It wasn’t Marquette‘s prettiest game at the plate or defensively, but the Cru did just enough to hold on late against Putnam County on a windy Thursday night at Masinelli Field in Ottawa.

The Hinckley-Big Rock/Somonauk/Leland and Serena/Newark/Earlville co-op girls soccer teams each played solid throughout Thursday 2-2 tie in a match held at Serena High School.

The Ottawa softball team - behind two home runs from winning pitcher Kennedy Kane - topped Rochelle on Wednesday while the Seneca baseball/softball teams rolled to wins, and the Ottawa girls soccer team set a program record for wins. Plus, more results from around the Times area.

The IHSA released its 2026 softball postseason schedules Wednesday. Here are the paths awaiting teams from across the Illinois Valley, including Seneca, Princeton, Ottawa, La Salle-Peru, Streator, St. Bede, Marquette and more.

Ottawa's Adam Swanson continues to surge, Streator and Serena pitching staffs have been solid, and Marquette to face a pair of solid opponents on Saturday in The Times Baseball Notebook.

The Ottawa baseball team split a pair of games with Sycamore on Tuesday, while Somonauk and Serena both won to share the Little Ten Conference title. Plus, more results from around the Times area.

The Streator baseball team finished a conference series sweep of Reed-Custer on Tuesday, with seniors Cole Winterrowd, Clay Christoff, Joe Hoekstra and Talon Melvin all starring in a 9-2 victory.

Sycamore senior pitcher Bella Jacobs, despite a blister on the thumb of her pitching hand, fired a four-hit shutout with 11 strikeouts against Ottawa at Peck Park on Tuesday to help the Spartans clinch the outright Interstate 8 Conference championship.

Sycamore defeated Ottawa 2-0 on Thursday, May 5, 2026 at Peck Park in Ottawa.