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School Sports

  • Vandal notes: Brick provides motivation

    It’s not toilet humor at all.

    A brick that sits on top of the water cooler in Vandalia has the words “flush it” written on it eight times, and the message doesn’t pertain to bathrooms.

    It actually has become a very serious motivator in the mental approach for each of Vandalia’s baseball players, who use the phrase to get over mistakes.

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  • Errors causing problems for Vandalia softball team

    Vandalia’s softball team has struggled with defense in its first few games of the year, but coach Brian Buscher still believes his team can have a successful season.

    “We’re 0-3, but we are good enough to be 3-0,” he said. “We are better than this, but by no means are we playing well.”

    In the team’s three official games, the Lady Vandals have committed 17 errors. In two innings of a game against

    Hutsonville that was canceled by rain last Saturday, there were two more committed.

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  • Eagles 'turn corner' in losses at Greenville

    GREENVILLE – St. Elmo came away from two games at last Saturday’s Greenville Round-Robin without any wins, but with some positive momentum.

    In the first of back-to-back games, the Eagles lost a back-and-forth affair to Harvard, 8-7, and then stifled defending sectional finalist Greenville’s offense in a 2-0 loss.

    “Today, I think we turned the corner,” said coach Ryan Beccue. “Last week, I thought we were so-so (in two games). Today, we were swinging better, so I’m not worried about being 1-3.”

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  • St. Elmo notes: Maxey impresses at plate

    GREENVILLE – Though he is just a sophomore, Levi Maxey showed tremendous plate discipline during Saturday’s 8-7 loss to Harvard.

    In four plate appearances, Maxey did not swing and miss at any of the 14 strikes he saw, fouling off 12 of them.

    “Doing that as a sophomore is a pretty big deal,” said coach Ryan Beccue.

    He fouled off the first four pitches of his at-bat in the third inning before singling to start a two-run rally, and he drew a walk on five pitches in the fourth inning to load the bases during a four-run inning.

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  • Boggs provides excitement for Bombers in loss

    BROWNSTOWN – Just two weeks ago, sophomore Calvin Boggs had back surgery.

    In his first game after being cleared to return to the baseball field, no one would have guessed that Boggs had just recovered from a medical operation.

    Boggs singled in his first at-bat on Tuesday and showed tremendous hustle on a pair of defensive plays, giving the Bombers something to be excited about on a day they lost to North Clay, 14-4.

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  • Beasley named MVP of Egyptian-Illini Conference

    St. Elmo junior Connor Beasley was named the Most Valuable Player of the Egyptian-Illini Conference to lead three Eagles on the first team.

    Beasley averaged 13.1 points and 8.3 rebounds per game to lead St. Elmo in both categories.

    Seniors Ben Sperry and Blake Pruett were also named to the first team for the EIC champions.

    First Team
    •Beasley (MVP), St. Elmo
    •Luke Moore, Cowden
    •Sperry, St. Elmo
    •Pruett, St. Elmo
    •Jalen Hovis, Cowden

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  • Prep roundup (March 22)

    BOYS TRACK
    Saturday, March 17
    at Charleston Indoor
    •Quenten Austin, 55-meter high hurdles, 8.19 seconds. He placed fourth and broke his own school record in the event.
    •Ryan Ambuehl, triple jump, 38 feet, 5 1/2 inches. He placed seventh.
    •Ambuehl, 400-meter dash, 54.82 seconds. He placed eighth.
    •Austin, high jump, 6 feet. He placed ninth.
    •Wade Cowger, 800-meter run, 2:10.15. He placed 11th.
    •Dalton Smith, 200-meter dash, 24.65 seconds. He placed 11th.

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  • First pitches thrown out prior to Vandalia home openers

    A first-pitch ceremony was held on both the Vandalia High School softball and baseball fields before the first home games on Monday.

    Those throwing out first pitches represented businesses, organizations or individuals who in the past year were major donors to the Field of Dreams projects that helped renovate each field.

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  • S. Central at 0-4 on young season

    A young South Central softball team is 0-4 through the first four games of the season.

    In the first game of the season, the Lady Cougars were no-hit in a 11-0 loss at Olney.

    The next day, they were shut out by Altamont, 21-0.

    In that game, which was last Thursday, South Central got its first hit, a single from Sierra Gunnels.

    Seniors Lexi Schafer and Alexis Phillips each struck out three batters in that game.

    On Monday, South Central scored three times during a 17-3 loss to Mulberry Grove.

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  • Jr. Lady Eagles fall at state tourney

    The St. Elmo eighth-grade volleyball team lost to Roanoke-Benson at the state tournament, 25-20, 10-25, 20-25.

    St. Elmo was led by Sarah Maxey, who had seven aces; Jenna Long, who had two aces; and Tyler Mars, who had seven service points.

    The Jr. Lady Eagles finished the season at 18-7.

    Roanoke-Benson placed third in the tournament.

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