Ryne Pine drove in four runs to pace a balanced Clinton offense that pulled away from Meridian for an 11-1 win in Central Illinois Conference high school baseball action from Clinton Monday.

Pine finished 2-for-2 with a triple and four RBIs. Brock Wilson went 1-for-3 with two RBIs, a run scored and walked at the top of the Maroons order.

The Maroons jumped out to a 3-0 lead after two innings and extended its lead to 8-0 before a three-run sixth inning put the game away on a run-rule walk-off. 

Brooks Cluver was 3-for-4 with a run scored. Colton Walker finished 2-for-4 with an RBI and scored twice.

Monday's win was much needed for Clinton who had dropped its last three. 

Mason Walker scored twice finishing 1-for-3 with a walk. 

Clinton goes to 14-6 overall and 5-1 in the CIC. The Maroons are tied atop the CIC with Shelbyville.

In a game heard on WEZC, Indiana commit Henry Brummel had a crowd of big league scouts in Monticello Monday and the Pontiac senior did not disappoint as he carried the Indians to an 8-1 win in Illini Prairie Conference high school baseball.

Brummel struck out 15 across 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball. The one run he allowed was unearned. He worked both sides of the plate effectively with a dominant fastball and a sweeping breaking ball that was unhittable. 

Brummel also finished 4-for-4 at the plate with a double and four RBIs.

Cayden Masching and Henry DeYoung also added run-scoring doubles for Pontiac - who has struggled offensively at times this spring. 

The Indians are without Valpraiso-commit Michael Kuska who is out with an injury this spring. 

Dylan Brown recorded the only extra base hit for the Sages, finishing 1-for-3. Jacob Long was 1-for-3 for Monticello.

Brown's barreled double off the left field fence in the seventh inning earned him the ServPro of Piatt/DeWitt Counties Player of the Game for Monticello.

Pontiac goes to 6-11 overall and 4-2 in the Illini Prairie Conference.

Monticello drops to 22-1 and 5-1 in the Illini Prairie. Monticello travels to Downs to take on Tri-Valley on Wednesday.

Meridian's Ashley Schelling was too much for Clinton as Meridian no-hit Clinton -0 in Central Illinois Conference high school softball from Clinton Monday.

Schelling struck out 15 across seven scoreless, hitless innings for the Rams. She issued just two walks in the no-hit effort. 

Only Brooke Reeves and Heidi Humble reached base on the free pas for the Lady Maroons.

Clinton goes to 8-9 overall and 2-4 in the CIC.

A rally for Monticello in the bottom of the seventh inning fell short as Pontiac held off the Lady Sages 4-3 in Illini Prairie Conference high school softball action from Monticello Monday.

Marrissa Miller cleared the bases with a three-run triple in the seventh inning but Monticello could not bring her in as the tying run in the seventh inning. 

Avery Schweitzer, Lynsee Trybom, and Lucy Leatherwood recorded base hits for the Lady Sages.

Cassidee Stoeffel allowed four runs, three were earned, in a complete game effort in circle for Monticello. The sophomore struck out four, walked three, and permitted seven hits.

The Lady Sages drop to 13-10 overall and 2-3 in the Illini Prairie Conference. They are at Urbana this afternoon.

A fast start helped Blue Ridge blank Cerro Gordo-Bement 9-0 in Lincoln Prairie Conference softball action Monday in Farmer City.

The Lady Knights jumped out to a 5-0 lead and added four more runs in the fourth.

Lily Enger paced the Blue Ridge offense finishing 1-for-2 with three RBIs and scored twice. Cassie Zimmerman was 1-for-3 with a double, two RBIs and two runs scored. 

Ellie Schlieper was 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs. She also went seven shutout innings in circle for the Lady Knights. Schlieper permitted a hit and issued three walks while striking out nine.

Ellie Hayward added a double for Blue Ridge and Carsyn Stiger drove in a run.

The Lady Knights improved to 7-11 overall and picked up its first Lincoln Prairie win, moving to 1-4. They host Tri-County Wednesday in more Lincoln Prairie Conference play.

Landon Smith homered and Chance Payne had a huge day at the plate leading Mt. Pulaski to an easy 19-1 win over Springfield Lutheran in non-conference baseball action from Springfield Monday. 

Smith was 2-for-3 with a homer, a double, and drove in three runs while scoring three runs. Payne was 4-for-4 with a double and three RBIs while scoring three runs for the Hilltoppers. 

Eric Cooper drove in three finishing 1-for-2 and scored three runs. 

Luke Martin added a double and RBI while Colt Selinger, Franklin Wade, Carter Clark, and Tucker Fitzpatrick all drove in runs for Mt. Pulaski. Preston Cowan had two RBIs.

