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The Taylorville baseball team and Argenta-Oreana had a no decision after a 6-5 Argenta-Oreana lead on Tuesday night when rainfall led to the umpires calling the game over in the bottom of the fifth.  The Tornadoes had been looking to regain the lead in a back-and-forth matchup. Because the game didn't reach the maximum number of innings, the game was called. 

Argenta-Oreana took the lead in the top of the first on an error.  The Tornadoes responded in kind in the second when Alex Caldwell came home on a wild pitch.  The Bombers took a three-run lead in the third, starting with a two-run home run by Jaxon Finch.  Ashton Sample drove in the other run with a double.

The Tornadoes matched them again, though.  Alex Caldwell came through again with a two-RBI single after Kason Pembroke drove one in with a hit of his own.  They went in front the following inning on a sacrifice fly by Colton Gatton.  It drove home Grayden Hughes, who singled and stole second as part of his route home. 

Taylorville pitching struggled in the fifth.  Blake Ladage - on in relief of Carter Cappellin - walked two batters on either side of a flyout.  Two balls into the next plate appearance, he switched positions with Hughes who was playing at shortstop until then.  Hughes walked two batters and conceded a single, which put Argenta-Oreana a run ahead.  Hughes regained command and produced two straightforward outs to get out of the inning. 

Drew Morgan reached first on an error with one out in the bottom of the fifth.  With Zaydyn Donaldson at bat, the umpires announced the game would be abandoned due to the beginning of rainfall, which was forecast along with thunderstorms in the evening, in addition to the waning daylight.  The scoreline of 6-5 with Argenta-Oreana in front was declared to be the final score.

Grayden Hughes was named the New Country Nicole Patrick Country Financial Player of the Game for his work at the plate and on the mound.  He also scored his side's first third-inning run.  For the Bombers, Jaxon Finch went 2-3 with a double on top of the aforementioned home run.  

Taylorville stays at 3-3 ahead of a home doubleheader against Lanphier.  Argenta-Oreana stays at 4-2 and will host LeRoy next.

Acquiring a degree from a community college or university is always a good way to transition from your high school career and into the beginning of your future. Especially if you can get in to a college through a sports scholarship.

For some however, it may be hard to determine what school you want to attend for your collegiate years of life. High School Senior Maxx Grieme on the other hand, knows exactly where he wants to go and why.

Grieme recently made a big decision to commit to Heartland Community College on a baseball scholarship. His commitment to Heartland was signed and celebrated in front of several friends, family members, and peers.

As far as why he chose a junior college, Greime states that this choice fits whats best for him and his family. More importantly, he likes the coaches, the town and its community members.

Grieme also states that baseball has been one of his passions for most of his life, and that he loves working on it every day. 

Of course, for Grieme to get to where he is standing today, it took support from more than just teammates. Grieme says he feels blessed, and is thankful for the sacrifice and support from his family and his trainers.

Grieme says he is excited to start his first semester at Heartland Community College.

Get all of your local news, sports, and weather at taylorvilledailynews.com

The Central A&M softball team eased past Okaw Valley 14-4 in five innings on Wednesday.  Players in every batting order position for the Raiders crossed the plate in the game. 

Central A&M started strong, putting up two runs in the first inning.  They added eight in the second, with the majority coming with two outs in the inning.  Okaw Valley responded with four runs of their own in the third, a stretch started by a Gracie Hart triple with one out.  The Raiders sealed the run-rule win with three runs in the fourth and one in the fifth to walk off as winners. 

Olivia Kerby picked up the win in the circle.  She pitched three innings and conceded two earned runs from five hits and struck out two hitters.  Riley Hazelwonder threw the final two innings in relief, striking out every batter but one, with the other coming on a groundout.

At the plate, Kylee Snearly went 3-4 including a double, an RBI, and two runs.  The honor of Seitz Funeral Homes Player of the Game, however, went to freshman Wesleigh Cochran.  She also went 3-4 and had two RBIs.

Central A&M improves to 2-2 ahead of their next game, which is at home against Arthur-Okaw Christian.  Okaw Valley remains winless in four games and travels to St. Teresa on Thursday.

Emma Selhime struck out 11 and only allowed one hit as the Pawnee Indians defeated the Central A&M Raiders in Softball on a cold Monday afternoon in Moweaqua 12-0 in 5 innings. The Indians scored one in the first inning after a base hit from Addie Boblitt scored Ava Rodriguez. The Indians would add three in the second and go scoreless in the third and the fourth, but in the fifth inning, Pawnee continued to get hit after hit that culminated with an inside-the-park homerun from Addie Boblitt that gave the Indians an 12 run lead cushion. 

The Raiders would finally get in the hit colum with an Ava McPeak base hit in the fifth but she would get tagged out in a fielders choice from Brooklyn Jackson later on and that would end the Raiders rally. Central A&M falls to 1-2.  They will face Okaw Valley on March 25th. The Seitz Funeral Home Player of the game was Ava McPeak for her defensive prowess. 

