Soccer Aces Demolish Mt. Vernon, 7-0

Aces Soccer Recap From Coach Ed Berberich:

The Soccer Aces played an old Big 8 foe at Mt Vernon Indiana Monday, beating the Wildcats 7-0 on a hot night. The match was scoreless for the first 19 minutes, when Britton Heinrich scored on an assist from Checco Terna. Heinrich added a goal in the 29th minute, assisted by Iacopo Clementi, with Beau Stipp giving the Aces the 3-0 lead on another Terna assist right before the end of the half. The Aces came out strong to start the 2nd half, scoring 3 times in the first 7 minutes, with Rayce Loudermilk kicking things off with a goal 4 minutes in on an assist from Ethan Belt, followed quickly by another Heinrich goal for the hat trick, with Belt assisting another goal when he set up Clementi for the finish. Checco added the Aces' 7th, and final, goal of the match in the 67th minute of play. For the match, the Aces took 33 shots, 23 on frame, created 20 additional chances, took 4 corners, and had 12 interceptions. The Wildcats took 5 shots, 2 on frame, and had 2 corners.

I think the heat bothered us a bit tonight, as we were a little flat and not as sharp with the ball as we have been throughout this season, but we were still able to get past that and put up some shots. We were maybe rushing things a little bit when we had the ball, forcing passes that weren't there rather than moving it around the field as well as we have been this season, so we'll look to get back to doing that better moving forward. We still need to work on our defensive pressure in the midfield area and up top, as we were a little inconsistent in our effort there. The back 4 did a good job of jumping on the Rams passes, particularly Adam Stoneberger and Jack Deisher at the 2 centerback spots, and Belt had some interceptions higher up in the midfield area as well. If we're consistently doing that as a whole team, we've got the ability to really control all areas of the field against a lot of teams. We've got the attacking talent needed to score goals but it all starts with our defensive pressure, and that needs to come from everyone working together, everywhere on the field.

The Aces record now stands at 8-0 (JV: 2-0) on the season. Their next match is a Varsity/ JV contest at Mt Vernon IL on Thursday evening.

Clay City Cruises Past Yellow Jackets Baseball

On Monday, September 9th, Yellow Jackets baseball traveled back to Clay City to finish a WEAA Conference game that had stopped due to rain after 3 innings on August 22nd. Clay City was leading after those three innings 5-2, then extended their lead to 10-2 after four innings. In the fifth inning, the Yellow Jackets scored a run to bring it to 10-3 with Brendan Bowser and Chase Gher drawing and Bowser scoring on a wild pitch as Levi Margelin walked. But in the bottom of the 5th inning, Clay City scored 3 runs with two outs and the ten-run rule came into effect. The final score was Clay City winning 13-3. Offensively for the game, Brendan Bowser had 2 hits, a walk, an RBI, and 2 runs scored; Chase Gher had a walk; Rhett Andrews had a single and an RBI; Levi Margelin had 2 walks, Michael Smith had a walk and reached on an error; Brayden Wilford reached on a fielder's choice; and Landon Wilford walked and scored. Pitching for the Yellow Jackets was Brendan Bowser and Chase Gher. The Yellow Jackets are now 0-7 on the season. Next up: hosting Wayne City on Thursday, September 12th at 4:30 pm.

Soccer Aces Stay Unbeaten With Shutout Of Massac County

From Coach Ed Berberich:

The MCHS Soccer Aces hosted the Massac County Patriots Saturday morning, grabbing a quick lead and ultimately winning their 7th straight match by a final score of 8-0. Britton Heinrich scored in the 6th minute on an assist from Beau Belt. Checco Terna scored 3 minutes later assisted by Heinrich, followed by Stipp scoring in the 14th minute on an assist from Iacopo Clementi. Clementi scored in the 18th minute with Heinrich getting another assist. Clayton Halbig scored in the 25th minute on an assist from Clementi. Heinrich then scored twice more for the hat trick, once again assisted by Clementi on one of the goals and with Rayce Loudermilk setting up the other, for the 7-0 lead. In the shortened 2nd half, Ivan Holt scored the final goal of the game, bringing the score to 8-0. The Aces took 26 shots, 17 on frame, took 3 corners, created 10 chances, and had 7 interceptions. The Patriots took 4 shots, 3 on frame.

