A leadoff walk in the bottom of the 7th inning turned into the game winning run for the Jerseyville Panthers, as they beat the Miners in their season opener 1-0.
Senior Trae Wargo got the starting nod opening day for the Miners and pitched almost a perfect 6 innings giving up just 1 hit and 1 walk while
Trae Wargo pitches in the bullpen as Pitching Coach Don Dobrino looks on.
striking out 9 Jerseyville batters. Junior Cort Hellman came in for refeif in the bottom of the 7th inning and got the loss for the Miners giving up just 1 hit,1 walk, and 1 earned run in 2/3 of an inning.
Even though the Miners threatned in the top of the first inning with 3 hits, they only managed 2 more hits in the next 6 innings. Trae Wargo led the team at the plate, going 2 for 3 with 2 singles while Balzraine, Link, and Henderson each had a hit.
Even though the Miners didn’t come away with a win, Coach Smith has to be happy with Miners’ performance. Playing a much bigger school and being limited to almost all indoor practices, the Miners managed only 2 errors in 7 innings. Starting pitcher Trae Wargo was equally impressive on the mound and at the plate. If this game was an early indication of this season, the Miners should see more marks in the win column than the loss column.
Gillespie High School will honor the high school baseball team before the team’s banquet on Wednesday, June 14 with a parade through downtown.
The parade will start at the school at 5:30 p.m. and proceed through downtown Gillespie before heading back to the school so the team can conclude their season with a team-only banquet.
The school invites everyone to come downtown to recognize the team and celebrate this year’s accomplishments. The team ended their season with an overall 32-1 record and won 32 straight wins, a new school record.
The team also won their respective conference and regional.
Eight athletes of Gillespie High School were named to the 2023 All-South Central Conference softball rosters that were released on Thursday.
Miners being named to the all-conference rosters included Emma Gipson, Regan Bussmann, and Eve Kaduk as first-team; Ava Parish, Megan Rife, Macie Wright, and Sadie Sholtis as second-team; and Delaney Taylor as third-team.
Gillespie’s season ended in the regional semi-final with an overall 25-4 record and 9-0 in the conference. The team loses three seniors including infielder Regan Bussmann, outfielder Eve Kaduk, and outfielder Megan Rife.
The top 59 boys’ and girls’ basketball seniors from South Central Illinois played in the 19th Annual Carlinville Rotary Club All-Star Basketball Classic on Sunday, March 26 in Carlinville which was presented by Prairie Farms Diary and CNB Bank & Trust.
Representing Gillespie High School among the athletes on the West teams included Emily Schoen, Jenna Clark, Kam Link, and Bryan Jubelt. Clark posted 2 points in the girls’ contest while Link posted 15 and Jubelt helped with 5 points in the boys’ game. Link also put on a show in the dunk contest scoring 48 out of the possible 50 points to win first place.
The Girls East beat the West 68-51 behind 14 points from MVP Layne Rupert of Hillsboro. The 3-point shootout was won by Paige Henson of Carrollton in a corner shootoff with Natalie Engelman of Nokomis. Staunton coach Corrie Allan was selected as the Rotary Club’s Girls’ Coach of the Year.
Devon Peebles of Pana took MVP honors in the boys’ Carlinville Rotary Club All-Star Basketball Classic. Peebles scored 25 points to lead the East to a 108-97 win over the West. Elijah Aumann of Nokomis won the 3-point contest hitting 10 treys and edging out Ryan Eisenbarth of Nokomis, Peebles and Jubelt of Gillespie who all had 9. In the Slam Dunk contest, Link scored 48 out of the possible 50 points for his routine with Peebles finishing second with a score of 41. Nokomis coach Dan DeWerff was named the Rotary Club’s Boys’ Coach of the Year.
With the East winning both the girls and boys match-ups this year, the all-time series record for boys moves to 12-7 with the West holding the lead and the girls record extends to 13-5 with the East holding strong.
The All-Star Classic serves as a fundraiser for the Carlinville Rotary Club who help with community projects throughout the year.