Monticello was balanced on Thursday afternoon as the Sages beat the weather and Paxton-Buckley-Loda 9-1 in Illini Prairie Conference baseball action on Thursday in Paxton.

Severe weather was in the area Thursday afternoon but held off long enough to get Thursday's action played. 

Matt Swartz, Colton Vance, and Jacob Long each had two RBIs. Swartz was 1-for-2 with a double and run scored. Vance finished 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs while Long was 2-for-4 with a triple and two RBIs.

Koyie Williams doubled finishing 2-for-3 and Russ Brown drove in a run in with a pinch-hit double. 

Brody Billedo went 2 1/3 shutout innings with three strikeouts and allowed a hit and a walk. Ike Young went 2 2/3 shutout innings with four strikeouts and allowed a hit and a walk. Hayden Romano finished off the win with 2 innings of one-run ball.

The Sages' win streak is now 22 straight as they go to 22-0. They will host Pontiac Monday in Monticello.

Maroa-Forsyth snapped a brief two-game losing streak with a convincing 14-1 win over Illini Central in Sangamo Conference baseball action on Thursday in Forsyth.

The Trojans broke open a 5-1 game with a nine-run fourth inning. 

Kaiden Maurer and Mitch Williams doubled and scored two runs for the Trojans while Tate Brandenburg drove in two runs. Cayden Rose and Connor Kelly had two RBIs apiece while Zayn Giles and Andy Munjoy also added RBIs. Munjoy finished 3-for-3. 

Brandenburg struck out five in four innings of one-run ball for Maroa-Forsyth. Ace Giles finished off the five-inning, run-rule win for the Trojans with a scoreless inning of relief with one strikeout. 

The Trojans go to 15-2 overall and 4-1 in the Sangamo. They host Athens Friday.

Monticello used a balanced offensive attack to roll past Paxton-Buckley-Loda 16-0 in Illini Prairie Conference softball action from Paxton Thursday.

Marrissa Miller was 3-for-3 with an RBI and three runs scored to lead the Monticello offense. Sadie Walsh was 1-for-3 with a double and two RBIs. Cassidee Stoeffel was 3-for-3 with two doubles and drove in two. Thea Key and Isa Beery drove in two runs apiece. 

Lucy Leatherwood, Lynsee Trybom, Reese Patton, and Ali Weidner added RBIs for the Lady Sages.

Patton struck out four in four innings of shutout ball. The senior allowed a hit and a walk. 

Monticello has won seven of its last nine to move to 13-9. They host Pontiac on Monday. 

Monticello used a big day at the plate and a bullpen day to roll Salt Fork 10-0 securing the Sages' 21st straight victory to start the season in non-conference high school baseball action from Monticello Wednesday.

Eli Craft and Colton Vance went deep. Craft went 2-for-2 with a home run, a double, and drove in a run. Vance finished 1-for-3 with a two-run blast. 

Matt Swartz hit a two-run triple for the Sages finishing 1-for-2. Carter Foran was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored. Dylan Brown and Rai Colbert each drove in a run and scored twice.

Forrest Rawdin went two innings of shutout ball getting the start for the Sages. Swartz struck out two in a scoreless inning of relief and Jacob Long struck out three in two innings to preserve the win.

The Sages are 21-0 on the season, continuing to build on its best start in program history. They travel to PBL this afternoon for an Illini Prairie Conference tilt.

Normal Community scored four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to separate and beat crosstown rival Normal West 9-4 Thursday, sweeping the two-game set this week in Normal.

Owen Cavanaugh cleared the bases with a double in the big sixth inning for the Ironmen. The Senior finished with a team-best five RBIs. Kyle Beaty finished 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored at the top of the order. Anthony Gura went 2-for-4 with an RBI and Joshua Eisfelder drove in a run.

Sam DesCarpentrie and Brady Hart had RBIs for the Wildcats while Chase Knuth finished 2-for-3 with a double and run to pace Normal West's offense. 

Normal used a bullpen day to limit the Wildcats offense. Kaileb Hackman threw three scoreless innings to close out the win. The senior struck out four and allowed just one hit. 

Ryder Coone was tagged for five runs, three were earned for Normal West. He walked four, struck out three, and allowed five hits. Trent Durham allowed Normal Community's four runs in the sixth inning.

Normal West drops to 8-9 overall and 4-4 in the Big 12. Normal Community goes to 17-1 overall and 7-0 in the Big 12. 

Normal West is back in action Friday traveling to Danville. Normal Community hosts Richwoods on Friday.

Williamsville took down Maroa-Forsyth in a Sangamo Conference high school baseball classic 2-1 Wednesday in Williamsville. 

Jo Catalano struck out seven in five scoreless innings for the Bullets. Brayden Sailing and Kyle Carter drove runs for Williamsville.

Ace Giles drove in the only run for Maroa-Forsyth. Kaiden Maurer, Zayn Giles, Tate Brandenburg, and Cayden Rose had base hits for the Trojans. Maurer and Rose doubled in the loss.

Connor Kelly tossed five innings of relief for the Trojans after Kaiden Maurer threw an inning at the start of the game. Kelly struck out two, walked three, and allowed five hits.

Williamsville is 10-6 and 3-0 in the Sanngamo. Maroa-Forsyth falls to 13-2 overall and 2-1 in the Sangamo. They will host Illini Central today in more Sangamo Conference play. 

Normal U-High scored nine runs in the third inning and rolled past Lincoln 12-1 in a five innings, a run-rule win in Central State Eight high school baseball Wednesday in Normal.

The frustrating inning for the Railsplitters featured a two-run error, two walks with the bases loaded and only six hits in the inning.

Colbie Glenn finished 1-for-3 with the lone RBI for Lincoln. Drew Hayes, Trey Schilling, Brenden Wurth, Michael Lucas and Jarrett Evers had hits for the Railsplitters. 

Griffin Meyer paced Normal U-High going 3-for-4 with a double, three RBIs and a run scored. Devan Tupper was 1-for-3 two RBIs.

U-High is 12-5 overall moving to 3-1 in the CS8. They travel to Jacksonville this afternoon.

Lincoln falls to 8-7 and 2-3 in the Central State Eight. They travel to Springfield Southeast this afternoon.