Many players on the Charleston junior varsity soccer team have added another obstacle. Not playing the sport before joining the team in high school.

Charleston coach Dave Dunlap said early in the season that the team had a number of girl’s who had never played the sport before earlier that week.

Since that time, he said he has seen alot of improvement.

“You can see it in a number of ways that they do things,” Dunlap said. “They are better backing each other up, they have more awareness and instead of standing around they are going to the ball.”

Dunlap said there are a number of reasons for the improvement not only of players who hadn’t played before high school, but players who had played before.

“We practice hard everyday and scrimmage against the varsity alot,” Dunlap said. “Getting that kind of expierence against a talented group like the varsity always helps.”

He said a number of girls that had no soccer expierence before have been impressive this season, but Kayley Bell, Karley Gardner and Ashton Marucco have stood out.

He pointed to a play in a match against Monticello where Marucco challenged a player aggressively for a ball as an example with how she has progressed as a soccer player.

“If you would have told me in the beginning of the year that she would have done that I would not have believed you, Dunlap said. “She is definetly one of the most improved players on the team.”

Marucco said she had not had any soccer expierence before high school, but decided to play because a lot of her friends were playing.

“I was a dancer my entire life,” Marucco said. “Soccer is much different. You definetly get to push people more and soccer is alot more work.”

Sophomore Alyssa Finley had not played soccer since kindergarten before she decided to join the team last season. She said the head varsity coach Paul Stranz was her teacher in study hall and persauded her to play.

In middle school she had played softball and volleyball, but said she fell in love with soccer.

“The hardest part about soccer in the beginning was getting the ball to the goal,” Finley said. “But the coaches have been great. If they see something you are struggling with they will work with you in practice and make you a better player.”

Dunlap said while this group is talented, it still has alot of work to go.

“All of them, whether they have played before this season or not have to work on progressing,” Dunlap said. “I am hoping they all get better and make big iimprovements by the time they make it to varsity.”

The Lady Trojans won 1-0 behind a breakaway goal by sophomore midfielder Alyssa Finley. The ball was played forward to Findley and with a one-on-one with Sage goalkeeper Rachel White, Findley guided the ball to the right post.

“It was a poke pass more than a shot,” Findley said. “Our coaches always say never to blast the ball and have it go over the net. I just tried to toe it and was shocked it went in.”

Charleston controlled for most of the game with a huge advantage in shots, forcing Monticello to just one. Charleston goalkeeper freshman Kristen Gisondi did not even touch the ball until the final five minutes of the second half.

“We did a great job of keeping control even tough we didn’t get too many in,” Charleston coach Dave Dunlap said. “We just kept kicking the ball right at the goalkeeper.”

Charleston had plenty of scoring chances in the first half, where they had five shots on goal. In the 2nd minute a shot by junior Kelcie Lawson was blocked out of play at the far post after a cross and in the 5th minute Findley had a ball riochet off the crossbar.

At halftime, Finley said that at halftime Dunlap talked about controlling the match more and having more energy.

“He talked about how it was not just the forwards fault we were not scoring, but the midfield had to be stronger as well,” Finley said.

Montecello coach Dan Burkybile said he thought it was a competitive match despite being outshot.

“I thought we did some good things today,” Burkybile said. “We played pretty well defensively and I thought (White) had a great game. We were just a step or two slow offensively. That is something we have to put together.”

With the win, the Trojans move to 4-3-3.

Much like an old western showdown, rivals Charleston and Mattoon high school will play this Saturday for the third time this season in the second Annual Lady Trojans Spring Classic. The teams’ two previous meetings have ended in a 3-0 win for the Trojans, and a 1-1 tie. The tie, which was the most recent game, snapped the Trojans eight-game win streak.

Saturday’s game is set for high noon. How fitting.

After playing the previous two contests on the road against Mattoon (St. Teresa Tournament and at Mattoon), the Trojans will finally get a crack at the Green Wave on familiar soil. CHS coach Paul Stranz expects his girls to be hungry for the opportunity to play Mattoon again, especially his seniors.

“The girls were disappointed,” Stranz said. “There are good ties, and there are bad ties. It was good for them (Mattoon) but our girls kinda saw it as a loss. Hopefully the entire team will get up for it this Saturday. Especially the seniors.”