 We're still working on pressuring the ball high up the field a little quicker at the start of these matches, but at least we're scoring early in most of these games to put them away quickly. With the various attacking talent we have up top and in the midfield the other teams can't key in on just one guy, or even a few guys for that matter. They're all playing off each other pretty well at the moment, so it makes for a pretty dynamic attack right now, with the possibility of goals and attacking passes coming from any of those guys at any time. When you add in the defenders and defending mids who are doing a great job of denying the opposition much to work with, winning the ball and starting off our attacks, it adds up to a complete team effort so far. We rely on the defenders to pressure the ball in the back, win it quickly if they can, and then start us off on attack, and their passing from the back has been a big key to our possession of the ball. And when those guys are able to push up field a bit, they're pretty good in attack in their own right, and they give the other team a lot to contend with. We've also got a great goalie in the back who, because of our defense,  hasn't had a whole lot to do so far in terms of blocking shots. He's been handling the ball with his feet much more than his hands, which is always a good sign of the team in front of him. We're expecting the games to start getting tougher now, beginning with our next match at Mt Vernon Indiana. In my mind, that's still a Big 8 match and those are usually tough, so it'll be interesting to see how we respond to the heightened intensity. The Rams will probably be the strongest team we've faced since Teutopolis so we'll need to be ready to step it up against them, and stick together when things may not be coming as easily to us as they have been. 

 The Aces won the JV match as well, by a score of 2-1. Landon Lagow scored first, assisted by Eli Bertram. The Patriots then scored to tie it up at 1-1 before Gavin Smith took the lead back for the Aces, with what turned out to be the game-winning goal. The JV guys had to play a man down for a while due in part to an injury we've sustained to one of our younger players, but despite that, they ended up scoring first and overall played a pretty good game. As in the last JV contest, the younger guys are playing with a lot of the right ideas and passing the ball around fairly well. They've been learning how we want to play and they're executing it pretty well considering they're still only 2 games in to the JV season. With the way we've been playing at the varsity level, we've been able to get these guys some good minutes in some of those matches, which helps these guys individually, but also us as a team.

 The latest win brings the Aces' record to 7-0 on the season. The next match is Monday night at 5:30 pm at Mt Vernon IN. That's followed by another road trip on Thursday night to Mt Vernon IL for another Varsity/JV split.

Yellow Jackets Blanked At Cisne

On Thursday, September 5th, Yellow Jackets baseball hosted Cisne in WEAA Conference play. Cisne won the game 19-0 in 4 innings. Offensively for the Yellow Jackets: Brendan Bowser had a walk, Rhett Andrews had a walk, Chase Gher had a single, Brayden Wilford had a walk, and Jax Gher had a walk. Pitching for the Yellow Jackets was Chase Gher, Isaiah Courter, and Rhett Andrews. The Yellow Jackets are now 0-6 on the season. Next up: at Clay City to finish a suspended game on Monday, September 9th at 4:30 pm.

Allendale Firemen Donate To Rockets Softball

Coach Walker and Coach Fisher along with the entire SMS/AJH Softball Team would like to thank the Allendale Firemen for their recent donation to the girls. They were able to procure signal wrist bands, wiffle balls, and more practice balls. Thank you!! Pictured with the girls is Bobby Johnson.

Lady Aces Golfers Best Princeton & Mt. Vernon

Mount Carmel Lady Aces Golf

@ Princeton Golf and Country Club

September 5, 2019

Par 36

Mount Carmel - 151

Madelyn Young -35; Allyson Armstrong 35; Lillian Gottman 37; Faith Witsman 44; Daisy Schrader 47; Nevaeh Brock 53

Mount Vernon - 184

Jones 40; Moudy 47; Cully 48; Wheatherford 49; Kueber 53; Franklin 54;

Princeton - 212

Brittany Griffin 46; Reagan Cockran 51; Katie Dunkel 57; Lexie Bane 58; Tania Thompson 63

Aces Soccer Continues To Roll With 9-0 Whitewash Of Harrisburg

Aces Soccer Report From Coach Ed Berberich:

