The Rock Falls softball team couldn’t hold off a late Stillman Valley rally, and the Rockets suffered their first Big Northern Conference loss of the season, falling 5-4 on the road Wednesday.
Rock Falls (16-4, 8-1 BNC) led 4-2 going into the bottom of the sixth, but the Cardinals scored three runs in that inning to take the lead. The Rockets couldn’t answer in the top of the seventh.
Katie Thatcher was 3 for 4 with a double, a run and an RBI, and she also went the distance in the circle, allowing five runs (four earned) and seven hits, with six strikeouts and four walks.
Brooke Howard hit a solo home run for the Rockets and scored twice, and Patty Teague and Olivia Osborne also added RBIs.
Geneseo 18, Erie-Prophetstown 0: The Panthers lost a nonconference game at home to the Maple Leafs.
Orangeville 5, Polo 2: The Marcos got RBI doubles from Camrynn Jones and Karlea Frey, but lost an NUIC crossover game on the road.
Cheyenna Wilkins and Sydnei Rahn scored the runs for Polo. Wilkins allowed four unearned runs, five hits and a hit batter in four innings pitched, while Frey gave up an earned run and a hit in two innings, with a strikeout.
Dakota 6, Forreston 5 (8 inn.): The Indians scored a run in the seventh to tie it up, then won it with a walk-off solo home run in the eighth to top the visiting Cardinals in an NUIC crossover contest.
Rylee Broshous doubled, homered and drove in two runs for Forreston (15-3), and Brooke Boettner singled, doubled, scored twice and added an RBI. Alaina Miller went 4 for 5, and Jenna Greenfield had a pair of singles and an RBI.
Miller allowed three unearned runs and five hits in four innings pitched, striking out four and walking one. Aubrey Sanders gave up three runs (one earned) and three hits in three innings, with two strikeouts and one walk.
Baseball
Annawan-Wethersfield 5, AFC 0: The Raiders lost a nonconference game in Ashton, as three Titan pitchers combined to strike out nine and walk one in a four-hitter.
Caleb Thomas had two hits, and Carson Rueff and Griffin Bushman also had singles for AFC. Aaron Lester allowed five runs (four earned) and five hits in 4 2/3 innings, with five strikeouts and three walks, and Thomas gave up one hit in 2 1/3 hitless, scoreless innings of relief, striking out two.
Geneseo 12, Erie-Prophetstown 1 (5 inn.): The Panthers managed just one hit in a nonconference loss at home.
Reece Duncan had the lone hit and RBI for Erie-Prophetstown, driving in Braedyn Frank in the fourth inning.
Three Panther pitchers combined to allow 12 earned runs, 11 hits, five walks and five hit batsmen, with seven strikeouts.
Girls soccer
Sycamore 4, Dixon 0: The Duchesses dropped a nonconference game on the road, despite nine saves in goal from Maddy McLane.
Dixon (7-6) managed just four shots on goal, but still went into halftime in a scoreless tie.
Boys track & field
Milledgeville Triangular: The Missiles scored 86 points to defeat West Carroll (34) and Pearl City (18) in a three-team meet at Floyd Daub Field.
Draven Zier and JJ Prowant were double-winners for Milledgeville-Eastland, as Zier won the 100 (11.73 seconds) and 400 (52.32), and Prowant won both the 1,600 (6:06.74) and the 3,200 (12:45.05), and took second in the 800 (2:42.51).
Zier, Konner Johnson (12.02 seconds), Kolton Wilk (12.05) and Adam Awender (12.29) took the top four spots in the 100, and Wilk (24.07 seconds), Bryce Aude (25.20) and Konner Johnson (24.57) went 1-2-3 in the 200. Wilk also placed second in the long jump (6.00 meters) and third in the 400 (56.84), and Zier took third in the long jump (5.50 meters).
Kacen Johnson won the 110 hurdles (15.61seconds), and Parker Krogman won the 300 hurdles (42.61) and was second in the 110 hurdles (17.06); Kacen Johnson was runner-up in the 300 hurdles (45.10).
The Missiles were the only team that ran in the 4x100 (47.81 seconds by Tim Farrell, Krogman, Awender and Konner Johnson), 4x200 (1:39.67 by Farrell, Awender, Aude and Kacen Johnson), and 4x800 (10:51.4 by Landon Frederick, Jameson Pannkink, Mayson Meinert, Owen Rayhorn). The 4x400 was not run.
Giovanni Gallagher led the Thunder with a win in the shot put (10.52 meters) and a second place in the discus (20.18 meters), while Dalton Duggan took third (8.36 in shot put, 18.69 in discus) and Durlin Richardson finished fourth (7.64 in shot put, 17.54 in discus) in both of those events.
Roscoe Davies won the 800 (2:25.18) for West Carroll, and Raef Pickard-Shintgen won the long jump (6.20 meters). Zaiden Smith added a runner-up finish in the 400 (53.12 seconds), Joseph Blasen placed second in the 3,200 (12:45.81), and Roger Laborn took third in both the 110 hurdles (20.15 seconds) and 300 hurdles (48.78).
Girls track & field
Stillman Valley Quad: Forreston-Polo took the team title in a four-team meet, scoring 101 points to nearly double-up Lena-Winslow (56.5). Host Stillman Valley took third (48.5), and North Boone finished fourth (34).
Autum Pritchard swept the sprints as a four-event winner for the Cardinals. She took the top spot in the 100 (13.48 seconds), 200 (28.34) and 400 (1:03.82), and teamed with Elsa Monaco, Ennen Ferris and Letrese Buisker to win the 4x100 relay (54.92 seconds).
Buisker also won the 300 hurdles (53.60 seconds) and the high jump (1.52 meters), and Sydni Badertscher swept the throws, taking the shot put (11.00 meters) and the discus (32.75 meters). Monaco won the long jump (4.48 meters) and took third in the 100 (13.89 seconds), and Courtney Grobe won the 100 hurdles (18.28 seconds) and placed third in the 300 hurdles (55.75).
Grobe also joined Hannah Harvey, Kyla Lamm and Jayleigh Newill to win the 4x800 (11:56.66).
Laynie Mandrell was second in the 300 hurdles (53.68 seconds) and third in the triple jump (8.92 meters) for Forreston-Polo, and Bekah Zeigler was runner-up in the triple jump (8.95 meters).