The Trojans (10-1-2) are entering the Spring Classic on a two-game win streak after defeating Danville 3-1, and Mt. Zion 2-0. The two wins ended a skid for the Trojans, who tied twice and lost once during the stretch.

Both Stranz and Mattoon coach Ryan Ghere expect the game to be a defensive battle. Both coaches also agreed that scoring opportunities would be rare and that taking advantage of chances in front of the net would be critical.

Both Mattoon and Charleston will play a doubleheader on Saturday, with CHS playing Dunlap and Mattoon playing Champaign Central at 9 a.m.

Things to watch for:

• If fatigue becomes a factor, and how each team responds.

• If Mattoon can keep focused with prom coming up this weekend.

• How each team plays in front of the net, with scoring opportunities expected to be rare.

Of the 159 seniors graduating at the end of this school year, ten have either received scholarships or intend on playing college sports.  The athletes come from a variety of sports including basketball, volleyball, soccer, football and baseball.

One of the main reasons for the Charleston Lady Trojans success on the basketball court this season was because of their three varsity starters.  Brittany O’Dell, Holly Wohltman and Haley Sparks, led the Lady Trojans to a school record 25 wins.  While O’Dell will be playing soccer for Eastern Illinois University next year, Wohltman and Sparks will continue playing basketball. 

Haley Sparks will be attending Lake Land College next year and joining the Laker basketball team that went 11-20 last season.  Sparks, the Lady Trojans point guard, had her best statistical season this year.  Known for her range, she set the Charleston record for most career 3-pointers with 97.  It was not only Sparks’ shooting that made her a leader for Charleston, but her ability to distribute the ball as well.  Sparks ended her career at Charleston with 255 assists, which puts her at second all-time.

As a senior, Sparks averaged 11.3 points per game, earning All-Apollo Conference and JG/T-C All-Area honors.  Sparks also earned a varsity letter for her commitment to the Trojan softball team.

Holly Wohltman will also continue playing basketball, as she will be attending Illinois College next year.  Wohltman was the recipient of the Journal Gazette/ Times-Courier Area Player of the Year.  Wohltman was also the team’s Outstanding Player of the Year after leading the team with 421 total points on the season.  Wohltman finished her high school career with a total of 970 points.  She also led the Lady Trojans with a 78 percent free throw percentage.  Illinois College went 14-10 last season under Head Coach Brenna Kelly.  Wohltman was a two-sport athlete, also playing soccer.

Emily Rose, a captain of the Charleston volleyball team, will be graduating this year and attending Parkland College.  The 6-foot Rose averaged 3.7 kills and 3.4 digs per game in her senior year.  Those stats helped push Charleston, who went 17-12, to runner-ups in the IHSA Class 3A regional.  She will be joining a Parkland team, which finished 42-6 overall last season.  Parkland was the 2009 Mid-West Athletic Conference champ.

Charleston has had a successful soccer program for both the men and women’s teams for many years.  Both teams will be losing their goalkeepers and captains after this season.

Brittany O’Dell will not be playing basketball when she enters college next year.  Instead she will be turning to the soccer field for the Eastern Illinois University Panthers.  O’Dell, a 5-foot-7 goaltender, is the current captain for the Charleston soccer team and has earned awards such as the Decatur Herald Review Honorable Mention and the St. Teresa All Tournament Teams.  The rewards were due to O’Dell’s impressive senior season where she limited opponents to 24 goals in 22 games, finishing with 89 saves.

O’Dell was also impressive on the basketball court in her high school career.  O’Dell earned the hustle award for the Trojans last year and also led the team with 233 rebounds.  O’Dell also contributed to the volleyball team, making her a three sport athlete.

Jason Coon has been one of the main reasons for Charleston’s success in the past four years.  In 2006 and 2009, Coon was a member of the Charleston team, which won the regional championship.  Coon finished 2009 with 14 goals and nine assists.  Coon, a midfielder, has received multiple awards including being named to the all-state team for his senior season.  He was also named the 2009 Decatur Herald Boys Soccer Player of the Year and named to the All-Midwest team.  An interesting fact about Coon is that he has been trained in Argentina with the ODP Midwest Region squad that competes in the Illinois Olympic Development program.  After Coon graduates from CHS this year he will be attending Bradley University.  Coon also participated on the Charleston Track team.