The Taylorville baseball team is celebrating an opening day 5-3 win against Nokomis.  Three home runs helped the Tornadoes to two wins from three to begin the season. 

Nokomis got started early, with an RBI-single from Izaak Doyen bringing home Blain Goodwin in the opening inning.  The first of Taylorville's homers levelled the proceedings in the second when Fallon Turner cleared the fence just inside the right-field foul pole.  A pair of errors allowed Nokomis to regain the lead in the third before Maxx Grieme smashed his team's second home run to a similar location as the first.  

The away side held a 3-2 lead before the Tornadoes put up two in the fifth inning.  Walks, sacrifices, and a pair of errors proved troublesome for Blain Goodwin, pitching in relief for Kannon Jonas.  Doyen took over to record the final out and leave the bases loaded.  He did, however, concede the third home run to Isaac Repscher in the sixth inning.  Nokomis put two runners on base with one out in the seventh but could not bring any home.

Kason Pembroke pitched the complete game for Taylorville.  He gave up one earned run on six hits, four walks, and one hit batter while striking out seven.  Colton Gatton was the only Tornado with multiple hits - a single and a double.  That, combined with key defensive plays, won him the title of New Country Nicole Patrick Country Financial Player of the Game.  For Nokomis, Blain Goodwin went 2-4 with a stolen base and the aforementioned opening run. 

Taylorville improves to 2-1 ahead of a trip to Litchfield on Tuesday.

It was a little dribbler back to the pitcher.  It shouldn't have been anything but a routine play that would have ended the game, but as it was all day, nothing had been routine. Jeffrey Klawitter of the Heyworth Hornets threw it over to first and it never got there.  The Central A&M Raiders Baseball Team scored two runs courtesy of Parker Elliott in the bottom of the seventh with two outs to walk off against the Hornets in a 3-2 win. 

The Raiders got a strong start from Jaxson Snow, who was one of their top innings eaters last year.  Head Coach Shawn McQuire said he was just so proud of his guys. "This game should be shut down 0-0 for darkness.  All the runs were scored off of mistakes made by the other team.  I'm just so proud of our guys for hanging with this very talented team."

The Raiders had a good crowd on hand for their home/season opener. They were supposed to have a game on Tuesday but it was called for weather. Rhett McClain who came in to pitch in relief picked up the win for the Raiders. The Raiders had runners on second and third in the sixth with only one out but couldn't get any runs across trailing 2-1. 

Snow was named the Seitz Funeral Player of the Game.  Congratulations to Jaxson Snow.  The Raiders improve to 1-0.  

Grace Rogers is the Chill Nicole Patrick Country Financial Player of the Year for Taylorville girls basketball for 2025/26.  The junior accepted the honor during the team’s end-of-season banquet Tuesday night.  Rogers finished the season averaging just shy of ten points per game; she finished as the second-highest scorer on the team, only barely missing out on top spot.  She led the team in rebounds and steals and also earned a first-team all-conference spot.

Rogers says honors like this are what push her to work hard and make a difference for her team on the court. 

The team finished 10-22 and fourth of the six teams in the Apollo Conference.  They reached the regional final in the IHSA 3A playoffs, where they lost away to MacArthur after an impressive revenge win against Lanphier in the semifinal.  96.5 The Chill carried live commentary of every Tornado girls basketball game this season.

Hart Media Group’s Reid Kamhi presented the Chill Nicole Patrick Country Financial Player of the Year award – along with the Player of the Game certificates for each game – at Tuesday’s banquet. 

Taylorville Senior Ella Appel has chosen the college that she will play volleyball at after Taylorville--Blackburn College.  The senior committed to Blackburn in a small ceremony in front of friends and family on Friday afternoon. She says one of the big reasons she picked Blackburn was the atmosphere.

Appel says that she has had a lot of influences in her time of playing volleyball and in school and she is appreciative of all of their support over the years.

Appel says that when it comes to advice for beginners she encourages everyone to be a team player and be there for each other. 

For more information on Blackburn college, visit https://blackburn.edu/. 

The Taylorville boys basketball team held their end of the year banquet on Wednesday night.  The boys finished the year 14-17 but finished second in the Apollo Conference by themselves, an accomplishment Coach Ryan Brown spoke highly of.  The team had several games that came down to overtime, or close finishes and Coach Brown said that the boys record was not indicative of their season. 

Sophomore Brock Brown was named the WTIM Nicole Patrick Country Financial Player of the Year. He says he was very humbled by the award. 

Brown says that the chemistry between him and his teammates allowed him to have fun this year and he is excited for the future. 

Senior Landon Bowsher, says that he has enjoyed playing with the core group of guys over the last four years and beyond. 

Bowsher, who’s dad Doug is one of the assistant coaches, says that sometimes his dad can be a little intimidating, says he has made him the man he is today. He says for the kids out there, keep grinding. 

WTIM’s Leroy Kleimola presented the Player of the game certificates also at the banquet Wednesday.

 evening.