The Soccer Aces hosted Harrisburg Thursday in their first home match in a travel heavy season, going up big early and winning 9-0. Checco Terna scored the first goal 3 minutes into the match for the quick lead. Beau Stipp scored in the 8th minute on an assist from Britton Heinrich, aided by a key pass from Checco. Then, starting in the 14th minute, the Aces scored 6 goals in 8 minutes to put the game away. Iacopo Clementi started the flurry off by scoring on an assist from Ethan Belt. Belt would follow with a goal on an assist from Heinrich, with Clementi then scoring his 2nd goal of the match, also assisted by Heinrich. Heinrich then got on the scoring side with an assist from Checco, followed by Belt scoring on an assist from Rayce Loudermilk. Lucas Hall completed the scoring outburst, nailing a penalty kick after a Bulldog foul in the goal box. When all was said and done the Aces had an 8 goal lead 22 minutes into the match, which is how the 1st half ended. Ethan Belt completed the scoring in the 2nd half, netting his 3rd goal for the hat trick, and giving the Aces the final score and the 9-0 win. The Aces took 24 shots, 15 on frame, created 11 additional scoring chances, took 3 corner kicks and had 6 interceptions. Harrisburg took 1 shot, it being on frame.

We started off a little flat in our defensive pressure up high but, with the attacking ability we have, were still able to score to give us the early lead. We need to come out a little stronger in that regard because we don't want to develop bad habits. The games will start getting harder at some point and we need to be ready for that. With the Big 8 breaking up we lost some solid-to-great opponents that we really wish we had on the schedule, because this team is good enough that they need to be pushed by the opposition at this point. When we played Teutopolis, which was a solid team, we really stepped up and played with an intensity that's been a little lacking at times since. These guys have put a lot of work into getting where they are now, and the hardest thing at this point may be pushing themselves to start these games off with a bit more intensity, regardless of the opponent. That being said, I'm really happy with how unselfishly we've been playing. We've been working with this group on our passing and possession game the last couple years and this season they've really taken to it. They're playing together excellently, moving the ball all over the field and not worrying too much about who scores but rather seeking out the best options generally. We've got 11 different players who have scored for us and 7 players with 3 or more goals, so if we can continue to involve all of the talent that we have then we should be able to find success and be tough to stop.

In the following JV match, the Aces won 3-0. We were missing a couple of strong players from the younger group, due to injury and other sporting events, so we spoke with the Bulldogs coach and decided that we would take a couple volunteers from the older players to fill in. We put them in positions that they don't normally play at and, because of them, were able to get in a full 11 v 11 JV match. Two of those players combined on the 1st goal of the match when Tye Kanipe scored on an assist from Brady Decker. Decker then scored a goal on an assist from Drake Colbert. Eli Bertram scored the final goal on a header off a corner kick taken by Colbert that glanced off of Kanipe and found Bertram for the aerial finish. Obviously the older players in the match, even playing out of position, had an impact on the game but the younger players all played well. They kept the ball on the Harrisburg side of the field for most of the match and gave themselves a lot of scoring opportunities. This was the first time we got to see them together and against a JV opponent, so I was interested in seeing how they would do, and they looked pretty good considering. They did a good job of passing the ball around, just like we we've been working on, so that was encouraging. We have 6 more JV contests scheduled for the season, so these will all be great opportunities to see the younger guys when they're expected to shoulder the load out there rather than blending in with the more experienced players.

The Aces now stand 6-0 (JV 1-0) on the season, with the next event being another back-to-back Varsity/JV contest at home at noon on Saturday 9/7/19 against Massac County.

WVC TO HOST SOFTBALL SHOWCASE TO BENEFIT LTC ATHLETE

On Saturday, September 7, the Wabash Valley College Softball Team is hosting the IECC Fall Softball Showcase. All funds raised at the gate will go to the Lincoln Trail College Foundation for a Scholarship in the name of Audria Truelove, Lincoln Trail Softball player, who was tragically killed in an auto accident last March.

The Fall Showcase was created and organized by WVC Assistant Coach Asa Deffendall in 2017, and the longtime Lady Warriors Assistant wanted to use this event to raise money and honor the former IECC student. Commenting on this, Coach Deffendall said, “We felt like this would be a good opportunity to raise some money and help LTC in some way. Once we pitched the idea, everyone was quick to jump on board, and we hope we have a good turnout.”

The 4th IECC college, Frontier, chose not to participate in the Fall Showcase this year.

Admission for the day is $5. Also, concessions will be available.

