Local Sports
Blackburn men’s basketball wins back-to-back SLIAC tournament titles
CARLINVILLE, IL – The Blackburn College men’s basketball team became the first team in St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) history to win back-to-back titles multiple times over the weekend. It’s the fifth tournament title for Blackburn, who also won in 1991, 1992, 2005, and 2021. With the victory, the Beavers earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament facing off against the #1 overall seed and defending national champions the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. The game will be played in Oshkosh, WI and will tip-off at 7:15 pm on Friday, March 4.
The Beavers completed their quest for repeat conference titles by defeating Webster University 76-56 in the championship game. Senior guard Chanz Aldridge was incredibly consistent throughout the tournament run, scoring 27, 27, and 26 points over the three contests. Originally from Hillside, IL, Aldridge was named Tournament Most Valuable Player for a second straight season and became the first player to win back-to-back Tournament MVP awards since Blackburn College’s Kevin Green pulled off the same feat 30 years before. Last season, Aldridge was also named SLIAC Player of the Year.
Like most kids who grow up with a basketball in their hands, playing in the NCAA Tournament is something Aldridge has spent most of his life dreaming about. “I give so much credit to my father. He always told me when big games are on the line, big players step up,” said Aldridge. “It really is a blessing to do it at a high level.”
Despite appearing in the conference final four each of the past five seasons, winning another title was not a foregone conclusion. The team entered SLIAC tournament play on a four-game skid and losing six of their previous seven games. Blackburn Coach Austin Kirby was asked about the team’s recent tournament play and what turned things around for the Beavers. He said, “The biggest thing was our movement. We started out 6-1 and finished 1-6 and a lot of that was stagnant movement. When we play inside out basketball we are a much better team.”
After last year’s national tournament was disrupted due to COVID, the 2021 SLIAC Basketball Coach of the Year is thrilled to get the opportunity to play in the NCAA Tournament. Kirby added, “Our group has been clicking lately and it has been exciting to see.”
In the championship game, Blackburn’s sophomore forward Izayah Talmadge put up a double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds. Originally from St. Louis, MO, Talmadge earned all-tournament team honors and was named to the conference all-defensive team. First-team all-conference member Javon Stovall, a senior wing from Canton, OH, added 17 points. Senior Bryson Kirby, from Lincoln, IL, shot 50% from behind the arc for the tournament and added 10 timely rebounds in the championship game.
Blackburn will look to become the first SLIAC conference team to win an NCAA Men’s Division III Tournament game. The Beavers have made two previous appearances in the tournament, losing to Illinois Wesleyan in 2003 and Hanover in 2005.
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The Gillespie High School baseball team earned another win on the season on Wednesday, March 27 by steamrolling Nokomis 11 to 3. Daniel Wolber gained the win on the mound for Gillespie, only giving up four hits, three runs, and striking out seven through five innings of work.
The Miners were the first to put a run on the board with a single from Bryce Buhs, Jack Kaylor, and Colin Griffith, each touching home plate.
Schuckenbrock showed up and showed out at the plate, going 3 for 3, with one RBI, a double in the second, and 3 runs scored. In the 9 hole, Sean Haywood went 2 for 2 with one run across and one base on balls. Hohnsbehn, Jesse Berry, Kaylor, Griffith, and Carson Hailstone each had a hit in their winning efforts.
The Miners had a total of 12 hits throughout the game.
The boys fell to New Berlin on Friday, March 29, with a final score of 1 to 3. Runs were hard to come by in this game, as the pitching staff on both sides was stellar. New Berlin put the first run on the board in the top of the first on a wild pitch, with the Miners scoring in the bottom of the first on a passed ball.
New Berlin took and kept the lead in the top of the second. Bixby earned the win on the mound for New Berlin, striking out 13 and walking one. Buhs took a loss for the Gillespie Varsity Miners.
Luke Schuckenbrock and Berry were alone in the hit column for the Miners, collecting two hits apiece.
The Miners will face off against Litchfield on Tuesday.
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The Gillespie High School softball team faced Triad on Wednesday, March 27, taking the win, 11-0. Starting pitcher Emma Gipson had another strong showing in the circle. Gipson rang up 12 Triad batters, giving up only three hits and zero runs over five innings.
Ava Parish went three for three at the plate with a solo homer in the second inning. The bats were hot for Gillespie in this game with Sadie Sholtis going 1-2 with 3 RBIs, Lauren Bertagnolli going 1-3 with two runs scored, Gipson going 3-3 with 3 RBIs and one run scored, Paxton Reid and Macie Wright both going 2-3 at the plate, and Delaney Taylor going 1-2 with two RBIs. Wright also had an RBI in the win.
