Wilmington baseball tops Herscher in battle of ICE unbeatens: Monday’s Daily Journal roundup

Baseball

Wilmington 3, Herscher 0: The Wildcats and Tigers entered Monday’s game in Herscher with 4-0 records in Illinois Central Eight Conference play. Behind seven shutout innings from Lucas Rink, it was Wilmington that picked up a road win to remain unbeaten in the conference. Wilmington improved to 8-5 overall while Herscher fell to 12-2 and had a nine-game winning streak snapped.

Rink allowed only five hits and did not walk a batter while recording 10 strikeouts. Kyle Farrell went 2 for 4 with a run, Cooper Holman was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run, and Declan Moran had a walk and a run. Ryan Kettman, Bobby Phillips and Shawn James had an RBI apiece for the Wildcats.

Herscher’s Tanner Jones was 2 for 3 in the game. Keegan Andre, Payten Young and Mason Roberts each had a hit. Alec Nicholos allowed five hits and three runs, one earned over five innings. He had six strikeouts. Jones pitched two shutout innings with three strikeouts.

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Wilmington's Kyle Farrell high fives teammate Drew Jackson as he scores the first run of the game during the Wildcats' 3-0 victory over Herscher on Monday, April 14, 2025. (Tiffany Blanchette)

Bradley-Bourbonnais 6, Homewood-Flossmoor 5: The Boilermakers scored the final three runs of Monday’s road SouthWest Suburban Conference game to pick up a close win. It was their third win in a row, improving their record to 10-4 overall and 2-2 in SWSC play.

Trailing 5-3 in the fourth, Byron Sumrall scored on a passed ball to make it a one-run game. In the fifth, Cody Freitas scored on another passed ball, and Mason Shaul scored on an error to put the Boilermakers on top. Jace Boudreau was 2 for 4 with a run, while Kason Bynum was 1 for 4 with the team’s lone RBI. Freitas closed out the game with two shutout innings, allowing one hit.

Marian Central Catholic 8, Bishop McNamara 2: The Fightin’ Irish took a loss on the road in the Chicagoland Christian Conference opener. They dropped to 7-4 overall.

Taylor Fuerst was 2 for 3 out of the leadoff spot and scored both of the team’s runs. Jacob Lotz was 1 for 4 with a triple and an RBI, and Max Rohr was 1 for 3 with an RBI. Dom Panozzo was 1 for 2 with a walk, while Cooper Austiff was 1 for 3. Just three of the six runs allowed by Preston Payne were earned. He had seven strikeouts in five innings.

Thornwood 12, Kankakee 2: The Kays took their third straight loss, all of which have come in Southland Athletic Conference play, with a defeat at home Monday. They fell to 3-8 overall and 3-3 in conference play.

Noah Hileman and Jay’den Jones each had a base hit for the Kays. Jones scored one of the team’s runs on a passed ball in the third inning. Byron Wills reached on an error in the first and scored on a groundout from Eli Stipp.

Iroquois West 17, Cissna Park 2: A 14-run first inning had the Raiders (5-5, 1-1) off and running in Monday’s Vermilion Valley Conference contest at home against the Timberwolves (1-8, 0-4). Iroquois West’s Brody Mueller and Aayden Miller each pitched a pair of hitless innings, with Mueller walking one batter and Miller walking four and allowing two unearned runs.

The Raiders worked nine walks in the game, seven of which came in the first inning. Owen Hartke was 2 for 2 with a double, four RBIs and a run. Lane McCann was 1 for 3 with three RBIs and two runs while Julian Melgoza and Landon Kraft had two RBIs apiece.

Cissna Park’s Skyler Estay and Jream Renteria each walked and scored a run. They scored on consecutive errors from the Raiders in the top of the fourth.

Peotone 12, Lisle 9: An eight-game losing streak was snapped by the Blue Devils (3-9, 1-4) with Monday’s home win in ICE play. Ruben Velasco went 2 for 2 with two doubles, a walk, two RBIs and a run. He also stole three bases. Josh Barta was 2 for 2 with two RBIs and two runs, while Joe Hasse was 3 for 4 with a double, an RBI and two runs.