Game Schedule for Saturday

11:00 a.m. WVC vs Olney Central

1:00 p.m. Lincoln Trail vs Olney

3:00 p.m. WVC vs Lincoln Trail

Lady Aces Golf Rolls Over Vincennes Lincoln

Mt. Carmel Lady Aces Golf @ Country Club of Old Vincennes

September 4, 2019

Mount Carmel 162

Madelyn Young 36; Lillian Gottman 40; Allyson Armstrong 42; Faith Witsman 44; Daisy Schrader 46; Nevaeh Brock 55

Vincennes Lincoln 234

Gwen Hays 52; Kayla’s Phinatry 54; Bailey Robb 63; Krislyn Shepherd 65; Reece Johnson 67

Coach Karin Kelsey comments:

24-1 ....Lady Aces Golf team added another W tonight! Mady was the Medalist with her 1 over par 36; Lillian added a 40 to the team score along with Allyson’s 42 and Faith’s 44. Daisy’s score of 46 and Nevaeh’s 55 were not used for the team score tonight.

We have been on the road for the last 6 matches. Golf is a tough sport on the road because the playing field is never the same. These girls are doing a fabulous job playing on new courses every match! We are looking forward to a home match next week! But first we will travel to Princeton tomorrow for a triangular with Mt Vernon IN.

MCHS Boy’s Soccer - vs PinckneyvilLe

The Soccer Aces traveled to Pinckneyville for a rematch with the Panthers Tuesday night, taking a 4-0 lead in the 1st half and winning 5-0 to continue their hot start to the season. Britton Heinrich gave the Aces the quick lead 5 minutes in, scoring on an assist from Rayce Loudermilk. Checco Terna scored the Aces’ 2nd goal in the 15th minute, assisted by Iacopo Clementi. Beau Stipp scored 1 minute later from an assist by Loudermilk. Ethan Belt completed the 1st half scoring in the 26th minute, assisted by Eli Bertram. Loudermilk scored the Aces’ 5th and final goal just after the start of the 2nd half on an assist from Checco. The Aces took 22 shots, 19 on frame, created 12 chances, took 3 corners, and had 6 interceptions. The Panthers took 2 shots, both off frame and took 1 corner.

After having just faced these guys Saturday, we did a better job of dealing with their playing style, however we want to play with more intensity as we looked a little flat in the start to this one. So that’s something we’ll need to clean up moving forward. Towards the end of the 1st half & into the 2nd half we did a bit better at moving to the ball defensively & moving without the ball offensively, but we really don’t want to start waiting to do those things. We need to base everything off our effort in attacking the ball on defense and then moving without the ball well so we can be more dangerous in our attack offensively. If we’re doing those things, we’ve got the ability to be pretty good.

The Aces now stand at 5-0 on the season and host Harrisburg this Thursday for their first home game of the year. The varsity match will be followed by the 1st JV match of the season.

Yellow Jackets Fall To Red Hill

On Tuesday, September 3rd, Yellow Jackets baseball traveled to Red Hill for non-conference action. Red Hill led after one inning 1-0, then extended their lead in the second inning to 3-0. After three innings, Red Hill led 7-0 and had their biggest inning in the fourth going up 12-0. In the top of the fifth inning, the Yellow Jackets scored twice to make the final score 12-2. Offensively for the Yellow Jackets: Brendan Bowser had a walk and scored a run; Rhett Andrews had a single, a walk, and a run scored; Chase Gher had three singles on the day and an RBI; Michael Medler had a walk; and Trenton Potts had a walk. Pitching for the Yellow Jackets: Brendan Bowser went 3 innings, gave up 7 runs, 5 hits, 5 walks, and had 8 strikeouts. Chase Gher pitched one inning, gave up 5 runs, 4 hits, 1 walk, and had 2 strikeouts. The Yellow Jackets are now 0-5 on the season. Next up: Cisne at home on Thursday at 4:30 pm in WEAA Conference play.