Cooper struck out seven in three innings of one-run ball for the Hilltoppers. Aaron Volle struck out three in a scoreless inning of relief.

Mt. Pulaski is 16-1 overall. They have a tough matchup with Routt Catholic this afternoon.

Normal Community scored ten runs in the first inning and easily took down Peoria Richwoods 17-0 in four innings Monday from Peoria.

Kaileb Hackman was 3-for-3 with a double, four RBIs and three runs scored. Dexter Niekamp went deep for the Ironmen. Luke Drengwitz tripled and drove in two. 

Drew Stevens hit a double. Anthony Gura tripled, had an RBI and scored twice for Normal. Ryan Theile had an RBI as well for the Ironmen. 

Ethan Eberly breezed through four scoreless innings. The Louisville-commit struck out ten, walked two and allowed a hit. 

Normal is 19-2 overall and 9-0 in the Big 12. They travel to Urbana today before hosting Urbana on Thursday in more Big 12 action. 

In a game heard on WHOW, Max Kepler had two hits and three RBIs in his return from the injured list and the Minnesota Twins beat the Chicago White Sox 7-0 on Monday night.

Chris Paddack struck out 10 in seven innings to win as a starter for the first time in nearly two years. Edouard Julien homered among his three hits for Minnesota.

Blanked for the eighth time this season and once in each series, Chicago has lost 10 of 11. The White Sox fell to 3-19, the worst record in the majors.

Nicky Lopez and Danny Mendick each had two hits, and Gavin Sheets and manager Pedro Grifol were ejected for arguing balls and strikes in the eighth inning.

Making his second career start, Chicago’s Jonathan Cannon (0-1) allowed nine hits and six earned runs in 3 2-3 innings. He held Kansas City to one run on three hits over five innings April 17.

Three straight one-out singles in the fourth amounted to no runs for Chicago, which has scored an MLB-worst 45 runs this year. Twins first baseman Alex Kirilloff snared a 104.7 mph liner from Andrew Vaughn and Paul DeJong struck out on three pitches.

Tuesday’s second game of the four-game set has Chicago’s RHP Erick Fedde (1-0, 3.10) and Minnesota’s Pablo López (1-2, 3.97) as the scheduled starters.

Nolan Gorman snapped an 0-for-19 slump with a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning that gave the St. Louis Cardinals a 5-3 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday night.

It was the fourth home run this season for Gorman, who entered as a defensive replacement in the eighth. Paul Goldschmidt, who homered earlier, reached on an infield single before Gorman hit left-hander Kyle Nelson's only pitch into the right-field seats for his first career walk-off RBIs.

Ryan Helsley (2-2) worked a scoreless inning and the Cardinals overcame a 3-0 deficit to halt a four-game losing streak. Lars Nootbaar began the comeback with a two-run single in the sixth.

Eugenio Suárez sparked Arizona with three hits and two RBIs. Ryan Thompson (0-1) took the loss.

Brandon Pfaadt pitched 5 1/3 innings, giving up two runs on two hits and three walks. He retired his first 12 batters before giving up a leadoff single to Nolan Arenado in the fifth.

Lance Lynn lasted five innings for the Cardinals, throwing 94 pitches. He allowed seven hits and three runs, stranding eight baserunners.

Goldschmidt tied it 3-all with a leadoff homer to right-center in the seventh - his first since the season opener. Those are his only two extra-base hits this year. It was the Cardinals' first home run since April 12.

Arizona scored twice off Lynn in the second on an RBI single by Suárez and Ketel Marte's bases-loaded sacrifice fly.

Suárez made it 3-0 in the fifth with a run-scoring double.

St. Louis chased Pfaadt in the sixth. He walked three batters before getting a shallow flyout, but Nootbaar hit a two-run single. Those runs snapped a string of 14 innings without scoring for the Cardinals. Scott McGough entered and got Arenado to bounce into an inning-ending double play.

Steven Matz (1-1, 3.60 ERA) makes his second start against the Diamondbacks in 11 days. Arizona had not announced a starting pitcher for Tuesday night.

Illinois State fell in the series rubber match, 11-1, to Indiana State on Sunday at Duffy Bass Field.

A pair of home runs in the 2nd inning gave the Sycamores an early 3-0 lead before Indiana State added another run in the 3rd inning off a bases-loaded SAC fly to make it 4-0.

Illinois State got on the board in the bottom of the 2nd off an error by the Sycamore left fielder that saw junior Noah Rabin score and junior Tyler Herron advance to third.

The Sycamores added five runs in the 5th inning before scoring twice in the 6th inning to put the game into run-rule territory.