Delaney Hess holds the loss for Triad. She struck out one batter, giving up nine runs on ten hits. Gillespie had a total of 13 hits in their win.
Gillespie had stellar defense in this game, committing zero errors. Triad’s Green, Hagarty, and Feldma each got a hit off Gipson in their efforts against the powerhouse.
Gillespie earned another win over the Highland Bulldogs on March 28, a final score of 8-4.
Gipson came in clutch at the plate, knocking two over the fence and driving in four runs. Reid joined Gipson with a home run in the top of the third and Sholtis homered over the center field wall in the top of the seventh.
Parish and Bertagnolli went one for four at the plate, Parish scoring one run. Reid stood tall at the plate, going two for four in the game, with one RBI and one run scored. Wright had a strong showing, going two for four with one RBI. In the 9 hole, Taylor showed up and showed out, going two for three.
Gipson gained another win in the circle against Highland. She sat down six Bulldogs with a strikeout, giving up six hits and four runs in seven innings. Kaitlyn Wilson took the loss for the Bulldogs, giving up eight runs on eleven hits, sitting down eight with a strikeout. Mettler, Alex Schultz, Abby Shultz, Wilson, Ritz, and Becker got into the hit column for Highland.
Gillespie picked up two losses on the season this weekend on March 30. They fell 0-2 against Pleasant Plains and 1-2 against the Olympia Spartans.
The Miners were able to grab a win this weekend over the Havana Lady Ducks, with a final score of 6-2. Gipson had a strong showing in the circle, striking out 13 batters. She allowed only two hits and two runs in five innings.
Bertagnolli went 3-3 at the plate with 3 RBIs. Parish went 2 for 3. Gipson and Schuckenbrock went 1 for 2, with Gipson driving in two runs. Wright had one hit in the win with one RBI. Sholtis also had an RBI in the game.
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The Gillespie High School baseball team defeated Auburn 18 to 10 on Tuesday, March 19. Daniel Wolber earned the win on the mound for Gillespie, picking up three strikeouts over two-thirds innings. Bryce Buhs started on the mound for Gillespie, striking out eight and giving up nine walks. Tristen Wargo gave a brief relief appearance on the mound for the Miners.
Runs were not hard to come by in this high-scoring game. Wargo, Luke Schuckenbrock, Jack Kaylor, Bryce Hohnsbehn, Bryce Buhs, Jaydon Baker, and Colin Griffith all produced RBIs at the plate. Berry was hot at the plate, going 4 for 4 with a home run to right field, 5 RBIs, and 2 runs scored. The team collectively produced 13 hits in the win.
The Miners fell to Columbia on Friday, March 22 in a 0-3 game. Kaylor recorded the loss for the Miners on the mound, pitching a total of two innings, allowing three runs and striking out two. Relief came in the form of Brody Shaw, throwing five innings, allowing two hits and no runs, and striking out one batter. Matthews earned the win for Columbia. The two hits of the night for Gillespie came from the bottom of the lineup in the 8 and 9 spots from DH Baker and Griffith. Wargo, Shaw, and Buhs each picked up a walk in the game.
Gillespie faced Riverton on Saturday, March 23, tacking on another win for the season with a final score of 6 to 0. Schuckenbrock pitched six innings for Gillespie, earning the win. Schuckenbrock surrendered five hits, zero runs, and collected six strikeouts.
Berry was dynamic at the plate, going 3 for 3 with 3 RBIs, 2 runs scored, and a base on balls. Wargo, Hohnsbehn, and Griffith tallied two hits apiece in the win. Schuckenbrock, Buhs, and Baker got a hit each on the night. Hailstone and Kaylor also recorded an RBI in the books. Wargo proved to be a menace on the base path with two steals. Bates took the loss on the mound for Riverton.
The Miners also faced Heyworth on Saturday in a nail-biting 3-1 victory. SP Tristen Wargo collected the win on the mound. Wargo gave up five hits and one run, pocketing four strikeouts in the game. Wolber stepped on the mound in a relief appearance.
Hohnsbehn put Gillespie’s first run on the board in the top of the first with a sac fly, which was swiftly matched by Heyworth in the bottom of the first to tie up the game. Runs were hard to come by on both sides of the field until the top of the sixth, when Gillespie scored two – one run coming off a single from Griffith.
Wargo, Buhs, and Griffith recorded two hits each in the winning efforts. Hohnsbehn and Berry put a one in the hit column. Wills took the loss for Heyworth on the mound.
The Miners face Metro-East Lutheran on Monday.
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