Yellow Jackets Baseball vs. West Salem

On Thursday, August 29th, Yellow Jackets baseball hosted West Salem in WEAA Conference play. West Salem won the game 22-0 as it was called in the 5th inning. Offensively for the Yellow Jackets, Brendan Bowser was 1-2 with a run scored, Rhett Andrews had a walk and run scored, Roland Foster was hit-by-pitch, Michael Medler was hit-by-pitch, and Landon Wilford received a walk. Pitching for the Yellow Jackets were Brendan Bowser, Isaiah Courter, and Rhett Andrews. The Yellow Jackets are now 0-4 on the season and 0-4 in WEAA conference play.

Lady Rockets Softball Falls At Lawrenceville

On Thursday August 29th the SMS/AJH Softball team traveled to Lawrenceville. The Lady Rockets dropped a well played game 2-1. The girls opened up the game with a score from Lyla Keepes after she was advanced by a bunt from Kali Walker and a left in-field hit from Nora Jones. Bella Andrews would hit up the third base line to allow Keepes to score. Andrews would go on to strike out one player in the bottom of the first. Nora Jones (C) would catch a foul ball and Hazel Earnest (RF) would catch a right field fly for the third out. (0-1) Bottom of the second, Jordis Riley would be hit by the pitcher for a base. Keepes hit a ball to the short stop and Riley was tagged out at second. Andrews started the second with two KOs before walking a player. A second base hit from the next batter was overthrown at first but the Lady Rockets stuck with the play and threw the runner out at home for a dramatic third out and kept Lawrenceville from scoring. (0-1). Top of the third came up flat for the Lady Rockets obtaining three quick outs. Back in the field, Andrews struck the first batter out and walked the second. The next batter was out with a solid catch from Walker (SS). A deep center field ball allowed a runner to score and a triple. Steady fielding from Walker to Lauren Fisher at first got the third out to keep the game tied (1-1). Top of the forth, Andrews hit a double but would be left on base after Madison Stevens was thrown out at first and two more strike outs. Andrews was responsible for 2 strike outs and a nice snagged ball hit right back to her in the forth. Ruby Newkirk started the 5th inning by being walked. Newkirk was tagged out at second after Keepes hit a ball to the short stop. Walker would foul tip and be out after the catcher tracked the ball. In a sensational double play the catcher threw Lyla keepes out at first before she could tag up. Bottom of the fifth, Andrews struck out the first batter and Fisher (1) got the second batter out tracking an in field pop fly. A nice double would send a Lawrenceville player in to home before Lyla Keepes (2) would catch the third out (2-1). Top of the sixth saw hot bats but great in-fielding by Lawrenceville denied the Lady Rockets any runs. Bottom of the sixth Andrews struck out one player, Fisher caught another, and player interference was responsible for a third out. Top of the seventh the Lady Rockets needed to score to keep the game alive. Chandler Cusick was up first to bat and took a ball in the ankle from a bunt. Staying tough she hit to second base but unfortunately was thrown out at first. Courtney Jones was walked followed by Elizabeth Hefner. Hefner was also thrown out at first. Lastly Keepes was up and again Lawrenceville in-fielding was solid, throwing her out at first to end the game. Also seeing playing time and an at bat was Breslin Ligon who played both CF and RF helping keep the ball in play and getting it to her cut off player. Coach Walker was pleased with the reduction in errors and the improvement at bats. The score board showed 2-1 but the girls should be extremely proud of playing an excellent ball game.--

Aces Soccer Report From Coach Ed Berberich

The MCHS Soccer Aces traveled to Teutopolis early Saturday morning to continue tournament play against Salem, winning 7-0 to stay in the tourney lead with 9 total points. Beau Stipp started off the scoring in the 2nd minute off an assist from Ethan Belt, followed 3 minutes later by a goal from Rayce Loudermilk assisted by Francesco Terna. Britton Heinrich gave the Aces a 3 goal lead in the 6th minute, scoring with another assist from Terna. Stipp then assisted Heinrich on a goal in the 17th minute. Jarrett West scored in the 19th minute, assisted by Stipp with a key pass from Iacopo Clementi, followed 1 minute later by Clementi scoring on Stipp’s 3rd assist of the half to give the Aces a 6 goal lead at the break. Just a couple minutes into the 2nd half, Clayton Halbig scored on an assist from Belt, leading to a shortened game and a final score of 7-0. The Aces took 22 shots, 14 on frame, created 15 chances, took 2 corner kicks, and had 4 interceptions. Tye Kanipe had 1 save in goal. The Wildcats took 2 shots, both off frame.