When Heartland community College offered Aaron Smith a scholarship to play soccer, he jumped at the opportunity.  The 6-foot-2 goaltender recorded 11 shutouts in his senior year, allowing an average of just over one goal a game and a total of 82 saves.  Heartland Community College finished last season 13-4-1 overall, improving their record for the third consecutive years.

The Trojans will also be losing some veteran leaders from their football squad that went 4-5 last year.  Adam Drake, Austin Pankey and Jason Shores will all be playing football next year in college.

Adam Drake will play for Eastern Illinois University next year.  Drake was a two-sport athlete at Charleston High School, competing in football and tennis.  Eastern football coaches showed interest in the 6 foot-2, 170-pound wide receiver, giving him a partial scholarship.

Drake was one of the standout players in the Apollo conference last season, leading all receivers with 41 catches.  He also added 572 yards receiving and two touchdowns to his senior year resume.  Not only was Drake valuable on the offensive side, but he also contributed on defense and special teams.  As a defensive back, Drake made 66 tackles and grabbed five interceptions.  As for his special teams work for Charleston, Drake was one of the main kick returners for the team and had one kick return for a touchdown.  Drake is a two time first team All-Apollo Conference member, once as a defensive back and once as a wide receiver, and was selected to the All-Area Decatur Herald Review team.  Drake was also a member of the Trojan Tennis team.

Fellow Trojan football teammate Austin Pankey will also be pursuing college athletics.  A two-sport athlete, football and baseball, Pankey played the role of fullback and punter for the Trojans last year.  With six touchdowns and 237 yards on the ground last season, Pankey drew the attention of Illinois College.  Pankey hopes to compete for both the fullback and punter positions for the Blue Boys, considering that Illinois College’s punter will be graduating this year.  At 6-foot-2, 215 pounds, Pankey will likely find a place on the field one way or another.  Pankey has also played on the Trojan baseball team for four years.

Jason Shores, another wide receiver for the Trojans, will be attending Aurora University next year.  Shores will be joining his brother Jermey Shores, who is a defensive lineman at Aurora.  Aurora went 4-6 last seasons, but are former conference champions.  One of the main reasons that Shores drew interest from Aurora coaches was his size.  Drake, 6foot-4, had four catches for 28 yards in his senior year, even though he played with a broken hand for the final third of the season.  Shores was also a member of the track team.

Two Trojans will be receiving scholarships to play baseball.  At 6-foot-5, Taylor Need looks like a giant on the mound to opposing hitters.  He uses he mid-80s fastball to blow by hitters, which helped him earn all-conference as a sophomore.  Need went 5-5 as a junior with a 2.65 ERA and also showed his impressive control striking out 73 hitters and walking 31.  Need has agreed to attend Vincennes for his freshman year of college next year.  Vincennes compiled a 27-11 record last year, but will be losing six pitchers after this season.  Need was also a member of the Trojans basketball team.

Brad Wheeler brings a lot of different elements to the game when he steps onto the baseball field.  Wheeler has the ability to play multiple positions, making him much more valuable in the field.  For the past two seasons, Wheeler has been the starting catcher for the Trojans, but began his high school baseball career-playing outfield.  Wheeler also has the ability to hit for a high average, batting .431 his junior year.  With a high contact rate come chances for more RBI’s.  Wheeler finished 2009 with 41.  Wheeler also showed signs of power hitting six home runs.  Finally, Wheeler’s skill on the base paths and raw speed allowed him to swipe 10 bases last year.  All of the intangibles drew the interest of Parkland College, who gave Wheeler a scholarship.    Parkland is off to a 32-3 start after winning the 2009 World Series title.  Wheeler was a three-sport athlete, also playing golf and basketball.

With these athletes leaving Charleston High School, opportunities arise for the next group of Trojans to step up and take their moment in the spotlight.

Some of the past jerseys purchased by the Charleston Trojan Booster Club

donation given towards the lights at the CHS soccer and softball fields

By: Claire Dau

For the past few weeks, the Charleston School Board has cut hundreds of dollars out of their budget. Everyweek, the students, staff, and teachers are waiting to hear if it was their class, sport, or department that was cut. The Trojan Booster Club does everything in their power to help prevent a sports team from getting cut; but they can not do it alone.

Every year the Charleston Trojan Booster Club donates thousands of dollars to the many different athletic programs at Charleston High School. Those thousands of dollars benefit many people in many different ways.

