast and Sophia Mack drove in two. Ava Prevo finished with eight K’s, five walks and seven hits allowed pitching. 

Canton 14, ROWVA/Williamsfield 0: Canton won its first game of the year in style, blowing it open from the start with 10 runs in the first. Little Giants pitcher Lilliana Horton took care of business with nine strikeouts and just one hit allowed. Emma Turner and Averi Smith each drove in a trio of runs while Makaylynne Correa (2-3, 2 RBIs), Natalie Downing (2-2, RBI), and Horton (2-2, RBI) were other factors. 

Tri-Valley 13, Argenta-Oreana 0: Tri-Valley (2-0-1, 0-0 Heart of Illinois) dominated on both sides and got two home runs and five RBIs from Zoey Whittaker, plus a grand slam from Maren Milton. Whittaker hit a three-run blast in the first, added a solo bomb in the fifth and Milton added her grand slam in the sixth. Gretchen Wyant went 3-for-4 with an RBI and pitched a shutout with two strikeouts.

LaSalle-Peru 13, Morton 8: Morton fell to a hot-swinging LaSalle-Peru squad in its season debut, despite out-hitting the Cavaliers 10-9. Ellie VanMeennen went 3-for-4 with a double, home run and RBI for Morton and Haley Carpenter drove in three. Kennadi Marion made her lone hit count with a two-run home run for the Potters, who were hurt by five errors.

Maroa-Forsyth 7, Eureka 0: Eureka (1-2, 0-0 Heart of Illinois) had a tough day offensively with two hits in a loss. Addie Hadfield doubled to lead the Hornets and Rylee Dare struck out nine in six innings pitching for Eureka.

Prairie Central 21, El Paso-Gridley 3: El Paso-Gridley jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning but it was short lived in a runaway win for the Hawks. Nickelle Cummings hit an RBI double for the Titans, who scored their other runs via a fielder’s choice and passed ball.

In girls soccer

Limestone 1, Macomb 0: Limestone (5-0, 0-0 Mid-Illini) put the finishing touches on a sparkling week where it didn’t allow a single goal. Dani Sloan netted the Rockets only goal in the first half and Hannah West put up another shutout.

Macomb 2, Canton 0: Canton fell to Macomb at the East Peoria Invite in shutout fashion after the Bombers scored two first-half goals. 

Galesburg 3, Canton 0: Canton couldn’t come up with a goal as it fell to Galesburg at the East Peoria Invite to finish fourth at the event and drop to 2-2 on the season. The Little Giants face Beardstown next on Tuesday.

Pekin 8, DePue 0: Pekin (1-1-1, 0-0 Mid-Illini) had a big game against DePue in non-conference play and rolled to its first victory of the season. The Dragons hit the pitch again on Tuesday against Bloomington. 

East Moline United 2, Washington 0: Washington (0-2, 0-0 Mid-Illini) suffered its second 2-0 loss of the season against East Moline United on the road. The Panthers continue non-conference play with another big game against Peoria Notre Dame on Tuesday. 

Normal U-High 4, Mahomet-Seymour 1: Normal U-High (1-1, 0-1 Central State Eight) recovered from a season-opening loss with a win over Mahomet-Seymour. The Pioneers have a key non-conference showdown against Dunlap on Tuesday. 

Peoria Notre Dame 5, Geneseo 0: PND (2-0, 0-0 Big 12) put up another shutout victory over Geneseo, putting on a strong performance at Peoria Stadium. The Irish host Washington next on Tuesday. 

Richwoods 1, Dunlap 1: Two area powers played to a draw as Richwoods (0-1-1, 0-0 Big 12) got a goal from Abby Cooley in the second half to ensure the deadlock. Delaney Reynolds made four saves for the Knights.

Springfield Sacred Heart Griffin 1, Morton 0: Morton dropped its first game of the season in a hard-fought defeat to SHG. The Potters will look to get in the win column on Tuesday against Normal Community.