Schlarman 7, Milford 3: The Bearcats took a loss on the road Monday in VVC play. They dropped to 4-8 overall and 1-2 in conference play. Lucas Summers went 1 for 1 with two walks, an RBI and a run. David Bell was 1 for 3 with a run while Aiden Bell was 0 for 3 with an RBI and a run. Aiden Bell also allowed just two hits and one run over three innings while recording five strikeouts.

Oakwood 16, Watseka 1: The Warriors had eight runners reach base Monday but were held hitless in a four-inning road loss in conference play. They fell to 1-8 overall and 0-2 in the VVC. Lucas Shoemaker was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the second inning that drove in Andrew Shoemaker, who was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Watseka was hit by four pitches as a team and worked four walks.

Softball

Peotone 2, Lisle 1: Sophie Klawitter pitched one of the most unique possible perfect games and recorded 20 strikeouts to allow the Blue Devils to win on Payton Schnelle’s walk-off single that brought home Layla Johnson in the bottom of the ninth.

Peotone improved to 4-6 and 1-4 in the ICE with the win. Klawitter allowed an unearned run when the courtesy runner that began the eighth inning on second base scored on a passed ball, keeping her perfect game. She also had two hits of her own.

Bishop McNamara 3, Hope Academy 1: Victoria Torres tossed seven strong innings for the Fightin’ Irish as they improved to 5-4 on the season and 3-0 in the Chicagoland Christian Conference. Torres allowed just six hits and one run in the game, striking out 10 batters and only walking two. Rhaya DePaolo was 1 for 2 with a double, a walk, a run and a stolen base. Teagan McCue and Bridget Bertrand both went 1 for 3 with an RBI apiece. The Irish did not commit an error on defense.

Kankakee 19, Thornwood 9: The Kays scored 19 runs for the second straight game and extended their winning streak to three games with Monday’s home win over Thornwood in conference play. They improved to 5-6 overall on the season and 5-0 in the Southland Athletic Conference.

Calleigh Moody went 3 for 4 with a triple, a double, a walk, four RBIs and four runs out of the leadoff spot. Kylee Cunningham was 3 for 4 with a double, five RBIs and a run while Kylie Glogowski was 3 for 4 with a triple, a double, an RBI and four runs.

Seneca 2, Bradley-Bourbonnais 1: The Boilermakers took a tough loss at home on Monday to snap a three-game winning streak. They dropped to 9-4 on the season. Lydia Hammond was 2 for 3 with a run while Abi Hofbauer was 2 for 3 with a double and an RBI. Bella Pusateri was 1 for 3 with a stolen base. Hofbauer allowed just two runs on eight hits over seven innings to take the loss.

Beecher 8, Mt. Zion 6: Beecher, the No. 2 ranked Class 2A team in the state, picked up a close win over Mt. Zion, the No. 3 ranked Class 3A team, in the first game of a road doubleheader on Monday. The Bobcats withstood a late push from the Braves to improve to 12-0 on the season.

Beecher took advantage of three errors from the Braves while not committing one of their own. Makenzie Johnson was 3 for 4 with an RBI and a run. Tayiah Scanlan was 2 for 4 with an RBI. Ava Lorenzatti had 10 strikeouts over five innings to gut out the win.

Beecher 12, Mt. Zion 10: Makenzie Johnson led off the top of the seventh inning with a home run, her second of the game, to give the Bobcats an 11-10 lead over the Braves in the second game of a doubleheader between two of the state’s top teams. Ava Johnson hit a sacrifice fly later in the inning for insurance as Beecher improved to 13-0 on the season with the road win.

Joshon also doubled in the game, finishing 3 for 4 with a walk, four RBIs, four runs and a stolen base. Elena Kvasnicka was 3 for 4 with a walk, two RBIs and a run while Ava Lorenzatti was 2 for 5 with an RBI and two runs. Maddy Grooms was 1 for 2 with a solo home run. Taylor Norkus allowed one hit in the bottom of the seventh and had two strikeouts to close out the win. She went the distance for Beecher and had nine strikeouts in the game.