Freshman Matthew Donnison provided 2.1 innings of relief for the Redbirds (20-17 overall, 8-7 MVC), striking out four and giving up two walks.

The Redbirds took the series opener Friday before dropping the next two over the weekend. 

Indiana State (29-8 overall, 12-3 MVC) is now 38-6-1 in MVC play since the start of the final series of the 2022 season and won their 15th straight MVC series.

Illinois State returns to the road for a midweek meeting with Northwestern on Tuesday.

Illinois (23-13, 10-2) beat Northwestern (12-23, 2-10), 11-7 to complete the series sweep at Illinois Field Sunday. 

Coltin Quagliano went 4-for-5 with two runs and three RBI to lead Illinois at the plate. Connor Milton continued his stellar play, going 3-for-5 with two runs, a double, home run and three RBI. Camden Janik also provided some power, slugging a grand slam.

Regan Hall picked up the victory out of the bullpen, improving to 2-1 on the season. The left-hander worked 5.0, allowing two runs, on one hit, and striking out three. Korey Bunselmeyer also had a scoreless relief outing, tossing 1.1 frames while yielding just one hit, with no walks and one strikeout.

Illinois went 6-for-12 (.500) with runners in scoring position.

The Illini have now won seven straight games, matching their season-high mark. They stay home to finish off a long homestand hosting Western Illinois Tuesday night. 

In a game heard on WHOW, Trea Turner stole home, Kyle Schwarber hit a solo shot and Aaron Nola struck out seven in eight innings to help the Philadelphia Phillies complete a three-game sweep of the Chicago White Sox with an 8-2 win on Sunday.

Bryce Harper added a sacrifice fly and an RBI single on his best friend the Phillie Phanatic’s birthday to complete an 8-2 homestand for the Phillies. After splitting a four-game series with Pittsburgh, the Phillies fattened their record with series sweeps of Colorado and the White Sox.

The White Sox send RHP Jonathan Gannon (0-0, 1.80 ERA) to the mound Monday in the start of a four-game series at Minnesota. The Twins send RHP Chris Paddack (0-1, 8.36 ERA).

Jesús Sánchez hit a massive solo homer and an RBI single, helping the Miami Marlins beat the Chicago Cubs 6-3 on Sunday.

Sánchez, Luis Arraez, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Nick Fortes each had two hits as Miami salvaged a split of the four-game series. The last-place Marlins are 6-8 since they opened the season with nine consecutive losses.

Miami right-hander Edward Cabrera (1-0) pitched five innings of three-run ball in his second start. He struck out seven and walked three.

Chicago had won six of eight. Nico Hoerner had three hits and two RBIs for the Cubs, and Mike Tauchman had two hits and scored twice.

Kyle Hendricks (0-3) was pulled after just four innings, allowing four runs and six hits. The right-hander has a 12.00 ERA through five starts this season.

The Cubs went 3 for 16 with runners in scoring position and left nine runners on base.

Adbert Alzolay worked a perfect eighth inning for the Cubs. Alzolay is trying to find his form after he blew four of his first seven save chances this year.

Cubs LF Ian Happ (left hamstring tightness) was out of the starting lineup for the second straight day. But he said he felt good and thought he might be available off the bench. He had a mild left hamstring strain during spring training, but he started on opening day at Texas. 

 The Cubs said OF Seiya Suzuki (right oblique strain) was going to try “very light baseball activity.”

Following an off day, Chicago hosts Houston on Tuesday night in the opener of a three-game set.

Owen Miller broke a scoreless tie with a two-run single and Colin Rea tossed five shutout innings to lead the Milwaukee Brewers to a 2-0 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday.

Milwaukee has won four in a row and swept a three-game series in St. Louis for the first time since Sept. 24-26, 2018.

Sonny Gray stuck out 12 batters over 6 1/3 innings for the Cardinals, who have lost four in a row.

Rea gave up five hits over five-plus innings and left after walking Paul Goldschmidt to begin the sixth.

Gray, who signed as a free agent on Nov. 27, allowed five hits and gave up his first two runs of the season. Gray (2-1) struck out 20 batters before giving up his first walk of the season to Joey Ortiz in the fifth.

Reliever Bryan Hudson, who grew up in the St. Louis suburb of Alton, Illinois, retired all seven batters he faced following Rea. Hudson struck out four and picked up his first career win.

St. Louis catcher Willson Contreras extended his career-best hitting streak to 14 games with a first-inning single. It is the longest current run in the major and is second this season behind Marcell Ozuna of Atlanta, who had a 17-game streak snapped Saturday.

The Cardinals have dropped eight of their last nine to their NL Central rivals.