In boys track and field

At Normal: Many area teams competed at Normal U-High’s Cogdal Relays, with Bloomington Central Catholic leading the local teams with four podium showings. Amir Byrd won the long jump with 6.39 meters while TJ Larson placed second in the 60-meter hurdles, Eoin Kohn took third in the 400 and the Saints’ 4x800 relay took third. Washington went 1-2 in the shot put with Joe Atkins winning it with a toss of 17.06 meters and Jace Lott finished right behind him. Fellow Panther Ben Gorsage won the 800 in 2:02.08. Metamora’s Jaiduan Cranford finished second in the 200, Trae Helwig took third in the 800 and the Redbirds’ 4x200 relay grabbed bronze. Pekin’s Dylan Anderson brought home the bacon in the 200 meters with a time of 22.98 and narrowly finished second in the 60 meters. Canton’s jumpers fared well with Noah Buhl (high jump) tying for second and Dylan Jones (long jump) taking third. Normal U-High had a pair of third-place finishers in Andrew Aldeman (1600 meters) and Martin Donahue (shot put). Peoria High’s Malik Johnson took second in the triple jump and Tri-Valley’s Asher Mirock was third in the pole vault.

At Urbana: Normal Community finished second at Urbana’s Gene Armer Invite with 43 points, just one behind champion Mascoutah. The Ironmen’s 4x800 relay of Caden Nyman, Nate Witzig, Joey Yaros and Drew Patterson won in 8:08.27 to highlight their day and Dane Whitaker (60 meters) and Michael Mavec (60-meter hurdles) both took third. Morton tied for third overall as their 4x400 relay of Keenan Smith, Jude Rogers, Keyston Beyer and Abe Martin finished in 3:30.44. Cole Rinkenberger (60 meters) and Calvin Leman (pole vault) both finished in second in their events and the Potters’ 4x800 relay took third. Eureka’s Tucker Hinkle placed second in the 3200 meters with an indoor school record of 9:42 and Lance Wiegand grabbed third in the high jump as the Hornets finished 14th. Delavan was right behind Eureka, led by Ryan Schmidgall’s runner-up showing in the 400 meters.

At Monmouth: Limestone had no shortage of top placers and won the Galesburg Last Chance Indoor Meet with 77 points. DJ Brooks won the 60 meters in 7:09 with Logan Smallwood took runner-up. Kamar Sanders perpetuated their sprint strength, winning the 200 in 22.98, as well as the long jump in 7.04 meters. All three of those runners, plus Nathan Silomba, led Limestone to winning the 4x200 in 1:32.39. Brooks and Smallwood also helped the Rockets to a runner-up showing in the 4x200 and Silomba finished third in the long jump. Elmwood/Brimfield finished sixth via the strength of its distance runners; Darwin Herman won the 1600 in 4:32.75 and Aiden Faulkner won the 3200 in 9:57.43 with Mika Nelson crossing third in the 3200 as well. The Trojans’ 4x800 of Reed Florey, Herman, Kam Stevenson and Garrett Webster won in 8:27.88 and J Hampton won the high jump with a 1.86-meter mark, beating Dunlap’s Marvin Jordan III in a tiebreaker. Dunlap took ninth overall as Seth McCall (2nd, 400 meters) and Jack Nester (3rd, 800 meters) were standouts. IVC finished 10th as Aiden Duhs won the 800 in 2:00.81 and Farmington’s Dax Ulm paced his team’s 13th-place finish with a runner-up slotting in the 800.