Wilmington 6, Herscher 2: The Wildcats picked up a home win in Illinois Central Eight Conference play over the Tigers on Monday. Wilmington improved to 11-2 overall and 4-1 in the ICE while Herscher dropped to 9-3 (3-2).

Wilmington’s Keeley Walsh was 3 for 4 with a double and a run out of the leadoff spot. Taylor Stefancic was 2 for 4 with two RBIs. Tayrn Gilbert was 2 for 4 with an RBI and a run while Madisyn Rossow was 2 for 4 with an RBI. Gilbert also picked up the win, allowing one earned run over seven innings.

For Herscher, RyLyn Adams was 2 for 4 with a run and a stolen base while Emery Fritz was 2 for 2 with a walk.

Manteno 11, Reed-Custer 0: Ava Peterson helped get the Panthers back into the win column Monday after back-to-back losses. She held the Comets to five hits over five shutout innings, recording eight strikeouts as Manteno picked up an ICE win at home. They improved to 8-2 overall and 4-1 in the ICE while Reed-Custer fell to 6-5 (1-3).

Sophie Peterson went 3 for 3 with a triple, five RBIs and a run for Manteno. Savanna Watkins was 2 for 3 with two runs and Aubrie Goudreau was 2 for 2 with a walk and three runs. Jazmine Manau was 2 for 3 with two RBIs and two runs.

Reed-Custer’s Kamryn Wilkey was 2 for 3 with a pair of singles. Caysie Esparza, Amber Syc and Leah Grace all singled for the Comets.

Gardner-South Wilmington 18, St. Anne 3: Three Panthers hitters recorded three RBIs in Gardner-South Wilmington’s road win Monday in River Valley Conference play. They improved to 8-4 overall and 3-2 in the RVC while the Cardinals dropped to 1-6 (0-3).

For the Panthers, Maddie Simme was 2 for 4 with a triple, three RBIs and four runs, while Ella Mack was 3 for 3 with two doubles, a walk, three RBIs and three runs. Bree Stein went 0 for 3 but had three RBIs and a run. Bella Dinelli and Lily Buck had two RBIs apiece.

Lily Fox and Alexis Hedges each had an RBI for St. Anne. Fox was 1 for 1 with a double and an RBI and Hedges reached on an error and drove in Fox from third. Kennedy Kroll was 1 for 2 in the game.

Donovan 18, Momence 8: The Panthers took an early 11-1 lead and then countered a seven-run Momence third inning with seven runs of their own in the top of the fourth to improve to 2-7 and 1-5 RVC. Bailey Hennieke was 3 for 5 with a home run, a double, three runs and three RBIs. Piper Michl went 2 for 4 with a double and three RBIs. Madelyn Loy went 2 for 3 with two runs and a pair of RBIs. Laylah Lou Walters gave up eight runs, all unearned, on six hits, two alks and eight strikeouts in a five-inning complete game.

Sydnee VanSwol was 3 for 3 with a double, a stolen base, two runs and RBI for Momence (0-7, 0-5). Isabell Broker had a pair of hits and an RBI. Emma Varnak had an RBI double while Brooklyn Moeller doubled and scored.

Coal City 7, Streator 4: After trailing 3-1 entering the fourth inning of Monday’s ICE contest in Streator, the Coalers scored six of the game’s final seven runs to pick up a conference win. They improved to 9-5 overall and 3-0 in the ICE.

Kaycee Graf was 2 for 4 with two RBIs and Khloe Picard was 2 for 4 with an RBI and a run. Madalyn Peterson was 1 for 4 with a triple, two RBIs and two runs. Masyn Kuder pitched all seven innings, allowing just two earned runs and recording 10 strikeouts.