The Aces headed in to their 4th and final game of the tournament against Pinckneyville later Saturday, holding the tournament lead over Newton due to owning the tiebreaker in goal differential. To secure the championship, the Aces had to win by at least 2 goals. Mt Carmel took the early lead in the 8th minute on a goal from Terna, assisted by Stipp, but Pinckneyville answered 4 minutes later, scoring on a free kick played long upfield and making it’s way over the defense to be finished by their striker. The half ended with the 1-1 tie, but just 2 minutes into the 2nd half Jarrett West scored to give the Aces the lead again, along with a mental lift. Terna scored in the 42nd minute on an assist by Heinrich, and then Loudermilk scored the 4th goal of the match just a couple minutes later, assisted by Stipp. This gave the Aces a 4-1 lead and guaranteed them the championship. The Aces took 23 shots in the match, 15 on frame, had 12 chances created and took 4 corners. Tye Kanipe had 1 save in goal. Pinckneyville took 2 shots, 1 on frame. For the tournament, the Aces scored 26 goals and conceded 2. One of those on a penalty kick and the 2nd on a free kick.

Our schedule was a bit harder than when we won last year, so this was a legitimate early season accomplishment. Teutopolis was a good team, and Pinckneyville gave us a problem to solve with their counter-attacking style. They mostly kept 10 players back and then looked to play long to their striker up top. We weren’t used to having to try to play though so many defenders in the back and it took us into the 2nd half to really consistently solve it. The 1st half, we seemed to stall out a lot at the top of the attacking 3rd, but in the 2nd half we started to be a bit more patient in finding those final passes to free up shots for each other. In general, we’re playing well off each other and moving the ball around the field nicely. Our possession game has taken a huge step forward from last year, and we’re attacking nicely within that framework. Defensively we’ve taken a step forward as well. We’re being more aggressive in getting to the ball, both in pressuring dribblers and in trying to beat the opponent’s passes to the players and disrupting the opposition attacks. We’ve got a much longer bench this year, and I think the young guys and the new players are helping to push the whole team to get better. With 24 players on the team it can be hard to get everybody in, especially in these shortened matches, but the other side of that is it maybe pushes all the players to go a little harder in practice and in the games. Now that the shorter games of the tournament are done, we’ll be looking to start getting more minutes for the players that were maybe a little up and down in terms of playing time so far.

The Aces now stand 4-0 on the season, and travel to Pinckneyville on Tuesday for a rematch with the Panthers.

Lady Rocket Softball Falls at Red Hill

On Tuesday August 27th SMS/AJH Softball traveled to Red Hill to face the Lady Salukis. They would end up losing 10-0 in 6 innings. The Lady Rockets had several players on base multiple times but couldn’t find a way to bring any runs home. Bella Andrews and Red Hill’s Austin battled at the mound for 4 innings going back and forth before Red Hill was able to take a 7-0 lead. Key outs came twice from Lauren Fisher in the first and one KO from Andrews. In the second Andrews had 3 KOs. The third saw 2 more strike outs and another out from Fisher. The fourth saw a strike out from Andrews and a throw out at first from Kali Walker (SS) to Fisher. After a pitching change, Walker struck out the last batter. The fifth saw an out from Walker (P) to Nora Jones at first. 2 players were called out for leaving base early to send the game to the 6th inning. The 6th inning saw a play for an out from Andrews (SS) to Jones at first. And Lyla Keepes (2) caught an in field fly before the Lady Salukis would score the 10th run ending the game. Offensively Chandler Cusick reached first in the second off a well laid bunt before being left on base. Top of the third Lyla Keepes placed a ball in to center left field and was also left on base. Madison Stevens laid a ball up the first base line and was also left on base in the fourth. Keepes again reached base with a deep center left field ball in the 6th before being left on base. Breslin Ligon (CF) Elizabeth Hefner (RF), Courtney Jones (LF), Jordis Riley (LF), and Ruby Newkirk (LF) also saw playing time in the field and at bat.