In girls track and field

At Normal: Normal U-High was strong across the board at the Clinton Last Chance Invite at Illinois Wesleyan. The Pioneers got first-place finishers from Hannah Safranek in the 60 meter hurdles (9.35), Zoe Carter in the 1600 (5:07.94) and the 4x200 relay team of Harper McIntyre, Lydia McIntyre, Addie Cortese and Safranek in 1:46.40. Safranek also took second in the 60 meters, the same placing as teammates Isabella Thurston in the shot put and Emily Gross in the high jump. Lydia McIntyre also grabbed third in the 60 meters for the Pioneers. El Paso-Gridley’s Aubrey Phillips showed she is a jack of all trades, winning the shot put with a 12.16-meter toss and finishing second in the high jump; fellow Titan Jaida Reed won the 60 meters in 6.92 seconds. Normal West’s Julie Bach ran a personal-best 2:20.49 to win the 800 meters and the Wildcats’ 4x400 relay took second and Ayva Davis finished third in the 200. Bloomington’s Josie Skeate won the 3200 meters in 11:52.78 and Kylie Huffaker nabbed second in the 60 hurdles. Washington’s Sophia Ramirez had a strong day, taking second in the 800 and third in the 1600. Metamora’s Naomi Roth tied for second in the high jump and Violet Weinman tied for third in the pole vault. Illini Bluffs’ Tori Brown ran away with the triple jump titles in 11.31 meters and Pekin’s Zoey Liedtke led the Dragons with a third-place showing in the long jump.

At Urbana: Eureka finished the highest out of four area teams at Urbana’s Gene Armer Invite, slotting in second with 53 points. The Hornets’ day was boosted by their 4x800 relay of Sophia Watson, Ava Otto, Adeline Hubert and Meika Bender winning in 10:05.18, Reagan Bishop taking T2 in the pole vault and Sierra Herrmann crossing third in the 3200. Normal Community came in fifth with 35 points, led by Marco Reynolds’ shot put winning throw of 40 feet and 8.75 inches. Cayla Bedeker took silver in the long jump and the Iron’s 4x800 relay grabbed second. Morton’s Avery Braker ran away with the 1600 meters title in 5:12.90, more than 12 seconds faster than the runner up, and also ran on Morton’s 4x400 relay that placed third. Delavan’s Annabelle LaFary fared well against bigger competition, taking second in the 800 meters.

At Monmouth: Dunlap had a strong showing at the Galesburg Last Chance Invite, finishing second to Quincy with 89 points and eight top-3 showings. Abby Tudeen won the 3200 in 11:29.11, Sabrina Yeh won the 60 meter hurdles in 10.08, Samantha Yeh took home high jump honors with a leap of 1.67 meters and Aanika Joshi won the long jump in 4.98 meters. The Eagles’ 4x200 relay and high jumper Madeline Kammerer both took second place and 60-meter runner Olivia Jacobson, plus the Eagles’ 4x800 relay took third. Limestone slotted in 11th overall and flourished in the field as Grace Pauli and Sophia Pauli took second and third in pole vault, respectively. Elmwood/Brimfield tied for 13th as a team, led by Lexi Begner’s third-place finish in the long jump. Farmington also tied for 13th as Paige Stevens crossed the line in third in the 200 and IVC finished 17th overall

In boys lacrosse

Lincoln Way-West 13, Dunlap 4: Dunlap fell in its season opener to Lincoln Way-West and will look to rebound on Wednesday versus Plainfield North. 

Lockport 11, Bloomington-Normal [Co-op] 4: B/N also dropped its first game of the year to Lockport and will set its focus on Dunlap at home on Saturday. 

In girls lacrosse

Lockport 21, Washington 12: A high-scoring affair didn’t go the way of Washington in its season opener. The Panthers are in action next on April 1 at Bloomington-Normal. 

In boys tennis

At Troy: Dunlap went 2-1 at the Troy Triad Invite, beating Highland 4-1, Lincoln Way-East 3-2 and falling 4-1 to Aurora Waubonsie Valley. The Eagles’ No. 1 doubles tandem of Ethan McRaven and Alex Fei led their team by winning all three of their matches, including a 6-7 (8), 6-3, 10-5 victory against Waubonsie Valley.