Villa Grove sports wrap for softball, baseball, and track

By Tony Hooker

Girls’ Softball

Take Southern Swing

Tie Tigers

Hayden Thomas tripled and drove in two runs as Villa Grove earned a 4-4 tie vs. Breckinridge County, KY,  a school with an enrollment of 884, on May 5.   Thomas, Piper Kiser, Maci Clodfelder and Alex Brown scored runs for the Blue Devils.  Brown pitched a complete game for VG, allowing 4 runs on 7 hits, striking out 1 and walking 2 batters.

Busted by Marshals

Alison Pangburn went 2-4 with a double and 2 runs scored, but a pair of Blue Devil errors led to 4 unearned runs, as VGHS dropped an 8-5 decision to Marshall County, KY on May 6.  Piper Kiser went 1-2 with a pair of walks, 2 runs scored and an RBI for Villa Grove, and Maci Clodfelder and Hayden Thomas each drove in a run.  Kiser took the loss, giving up 4 earned runs on 11 hits while fanning 3.

Mauled by Bruins

The Blue Devil bats were squelched in the final game of their Kentucky road trip, falling 11-1 in 5 innings to Central Hardin, Ky.  Alison Pangburn doubled and drove in the only rung for VGHS, scoring Kayln Cordes. Alex Brown took the loss, giving up 3 runs on 5 hits in 2 innings.

Ground Eagles

Villa Grove celebrated their return to central Illinois by defeating Rantoul 11-3 on May 11.  The top of the order laid waste to RTHS, with leadoff hitter Kayln Cordes going 3-4 with 3 RBI’s and 3 runs scored.  Alison Pangburn doubled and tripled with 3 RBI’s and a run scored for VG.  Maci Clodfelder went 2-3 with a double and 3 RBI’s from her cleanup spot, Hayden Thomas went 2-3 win a double, 2 runs scored and an RBI, Chloe Reardon went 1-3 with a double and a run scored.  Izzy Dodd and Addisyn Wilson  each went 1-3 with a run scored.  Alex Brown earned the win, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits.

Abandon Maroons

Izzy Dodd tripled and drove in a run as Villa Grove defeated Champaign Central 4-2 on May 12.  Maci Clodfelder doubled and scored twice for the Blue Devils, and Emma Bratten-Noice doubled and scored for VGHS.  Alex Brown picked up the win in relief of Piper Kiser, throwing 3-2 innings of hitless relief while fanning 4 and walking none.

Baseball

Down Bombers

Peyton Smith went 2-4 with a pair of doubles and 3 RBI’s as Villa Grove defeated Argenta-Oreana 9-2 on May 8.  Brady Clodfelder also doubled twice, scored a pair of runs and drove in 1 for VGHS. Gavin Kiser went 1-3 with a double, 2 RBI’s and 2 runs scored for the Blue Devils. Luke Zimmerman went 2-3 with a double, 2  RBI’s and 2 runs scored.   Sam Bender, who went 2-3 at the plate and scored a pair of runs, was the beneficiary of the offensive outburst, as he earned the win by allowing just 2 runs (1 earned) on 5 hits over 7 innings. Bender struck out 1 without walking a batter.

Girls’ Track and Field

Compete at Okaw Valley Sectional

The 4x800m relay quartet of Emma Buesing, Madison Logan, Nadia Collision, and Scarlett Howard finished in 6th place, but could not advance to state at the Okaw Valley Sectional, held on May 11.  Howard ran 9th in the 800m, and Buesing placed 10th in the 1600m in her final meet as a Blue Devil.

Junior High Track and Field

State meet

Evalice Callison soared over the bar at 4’11” to earn a second-place finish at the 8th grade IESA 2A state track meet, held on May 11-12 at East Peoria.  Classmate Jacob Golightly cruised to a 3rd place finish in the 110m hurdles for the Blue Devils.   

Max Wilson also earned a 9th place finish in the seventh-grade shot put for Villa Grove.