“The Booster Club provides us with many things throughout all of the seasons,” said senior volleyball team captain Emily Rose.

In the past three years alone, the Trojan Booster Club has donated over $170,000 to Trojan athletics.   The Trojan Booster Club provides the various athletic departments with many different aspects that are essential to that particular sport.

“When we were trying to raise money for the lights on the soccer field the Booster Club donated $50,000,” said former Trojan soccer player Chris Coon.

When it comes time to purchase new uniforms or training supplies the school is unable to afford to pay for them. After paying for transportation fees, coach’s salaries, and paying for referees, the schools budget can not afford it. That’s where the Trojan Booster Club steps in.  The Booster club is a non-profit organization that provides benefits for the various sports throughout Charleston High School and Charleston Middle School.  Without the booster club many of the added benefits such as new uniforms and some equipment would not be possible without the hard work of the individuals that volunteer to help the booster club.

The Trojan Booster Club helps pay for many things in the athletics department varying from tennis gear to football gear and over $2,000 a year in medical training supplies.

“We replace 20 football helmets a year, along with many uniforms for all sports, and medical supplies used by the athletic training staff,” said Booster Club Director Dean Dau.

“Replacing football helmets is a big deal,” said former Trojan football player Trey Ryan. “Without up-to-date helmets in a contact sport like football, the results of a collision could be life threatening.  If it wasn’t for the booster club, I don’t know where our football program would get the up to date equipment that is given to us.”

There is also a $500 scholarship given by the Booster Club each year to Charleston High School that is awarded to one male and one female senior athlete. All of the head coaches for all of the sports are asked to nominate one of their athletes for the Merv Baker Memorial Scholarship sponsored by the Booster Club. Then after the individuals are selected, the nominees are voted on by Booster Club members and the awards are handed out to the student athlete at the annual Senior Awards Night.

“The $500 scholarship was truly an honor to receive,” said 2008 male recipient Clayton Murphy. “It’s kind of a nice gesture that the Booster Club does to reward student athletes for their hard work and effort on the court and also in the classroom.”

Not only does the Booster Club give scholarships to local athletes, but it also makes sure that all the athletes in the various programs are taken care of medically by providing the medics at CHS with medical supplies and other gear in order to prevent or treat any athletic injuries that may occur while on the field for games or practices.

Not only does the Booster Club supply things for the High School sports, they also help out at Charleston Middle School as well. They are currently in the process of updating all of the middle school uniforms to red and gold instead of the current orange and black. This is a very expensive process that can take awhile, but one that the booster club members felt necessary.

The Trojan Booster Club has three formal fundraisers a year. They have one in the summer, one in the fall, and one in the winter.  The benefit of these fundraisers can be wide range such as providing families with a fun filled night, while also raising the money that is needed to fund the athletic programs.

The first home football game of every season the Booster Club is prepared for the Red and Gold Barbeque. This fall fundraiser is a way to make money and bring the community together in a sense of sportsmanship.

In the winter the Booster Club holds its annual Spaghetti Supper at one of the boys’ home basketball games.

“Every year my dad helps out at the Spaghetti Supper,” said Charleston junior Megan Black. “He also attends many of the games and works the concession stands.”

The money from concession stands is when the majority of Booster Club funds come from. All of the concession workers are volunteers. They work many of the games including high school and middle school volleyball, football, soccer, basketball, track, baseball, softball, and wrestling games and tournaments.

“It’s always a challenge trying to get enough people to sign up to work at the concession stands,” said Dau. “Many of the volunteers aren’t members, but they still enjoy helping out and donating their time, we could use all the help we can get.”

None of the positions on the Trojan Booster Club are paid positions; it is strictly a non-profit organization that is meant to help generate funding for the athletics at Charleston High School and Charleston Middle School.

The first Wednesday of every month the Trojan Booster Club meeting in the Charleston High School library; to become a member it is either a $5 a year donation or a $30 for a lifetime. With that donation of $5 or $30, a member gets the perk of getting a bag of free popcorn from the concession stand at home games.

So whether you are playing in the games, or watching from the stands observing how nice the new uniforms look, keep in mind that a few hard working people were the ones that made it all possible, and that they are always looking for volunteers.

More information about the Trojan Booster Club and all that they do can be found at www.trojanboosterclub.com.

The Trojans (14-7) pounded the Generals 13-5 at home with 16 hits to go with the 13 runs.