Coach Walker and Coach Fisher were proud of the sportsmanship demonstrated from the Lady Rockets. They stayed positive, encouraging, and respectful of each other, the coaches, and the other team.--

MCHS Boy’s Soccer Recap - St Anthony/Teutopolis Invitational vs Teutopolis

The Soccer Aces continued tournament play Thursday night, heading to Teutopolis to take on the Wooden Shoes & coming out with a 4-1 victory. The Aces scored first in the 27th minute when Britton Heinrich scored on an assist from Iacopo Clementi. The first half would end with just the single goal, but the Aces quickly added a goal at the start of the 2nd half when Rayce Loudermilk scored on a penalty kick after getting fouled in the box.Teutopolis cut the Aces lead to 1 goal, scoring on their own penalty kick 12 minutes into the 2nd half. Beau Stipp then scored in the 51st minute on an assist from Loudermilk to give the Aces some breathing room again, with Loudermilk adding the last goal on an assist from Francesco Terna 5 minutes later to seal the win. The Aces took 12 shots for the game, 10 on frame, and had 5 additional chances created. The Wooden Shoes took 4 shots, 3 on frame. Tye Kanipe had 3 saves officially, but was aggressive all game in coming out and denying shots before they could happen.

After the easy win Tuesday, it seemed to take us a little bit of time to adjust to the intensity of a game against a tougher opponent. Teutopolis is a good team and they were a bit more aggressive than us at the start, but once we began to pick up our intensity and started to pressure the ball quicker defensively, we gradually took control of the match & got stronger as time wore on. The Heinrich and Stipp goals were pretty big for us. Heinrich gave us a lift with that first goal and when Stipp scored, it was a big response to the penalty kick that had brought Teutopolis within 1 score. We knew coming in that this game would be more of a test for us and I was curious to see how we would respond to it, & I have to say I’m really proud of the way we played tonight. We took a minute to adjust but once we did, we were pretty convincing against a solid team. Particularly after T-town got their goal, I was happy to see that we didn’t play scared or overly worried about protecting the slim lead, but rather we turned it up and played even more aggressively and pretty much kept the ball on their half of the field in the 2nd half. It showed some of the potential the team has this season and it was exciting to watch as coach.

The win added 3 points to the Aces' tournament total, giving them 6 points, placing them in a tie with 2 other teams. The Aces' goal differential in the 2 games thus far breaks the tie though & has them in 1st place with 2 matches left to play. The Aces continue play with an early Saturday morning match in Effingham followed by an early afternoon match in Teutopolis. The Aces stand 2-0 on the season.

Jackets Fall To Grayville Baseball

On Monday, August 26th, Yellow Jackets Baseball traveled to Grayville for WEAA Conference action. Grayville won the game 12-0 in 5 innings. Offensively for the Yellow Jackets, Brendan Bowser had 2 singles, Chase Gher had 2 singles, Michael Smith was hit-by-pitch, and Jax Gher received a walk. Pitching for the Yellow Jackets was Chase Gher for 3 innings and Isaiah Courter for 1 inning. The Yellow Jackets are now 0-3 overall and 0-3 in WEAA Conference play. Next up: Thursday at home against West Salem at 4:30 pm.

Rain Suspends Jackets Game At Clay City

On Thursday, August 22nd, Yellow Jackets baseball traveled to Clay City for WEAA Conference action. Clay City struck first in the bottom of the 2nd inning with two runs to take the lead. The Yellow Jackets battled back in the top of the 3rd inning to tie it up at two apiece, then turned around and gave up 3 runs in the bottom of the third inning in a downpour. At the conclusion of the third inning, the game was suspended at that point and will be concluded at a later date. Offensively, Brendan Bowser had 2 hits, an rbi, and run scored; Rhett Andrews had a hit and rbi; Levi Margelin had a walk; Michael Smith had a walk; and Landon Wilford had a walk and run scored. Pitching for the Yellow Jackets was Brendan Bowser. He gave up 6 hits, 2 walks, 1 HBP, 7 K's, and 5 runs. Again, this game will be resumed at a later date to be determined. Next up for the Yellow Jackets: Monday, August 26th at Grayville for WEAA Conference action.

Allendale/St. Mary's Softball Wins First Ever Game

The SMS/AJH Softball girls clinched their first ever win at home last night in 7 innings against a well matched Grayville team.

