2 weeks Ago By The State Journal-Register
Here are The State Journal-Register's athlete of the week nominees. The poll closes at noon on Friday. Information about the nominees is below.
Williamsville's Elle Smithers won last week's poll. Top baseball performers: Drew Ward rallies SHG with walk-off single, plus more area resultsTop softball performers: Pana's Joey Laker comes up clutch, plus other top softball performersTop soccer, track performers: Rochester's Kate Gross dashes SHG in girls soccer, plus other top soccer and track performersIf you have trouble viewing the poll, click on this link.Adalyn Boblitt, Pawnee, softballThe junior launched two grand slams in an 11-1 win over Riverton.
She finished with eight RBIs and two runs on Wednesday.Kate Gross, Rochester, girls soccerThe sophomore threaded the ball inside the near post with under 12 minutes left for the go-ahead goal and a 2-1 Central State Eight Conference win over Sacred Heart-Griffin on Tuesday. Assisted by Alaina Stock, it was Gross' second goal of the season.
Joey Laker, Pana, softballThe junior hit the go-ahead 2-RBI double in the sixth inning with two outs in 5-3 win over Carlinville on Friday. She also supplied two singles.Rylann Law, Chatham Glenwood, girls soccerThe star senior delivered the hat trick in a 3-2 win over Pleasant Plains on Tuesday.
Samuel Long, Jacksonville Routt, baseballThe junior hit a three-run double to left field with two outs in the bottom of the seventh as the Rockets rallied past Chatham Glenwood 10-9 on Wednesday at Nichols Park. He finished with three RBIs.Jordyn Loveless, Carlinville, girls soccerThe senior ripped off four goals and Carlinville posted a 5-0 win over Pana on Tuesday.
Nathan Matoush, Hillsboro, baseballThe senior ace threw a one-hitter with 18 strikeouts and just one walk as Hillsboro defeated Vandalia 2-1 on Friday.Grady Mueller, Chatham Glenwood, baseballThe junior hit the walk-off 2-RBI single with two outs after Dylan Huff initiated the rally with a single in the seventh inning in an 8-7 win over Jacksonville at Bob Erickson Field on Tuesday.Lexie Shimkus, Pleasant Plains, softballThe sophomore smashed a grand slam with no outs in the top of the ninth inning as the Cardinals outlasted Maroa-Forsyth 10-6 on Tuesday.
Shimkus finished 2-for-4 with five RBIs.Piper Taylor, Auburn/Lutheran, softballThe senior catcher jumpstarted the Trojans with a 2-RBI double in the first inning before tacking on a key single to begin the third inning in a 3-2 win over Williamsville on Thursday.Aubrey Vogel, Petersburg PORTA/A-C Central, softballThe junior mustered two home runs and finished 3-for-3 with seven RBIs and four runs in a 13-3 win over Jacksonville.
Mia Volpert, Springfield High, softballThe senior ace started the 10th inning with a walk before scoring the winning run on an error prompted by a Bella Pagliara groundball in a 2-1 win over Sacred Heart-Griffin on Thursday. She also led off the first inning with a solo home run. She totaled 23 strikeouts in the circle, giving up just three hits and five walks with no earned runs.
Drew Ward, Sacred Heart-Griffin, baseballThe junior delivered the walk-off 2-run single with no outs in the bottom of the seventh inning in a 5-4 win over Southeast on Thursday.— Trevor Lawrence contributed to this pollPast winnersWilliamsville's Elle Smithers: Week 30 athlete of the weekHillsboro's Briley Kirby: Week 29 athlete of the weekHavana's Kaydi Miller: Week 28 athlete of the weekLitchfield's Max Leitschuh: Week 27 athlete of the weekStaunton's Ethan Sharp: Week 26 athlete of the weekStaunton's Ele Feldmann: Week 25 athlete of the weekGillespie's Amari Vickery: Week 24 athlete of the weekMount Pulaski's Alyson Murphy: Week 23 athlete of the weekKincaid South Fork's Angelina Ippolito: Week 22 athlete of the weekCarlinville's Kaitlyn Reels: Week 21 athlete of the weekRochester's Khorbin Gregory: Week 20 athlete of the weekMason City Illini Central's Brody Folkes and David Bard: Week 19 athletes of the weekAuburn's Ryan Lash: Week 18 athlete of the weekRochester's Khordell Gregory: Week 17 athlete of the weekNorth Mac's Taylor Keirs: Week 16 athlete of the weekMount Olive's Lauren Bailey: Week 15 athlete of the weekSpringfield High's Aniyah Rhinehouse: Week 14 athlete of the weekSoutheast's Zaria Weston: Week 13 athlete of the weekPleasant Plains' Anna Weber: Week 12 athlete of the weekPawnee's Carson Wort: Week 11 athlete of the weekWilliamsville's Griffin Liles: Week 10 athlete of the weekStaunton's Lilly Troeckler: Week 9 athlete of the weekNiantic Sangamon Valley's Jaeger Hill: Week 8 athlete of the weekWilliamsville's Matthew Miller: Week 7 athlete of the weekStaunton's Bryce Coalson: Week 6 athlete of the weekCarlinville's Isabella Tiburzi: Week 5 athlete of the weekCarlinville's Noah Byots: Week 4 athlete of the weekPawnee's Carson Wort: Week 3 athlete of the weekLincoln's Gabe Smith: Week 2 athlete of the weekPana's Cash Lynch: Week 1 athlete of the weekThis article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Springfield area athlete of the week poll, April 14-19.