Joey Miller (6-1) picked up the win in two innings of work as the Trojans sent six pitchers to the mound during the game.

“I thought we played well as a team,” said Charleston coach Derrick Landrus.   “They were really good competition.  We didn’t make any errors and if we keep it up we will be tough to beat.  I think we hit decent, they made some mistakes and we made them pay for it early.  We didn’t do anything in the middle, but got hot in the latter innings.  We took advantage of their mistakes.”

The game got off to a great start for the Trojans as they sent up 11 batters to start off the game.

Phipps led off the game with a single, which was followed by Aaron Bence’s strikeout.

Brad Wheeler was up next, needing one more hit to become the all time leader in hits at Charleston High School, lined a single up the middle to make the record his own.

After the umps gave the ball to Charleston’s bench, Taylor Nead came to bat and lined into a fielder’s choice and in the process of that MacArthur’s shortstop Jon Brownfield made an error that led to Phipps scoring and Wheeler advancing to third base.

With two runners on Evan Clark bombed a ball over the left center fence for a three run home run to give the Trojans a 4-0 lead with only one out.

Levi Ebbert came to bat and got another single as MacArthur’s pitcher David Martin (1-2) continued to struggle on the mound against the Trojans.

He managed to strike out the next two batters which should have ended the inning, but when Joe Fricke struck out, the catcher Bryce Taylor dropped the ball and threw an error trying to get Fricke out at first.

Miller then came up to bat and got the first of his four singles on the night.  Addison scored bringing the score to 5-0 and the leadoff batter, Cam Phipps was up again.

“I got going early and it helped,” Miller said. “I got good swings in the first inning and just kept rolling”

The inning ended on Bence’s second strike out of the inning, leaving MacArthur’s Martin with a rare four strikeouts in one inning.

“When that particular pitcher [Martin] has to throw strikeouts for us to get out of the inning that’s not positive,” said MacArthur coach Elden Bryan.  “He is a pitch-to-contact guy and we got to make plays behind him.  We didn’t make any plays behind him.”

The General’s allowed four errors in the game and that cost them a lot.

“The errors are what have been killing us,” Bryan said.  “We had some kids who just didn’t swing the bat that well again today.  If were going to give up that many runs, we are going to have to produce that many runs, you know, and were not doing that.”

The Trojans put the game away in the fourth with a three run double by Ebbert.  The Trojans added four more runs in the fifth and another in the sixth.

The General’s (7-6) didn’t score their first run until the third inning with Robert Smith knocked in lead-off hitter Kieston Greene with a single for his 16^th RBI of the year.

Greene came up in the fifth inning and drove in his first home run of the season that also scored Dillon Boss, who was walked before Greene.

The Generals attempted a come back scoring a run in the sixth and seventh innings apiece.

This game left a lot of Trojans getting playing time, but according to Landrus it was not a courtesy thing.

“I don’t want it to look like their just coming in, they are good players too,” Landrus said.  “Some of the guys we don’t have playing would be starting for a lot of other teams.  So they are good and I think everyday about my line ups and how I like to get them in there.  It is definitely nice to get them in there.  I fully expect them to get the job done; it is not a courtesy play.”

Box Score

Pitching

Charleston Freshman Kelsie Abolt clears 9ft to win the pole vault at Olney Relays

By: Claire Dau

Pole vault is one of the only events that end in a miss. No matter how high a person vaults, they will always attempt to clear the bar higher and higher until they fail.

For all of the past pole vaulters at Charleston High School the highest clearable height is 9 feet, 9.75 inches, achieved by former Lady Trojan, Cassie Hughes in who was a state qualifier for the Trojans in 2001 and 2002.

Charleston Freshman Kelsie Abolt hopes to extend that height sometime in the next few years. By already vaulting 9 feet, 6 inches, as a freshman Abolt has plenty of time to accomplish that feat.

Abolt decided to try her hand at pole vault as a seventh grader at Charleston Middle School after a friend told her she wouldn’t be able to do it. “In the beginning, it was really about proving him (her friend) wrong,” said Abolt. “I told him he better watch out!”

By the time sectionals rolled around that year Abolt had already proved him wrong. The seventh grader went into the sectional meet being ranked in first place in the pole vault.

She had already cleared the IESA state qualifying height in previous meets, but on the day of sectionals, Abolt did not clear the opening height.