In the first inning Bella Andrews (P) and Lauren Fisher (1st) connected for the first out. Andrews struck out a batter for the second out. The third out was a third base line drive to Madison Stevens (3rd) with the connect to Fisher leaving the Lady Bison scoreless. Bottom of the first saw all 9 Lady Rockets at bat for 3 runs from Lyla Keepes, Nora Jones, and Fisher. Walker struck out, Stevens was thrown out at first while Andrews, Courtney Jones, and Elizabeth Hefner we’re left on base after Jordis Riley was thrown out at first after a nice in field hit.

Top of the second was three up three down with an out from Kali Walker (2nd) to Fisher and 2 strike outs from Andrews. Bats were still hot in the bottom of second for 4 runs scored by Walker, Fisher, Andrews, and Stevens. (7-0).

Third inning was another quick three outs: Keepes (SS) to 1st, a strike out, and an in field pop fly to Walker. Bottom of the third saw three quick outs for the Lady Rockets due to great defense from the Lady Bison. Ruby Newkirk struck out at the plate after a few good takes at the ball. Keepes has a solid single followed by Walker with a slap hit to the pitcher and was thrown out at first who in turned threw to third for the double play on Keepes.

Top of the fourth Andrews had 1 walk and 3 strike outs. Bottom of the fourth again saw great fielding by the Lady Bison. They caught a left field hit by Nora Jones, a right field hit from Fisher before seeing Andrews on base with a nice short right field hit. Stevens laid one up the third base line but was thrown out at first for the last out. (7-0)

Top of the fifth the Lady Bison found a way to score before 2 strike outs and a nice jumping in air snag by Stevens at third. Again the Rockets went three up and three down. Breslin Ligon was tagged out at first after a nice hit, Chandler Cusick struck out after several foul tips trying to stay alive at the plate. Hazel Earnest was thrown out at first by the Lady Bison pitcher.

Top of the sixth the Lady Rockets answered with solid fielding. Andrews snagged a ball hit right back at her for the first out. Fisher charged the ball and out ran the batter for the tag at first. Cusick (Center field) stopped the ball to keep the next runner from advancing to second base. Third out was another connect from Walker to Fisher. Bottom of the sixth became 10-1 after Walker, Fisher, and Jones all scored. Keepes had a nice hit but was thrown out at first by the short stop. Andrews was also out with a catch by the SS. Stevens had a solid hit caught in left field.

Top of the seventh started with a strike out. Lady Bison would score two runs before a force out at third by Walker (SS) to Stevens (3rd). To close the game, Elizabeth Hefner (2) caught a pop fly.

Coach Walker wanted to comment on the major improvements at bat for all the Lady Rockets. Also the communication between players on defense was great. Lastly, the pitching and catching duo of Andrews and Jones was on fire tonight seeing only 3 walks and 3 drop thirds. The SMS/AJH team is back in action Tuesday August 27th at Red Hill at 4:30.

Shalenko Hired As New Lady Warrior Basketball Coach

The new Wabash Valley College womens’ basketball coach is Lacey Shalenko. Shalenko takes over for Jack Trosper who resigned in July. Her hiring was approved last night by the IECC Board.

Shalenko comes to WVC from Moberly College where she was an assistant for one year.

From Shalenko’s bio on moberlygreyhounds.com:

(Prior to coming to Moberly she was) “at Angelo State University where she helped lead the team to a Lonestar Conference Championship with a record of 23-7. She was instrumental in producing four All-Conference players, including Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year as well as two players who earned D2CCA All- Region Honors. Shalenko served as the Recruiting Coordinator for the program. She was responsible for guard development and was heavily involved in defensive strategy and late-game situations.

Prior to Angelo State, Shalenko spent two seasons as Recruiting Coordinator at Division I Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. She played an integral role in guiding four players to All Ohio Valley Conference Honors including Player of the Year and Co-Defensive Player of the Year. She managed all aspects of recruiting student-athletes and was in charge of guard development.

Shalenko started her coaching career at her alma mater of University of Missouri St. Louis. She assisted in producing four All-Conference players while helping UMSL to their second best record in program history at 21-8. In her first season at UMSL, the Tritons made just their second appearance in school history in the NCAA Tournament.

The Collinsville, Illinois, native spent four years as a student-athlete at Division II UMSL, where she was a team captain and helped the Tritons to the second round of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament for the first time in 10 seasons Shalenko graduated magna cum laude in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and received her master’s in business administration from UMSL in 2012.”

Photo courtesy of moberlygreyhounds.com