CENTRAL ILLINOIS — Meridian baseball and Maroa-Forsyth softball both dropped non-conference contests Wednesday night, while St. Teresa picked up a close win in Decatur.
Meridian stayed within striking distance most of the afternoon before Nokomis pulled away late for a 6-1 victory. The Redskins entered the seventh inning leading just 3-1 before scoring three insurance runs to seal the win.
The Hawks matched Nokomis with seven hits offensively, led by Jayden Doty’s 2-for-3 performance at the plate. Corbin Neihart, Wyatt Martin, Zander Thomas, Ted Jones and Grady Stock each added hits for Meridian, while Thomas drove in the team’s lone run.
Stock also delivered a strong outing on the mound, tossing a complete game with seven strikeouts over seven innings. The junior allowed six runs, five earned, while throwing 107 pitches.
Meridian’s defense turned in a solid effort with just one error. Jones recorded eight putouts, while Doty handled seven defensive chances cleanly.
In softball action, Maroa-Forsyth fell to a strong Monticello squad 10-0 in five innings.
Monticello jumped ahead with four runs in the opening inning before adding three runs in both the third and fourth innings to end the game early via the 10-run rule.
The Sages finished with nine hits and were led offensively by Isabella Beery, who went 3-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs scored. Stoffel added two RBIs and a triple, while Ali Weidner and Reese Stiger each drove in two runs.
Highland earned the win for Monticello after throwing a complete-game one-hit shutout over five innings.
Elsewhere in baseball, St. Teresa edged Rantoul 2-1 in a tightly contested non-conference matchup in Decatur. The Bulldogs scored both of their runs in the first inning and made the lead stand the rest of the way.
Rantoul managed four hits in the loss, with Levi Duitsman finishing 2-for-3 and scoring the team’s lone run. Eli Reichenbach drove in the only run for the Bulldogs, while Owen Johnson struck out six batters in a complete-game effort on the mound.
St. Teresa’s pitching staff recorded 11 strikeouts in the victory.
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