A year later, as an eighth grader, Abolt was ready to prove her self on the day of sectionals. After earning first place at sectionals, Abolt earned fifth place at the IESA state meet with a vault of nine feet.

By achieving the 9 ft mark, Abolt won the eighth grade pole vault record at this middle school by breaking Andrea Darimont’s record.

Darimont was the last Lady Trojan to go to IHSA state in the pole vault back in 2008.

After having such a successful season as an eighth grader, Abolt has set the bar high in an attempt to make it to IHSA state. “State is an experience like no other no matter how you finish,” said Darimont. “Kelsie has the potential and I know she will experience it (IHSA state meet) someday.”

In order to qualify for the IHSA state meet in pole vault, the athlete must either get first or second at the sectional qualifying meet, or they must clear the bar at the qualifying height which is 9 feet.

“Kelsie has consistently been vaulting 9 feet in the meets this year,” said Charleston coach Chad Miller. “She almost broke the school record earlier this season.”

Abolt’s best vault is 9 feet, 6 inches, not far off from the school’s record. “That (achieving the school record) is definitely one of my goals,” said Abolt.

As a freshman, Abolt still has the rest of this season as well as the rest of her high school career.

Another of Abolt’s goals is earning all-conference honors at the Apollo Conference track meet. “There is one girl from Effingham that is always a tough competitor.”

Abolt is one of few athletes on the Charleston track team that only does a field event with no other running events. A lot of the time her practice runs a little differently than that of her teammates.

“I do a lot of vaulting, dynamic and form running, and lifting weights,” said Abolt. “Training for pole vault is tough because it takes every part of your body.”

Abolt is coached not only by coach Miller, but Billy Black also donates some of his time to help her with her form.

The quests for the pole vault record at CHS and a birth to the state track meet are on the horizon for this eager freshman. The Apollo Conference meet will be at Charleston this year on May 6, field events will begin at 3 pm.

Abolt will also be competing for a trip to state at the Mahomet-Seymour Sectional on May 14.

“Even if she (Abolt) doesn’t qualify this year she’s still got three more years,” said Miller. “She’s got the potential to go all the way.”

Friday that could change.

With the Charleston Lady Trojans track and field team only having two meets left before conference, it is time for the athletes to buckle down and focus at this crucial point in their season.  At their last meet the Lady Trojans track and field team finished fourth out of five teams at the Olney Tiger Relays.  Coach Chad Miller said he enjoyed the Olney meet, and that with conference only a couple of weeks away, the Lady Trojans need to buckle down.  “Hopefully we have good showing in our next meet (Urbana Invitational), we have been short on girls all year as you know, and it would mean a lot to them if we came out strong.

The Lady Trojans are yet to win a meet all year, but there are some bright spots for the team as the season closes down.

“We have a couple of girls who have a chance to not only win conference, but go down state,” said freshman pole vaulter Kelsie Abolt.  “Miranda (Hankins) has really down well down the stretch, and we all know what she is capable of from watching her run last year.”

After the Urbana Invitational on Friday, April 30 at 4:30 pma, the Lady Trojans only have a meet Monday May 3rd at Taylorville before they head home for the Apollo Conference Meet that Thursday May 6.

“We have to take it one meet at a time,” said sophomore sprinter Miranda Hankins.  “We can’t get ahead of ourselves.”

With only two meets before conference, it should be interesting to see if the twelve athletes on the girls varsity track and field team can gain some momentum before heading into a conference meet that they will try to win for the first time in three years.

With only one extra base hit, the Trojans put up 12 runs against the Cumberland Pirates today in a 12-2 victory.

After scoring one run in the third inning off an triple from leadoff hitter Calvin Bertrand, Charleston exploded for seven runs in the fourth.  The Trojans used plate discipline drawing four walks and a hit by pitch.  ”Their starter just appeared to run out of gas,” said Charleston coach Wade Hennig, talking about Cumberland’s starting pitcher, Butler.  ”We focused on being patient at the plate and it paid off for us.”  Nick Wilson would add another run with a sacrifice fly to right field, giving the Trojans an 8 to 2 lead.

Stolen bases were a big part of Charleston’s success against Cumberland, constantly putting runners in scoring position for Trojan hitter.  Out of the five Trojan stolen bases, four of those runners ended up scoring.  Coach Hennig focused on getting good jumps on Cumberland’s pitchers and used his teams speed to an advantage.  ”Our running game was one of the keys to the game because it led to majority of our runs,” said Hennig.

