Illinois Valley Sports Briefs: Oglesby Major softball, Junior baseball start 2-0 at state

Several area District 20 softball and baseball champions competed in state tournaments over the weekend.

SOFTBALL

Oglesby Major League wins first two at state: The Oglesby Major League All-Stars won big in their first two games at the state tournament in Rushville, beating Kaneland 10-0 in five innings and topping Rochelle 18-2 in four innings. Against Kaneland, Oglesby scored six runs in the fifth inning to end the game.

Kaitlyn Olson and Ellie Salazar each had two hits and an RBI, while Siena Combs drove in two runs. Cara Kilmartin was the winning pitcher, allowing three hits while striking out six batters and walking none. Oglesby had 16 hits in the win over Rochelle.

Combs and Elyse Grubich each went 3 for 3, while Kilmartin, Olson and Eliana Opsal each had two hits. Annika Bauer earned the win as she gave up two runs on three hits with two strikeouts and no walks.

Oglesby played Monday against Brookfield and plays Tuesday against Orion.

Bi-County Junior League goes 1-2 at state: The Bi-County Junior League All-Stars split a pair of games Saturday and lost Sunday during pool play in the state tournament in Burbank.

Bi-County was no-hit in a 3-0 loss to District 10 in its opener Saturday. Myah Richardson took the loss, allowing three runs (one earned) on four hits with three strikeouts and four walks.

Bi-County bounced back with a 17-0 rout of District 15 in four innings. Bi-County scored four runs in the first inning, exploded for 11 in the second and tacked on two more in the third. Richardson, Alexis Margis and Paige Tonioni each hit home runs for Bi-County, while Richardson and Kennedy Holocker combined for a no-hitter and nine strikeouts.

Bi-County lost 15-5 on Sunday to District 7, allowing 11 runs over the final two innings.

Chloe Parcher hit a home run for Bi-County, while Richardson took the loss in the circle.

Bi-County plays District 13 on Tuesday.

BASEBALL

Oglesby Junior League starts 2-0 at state: The Oglesby Junior League All-Stars won two games Saturday at the state tournament, beating Elgin 6-3 and Marshall-Paris 11-10 in eight innings.

Against Elgin, Oglesby scored three runs in the sixth inning to take the lead for good. Kal Fransen went 2 for 3 with a double, two runs and an RBI. Johnny Kamnikar earned the win as he gave up three unearned runs on four hits with six strikeouts and three walks in 6⅔ innings.

Oglesby overcame an eight-run deficit to defeat Marshall-Paris.

Each team scored a run in the first before Marshall-Paris exploded for eight in the top of the second and added one more in the fifth. Oglesby chipped away at the deficit with two runs in the second, single runs in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth innings and three in the bottom of the seventh to tie it before Bronko Withey doubled and later scored on a balk in the eighth for the winning run.

Keegan Campbell pitched 6⅓ innings in relief, allowing one unearned run on three hits with six strikeouts and three walks, while Blake Hueneburg retired the only batter he faced in the eighth to earn the win.

Oglesby’s game Sunday against Archer Manor was postponed to Monday because of inclement weather.