Lance Lynn (1-0, 2.18) takes on Arizona RHP Brandon Pfaat (1-1, 5.32) in the opener of a three-game set in St. Louis on Monday. Lynn has posted quality starts in nine of 12 career starts against the Diamondbacks.

Michael Jordan celebrated as if he was still on the court after Tyler Reddick stole a NASCAR Cup victory at Talladega Superspeedway, speeding across the line after front-runner Michael McDowell — swerving back and forth in a desperate bid to hold the lead — crashed with the finish line in sight.

It was another wild Talladega finish — and marked the first time that Jordan, co-owner of the 23XI Racing along with Denny Hamlin, has been at the track to witness a victory for one of his drivers.

McDowell, the pole-sitter, dominated the closing laps and was in position to give Ford its much-needed first victory of the year. But his desperate efforts to block Keselowski, another Ford driver, wound up costing them both.

McDowell spun out, Keselowski had to check up and Reddick sped by to claim his sixth career Cup victory by 0.208 seconds.

All three Toyota teams pitted in tandem with 37 laps to go, going with a strategy that would’ve allowed them to push the pace on the rest of the fuel-saving field — with an idea of drafting all the way to the front for the checkered flag.

Unfortunately, they couldn’t keep their cars straight.

Just four laps later, with the Toyota train running at a blistering, single-file pace and chasing down the lead pack, John Hunter Nemechek appeared to get into the bumper of Bubba Wallace, who is Reddick’s teammate at 23XI. Wallace then clipped Erik Jones, which sent him smashing hard into the outside wall.

Nemechek then slid down the track and took out Hamlin, as well.

Season points leader Kyle Larson started the race with a huge disadvantage after his team was penalized for altering the roof rails on his No. 5 car on the way to the qualifying line Saturday.

Larson, who had won three straight poles, was barred from qualifying, forced to start from the back of the field and ordered to do a drive-through penalty on the opening lap. He was at least a half-lap behind the field by the time he got up to speed and, without anyone to draft with, was caught by the leaders on the 12th lap.

NASCAR also ejected Larson’s car chief, Jesse Saunders, from the speedway.

Larson was able to work his way back into the mix but he wasn’t a contender at the end. He finished 20th.

The Cup series heads next Sunday to Dover Motor Speedway, where Martin Truex Jr. won the race a year ago.

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.

The Clinton Lady Maroons seemingly had everything thrown at them Tuesday afternoon but the kitchen sink and in a high school softball game heard on WHOW, outlasted Sullivan 5-3 in walkoff fashion from Clinton High School.

Avery Smith doubled home two runs to give the Lady Maroons the win Tuesday in a game originally scheduled against Hart-Em and then before action could get underway, a weather delay paused the game that was moved up to 4 pm for Hart-Em then 4:15 when Sullivan was added to the schedule.

Smith finished 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles and four RBIs. Heidi Humble drove in the other Clinton run. 

Aliviyah Haynes got the start in circle for Clinton and completed all nine innings. She struck out nine, walked two, and permitted five hits.

With the win, Clinton moves to 8-9 overall. They travel to Shelbyville on Friday.

Erratic pitching late allowed Clinton to get by Rantoul 7-5 in non-conference high school baseball action at Clinton High School Tuesday.

With the score tied at 5-5 and the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth inning, Aiden Toohill was hit by a pitch and Ryan Pine drew a walk that each scored a run to put the Maroons ahead 7-5. 

Clinton would hold on for its 13th win of the season, moving to 13-3 overall.

Pine finished 2-for-2 with two RBIs and a run scored. Brooks Cluver was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored for Clinton. Colton Walker went 1-for-4 with a double, and RBI and scored twice.

Preston Curtis threw six innings of relief for Mason Walker who permitted three unearned runs in an inning of work.

Curtis struck out three, walked two, and allowed two unearned runs on five hits.

The Maroons are back in action Friday when they travel to Shelbyville.

Marrissa Miller hit two home runs and drove in three runs leading Monticello past Westville 7-4 in non-conference high school softball action Tuesday in Monticello.

Layla Atwood hit a two-run home run in the first inning for the Lady Tigers to go up 4-0.

But Monticello scored three runs in its half of the first to go up 3-2.

Westville answered with another run in the second but Sadie Walsh hit a one-out home run and Miller answered with the first of her two big flies that bounced off the top of the scoreboard in center field. 

The home runs gave Monticello a 5-3 lead.

Miller's second home run just cleared the fence in right-center field in the sixth inning extending the Monticello advantage to 6-3.

Cassidee Stoeffel was excellent in circle for Monticello. The sophomore went the distance allowing four runs but struck out six. She also went 1-for-3 with an RBI double and drew a walk. 

Monticello improves to 12-9 overall. They travel to PBL on Thursday for Illini Prairie Conference action.