Central 14, Illinois Lutheran 0: Sydney Jemar threw a five-inning no-hitter on Monday as the Comets kept their unbeaten RVC record alive with a blowout win at home over the Chargers. They improved to 9-6 overall and 5-0 in conference play.

Jemar struck out 12 batters over her five hitless innings, walking three batters. Rayven Perkins went 3 for 3 with a double, two RBIs and two runs. Lia Prairie was 2 for 3 with an RBI and two runs while Mia Koch-Perzee was 1 for 3 with two RBIs and a run.

Iroquois West 15, Chrisman 2: Behind a five-RBI day from Neveah Medina, the Raiders picked up their first Vermilion Valley Conference win of the season on Monday. They improved to 4-6 overall and 1-1 in conference play.

Medina went 4 for 4 with a home run, five RBIs and three runs. Kyla Dewitt was 2 for 4 with a triple, an RBI and three runs while Cameron Bork was 2 for 2 with two walks, an RBI and three runs. Dewitt also threw three hitless innings, walking one batter and recording a pair of strikeouts.

Oakwood 11, Watseka 3: The Warriors dropped a VVC game on the road on Monday, falling to 1-8 overall this season and 0-2 in conference play. Christa Holohan was 2 for 4 for the Warriors with a two-run home run. Emma Klopp was 1 for two with a walk and an RBI while Abigail Neukomm was 1 for 4 with a double.

Girls soccer

Bishop McNamara 8, Wilmington 1: Seven players scored for the Fightin’ Irish in a blowout win at home over the Wildcats on Monday. Ella Langellier scored two goals, while Ellen Ehrman, Lydia Nugent, Isabelle Kuntz, Emily Storer, Ava Brockell and Sheryln Perez each had one. Nugent, Langellier and Lily Walker-Dionne each had an assist and Brockell had three as the Irish improved to 2-4.

No individual stats were immediately available for the Wildcats (2-4).

Kankakee 2, Marian Catholic 1: The Kays scored one goal in each half in Monday’s home win over Marian Catholic. No individual stats were immediately available for the Kays, who improved to 5-3 on the season.

Reed-Custer 6, Plano 3: The Comets erased a 3-1 halftime deficit with five goals in the second half of their home win on Monday. Aurora Haake recorded a hat trick to lead Reed-Custer while Gwen Stewart had two goals and Hailey Compton added one. Haake, Compton and Maggie Dockery each had an assist while Stewart had three. Dockery had nine saves as the Comets improved to 6-2.

Joliet Central 6, Manteno 0: Kimberly Flores had 13 saves in net for the Panthers, who fell to 4-6-1 with the nonconference loss.

Track and field

Watseka Co-ed Meet: The Watseka boys and girls track and field teams both placed first at their home meet on Monday. The boys team had 92 points, putting them clear of Tri-Point’s 79.5 St. Anne-Donovan placed fourth with 49 points. The girls team had 1236 points to Tri-Point’s 121. St. Anne-Donovan placed fifth with 30 points and Milford-Cissna Park placed sixth with 17.

Individually on the boys side, Watseka had Andrew McTaggart placed first in the 400 meters (55.77 s) and Hayden Sullivan win the 3,200 meters (12:21.43), while Justin Covarrubias won both the shot put (12.94 m) and discus (36.08 m).

St. Anne-Donovan’s Aden Pinson took first in three events. He won the 100 meters (11.26 s), 200 meters (23.31 s) and long jump (5.94 m).

On the girls side, Watseka’s Cara Peterson won the 100 meters (13.67s) and 200 meters (29.20 s) while Vanessa Hickman won the 100 meter hurdles (20.93 s) and Megan Martin took first in the shot put (11.01 meters). The team of Taylor Bright, Lauren Tegtmeyer, Peterson and Colbi Maple won the 4x100 relay (56.74 s).

Milford-Cissna Park’s Addison Lucht took first in the long jump (5.02 m).

Girls badminton

Bradley-Bourbonnais 8, Oak Forest 7: The Boilermakers picked up a win on Monday at home with senior Emily Stearns winning the clinching match.