The only sign of life from Cumberland’s offense came in the third inning when Henderson started the inning out with a walk.  Taschner would follow the walk with a double to the left field wall, knocking in Henderson for the first Cumberland run.  Two batters later, Brumleve would single in Taschner with a single up the middle.

Other than those two runs in the third inning, starting pitcher Tommy Long was  dominant allowing three hits, walking three and striking out seven.  ”His ground ball pitches and  strikeouts were really working.  Long kept the ball down and our defense took care of the rest,” said Hennig.

In the sixth inning the Trojans would start a rally after Tevin Brookings reached on an error.  Nick Corgie would then single to left field putting runners on first and second base.  Wilson followed that by knocking in Brookins with a single down the right field line making the score 7-3.  Bryson Shepherd, who went 3 for 4, would follow Wilson with a single to right field knocking in Corgie.  

After Shepherd stole second base to put runners at second and third base, Orion Roberts would walk for the second time in the game, loading the bases for Sawyer Newell.  Newell would make it a 10 run game with a single to shallow right center, knocking in two runs.

The Trojans ended the night with 10 hits and Hennig expressed how impressed his team has performed this season.  ”Our game all year has just been hitting line drives and putting the ball in play.  We don’t have much power on our team, so we try to put runners on base and move them around.”

Hennig went on to talk about his pitching staff and defense as well saying, ” I knew our pitching would be good and our defense would be solid, but our offense has surprised me.  We are consistently getting 10-12 hits a game and that has been a huge reason for our teams success this year.”

The JV Trojans (16-2) are now left with only 10 games on the season, with six of those being in the Apollo conference.  The JV Trojans next game will be away at Neoga on friday at 4:30.

http://www.jg-tc.com/

http://www.charleston.k12.il.us/chs/athletics/athletics.htm

Trojans celebrate a home run during their last home game against Danville

By Dion Martorano

With a high of 69 degrees and no clouds in the sky, the weather forecast looks to be set for a great day of baseball in Charleston.

The Trojans will send junior Joey Miller (5-1) to the mound to start the game against MacArthur, and it is expected that Cam Phipps (5-2) will follow Miller in the pitching order.

Trojans coach Derrick Landrus said he hopes to get at least two innings apiece out of Miller and Phipps.

In the Trojans last game they played against Olney last Saturday they came away with a win in 10 innings and got scoreless pitching from Miller (7 innings) and Phipps (3 innings), Landrus said.

The Trojans won that game 1-0 and were leading the second game of the double header 2-0 before it got postponed twice.  The make up date has not yet been determined.

The Trojans have won the last two games after dropping three straight games and are currently 14-7 on the season.

Trojan senior Taylor Nead said that he, Brad Wheeler and Cam Phipps are all batting over .400 right now and fans should watch out for them to lead the team against MacArthur.

The last four games of the MacArthur series has been split since 2005, 2-2.  The Trojans won in 2005 (15-5) and 2006 (11-9) before losing the last two games in 2008 (12-1) and last year in 2009 (9-6).  There was no game played between the two in 2007.

“They [MacArthur] got six runs in the first and it was just too much to overcome,” Landrus said.  “They were led by Jordan Manney (now at Lake Land) and shortstop Blair Springfield (drafted by the Chicago Cubs).  I know they have a couple of really good hitters back even though these two are gone.  I expect them to be able to swing the bats as they impressed me as much as anybody with the sticks last year.”

MacArthur, led by coach Eldon Bryan, are currently 7-5 this season, but have dropped three of their last four games, including a 10-0 loss yesterday evening.

MacArthur’s top pitcher is Sean Beal (4-0, 3.40 ERA, 36 K’s) and Miles Henderson (1-0, 1 SV, 8 K’s in 6 IP).

At the plate, the Generals are led by Robert Smith (.457, 4 HR, 15 RBIs) and Kieston Greene (.370, 3 3B, 16 runs, 12 BB).

As a team, MacArthur is batting .263 with 76 runs scored this season, an average of over six runs a game.

The keys to the game for the Trojans are to keep their bats hot and play good defense, according to coach Landrus.

The first pitch of the game will be at 4:30 p.m. in Charleston.