SportShorts for Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022

Strong start for Junis in no-decision

Rock Falls native Jakob Junis got a no-decision in a stellar start for the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday, pitching seven innings of one-run ball before Brandon Crawford hit a walk-off home run to give the Giants a 2-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Junis allowed four hits and struck out seven, but left the game after the seventh inning trailing 1-0. Christian Walker’s solo home run in the fourth was the only blemish for Junis; he did not walk a batter while throwing 72 of his 101 pitches for strikes.

With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Thairo Estrada tripled off Ian Kennedy to bring Crawford to the plate. Crawford smacked an 0-1 fastball over the center-field fence to win the game and help Junis avoid a tough-luck loss.

On the season, Junis is 4-3 with a 3.53 ERA in 15 games, with 12 starts. He has allowed 28 earned runs and 65 hits in 71 1/3 innings, with 63 strikeouts, 16 walks and three hit batsmen. Opposing batters are hitting .238 against him.

SVCC volleyball ranked fifth in preseason poll

The Sauk Valley Community College volleyball team is ranked No. 5 in the NJCAA Division II preseason rankings, released Monday.

The Skyhawks have placed fifth in Division II at the NJCAA National Championships the past two seasons. They open the season this weekend at a two-day tournament in Rockford.

Parkland College out of Champaign is ranked No. 1 in the preseason poll. Heartland Community College of Normal is ranked seventh, and McHenry County College in Crystal Lake sits at No. 10.

Nebraska volleyball ranked atop preseason poll

The Nebraska Cornhuskers are in the No. 1 spot in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Preseason Top 25, released Monday.

Nebraska, featuring Sterling native Lexi Rodriguez at libero, finished second at the NCAA National Championships last season after losing the title match to Big Ten rival Wisconsin. Rodriguez was the AVCA National Freshman of the Year last season and was a first-team All-American, while also earning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year honors and first-team spots on the All-Big Ten Team and the conference’s All-Freshman Team.

The Badgers are ranked third, behind No. 2 Texas, while Louisville and Minnesota round out the top five. Pittsburgh is sixth, Ohio State sits in seventh, Washington is ranked eighth, Georgia Tech is ninth, and BYU is at No. 10.

Other Big Ten teams in the top 25 are Purdue (No. 13), Illinois (No. 17) and Penn State (No. 20).

Ladies hit the links in Sterling

The Emerald Hill Ladies Golf Association played “Whack & Hack” for its weekly outing on Tuesday.

Sandi Ivey was the 18-hole winner, and Mimi Boysen was second. Ivey recorded the low gross and low putts, while Boysen was closest to the pin on the sixth hole.

Meta Rastede won the nine-hole competition, with Karla Anderson taking second. Rastede had the low gross, while Becky Dieterle had low putts.