July 14, 2025 Local Stories in and Around St. Joseph, Illinois

SJO softball vies for 11th straight regional title on Saturday

A year ago, the St. Joseph-Ogden High School softball team defeated Maroa-Forsyth to win a Class 2A sectional title.


On Saturday, the two programs will meet again, this time with a 2A regional title on the line.


Second-seeded SJO advanced to the regional title game — slated for an 11 a.m. first pitch — after defeating No. 6 Monticello 11-0 in five innings on Tuesday during a regional semifinal game.


Bailey Dowling, the state’s leader in career home runs, had a dazzling performance, going 4 for 4 with three home runs and six RBI in the win against Monticello. The Alabama commit now has 65 career home runs going into Saturday’s game against No. 3 Maroa-Forsyth (18-8).


Hannah Dukeman (1 for 3, two RBI, two runs scored) and Savannah Smith (two RBI) both contributed significantly at the plate for SJO. Kaylee Ward, Katie Poulter, Zoey Witruk and Jaycee Lewis also had a hit, with Lewis scoring three runs. Poulter added two stolen bases and Raegan Crippen added an RBI. That was more than enough offensive support for Witruk, who stifled Monticello and threw a one-hit shutout, striking out seven.


“Having players like Bailey and Hannah make a coach’s job easy,” said Larry Sparks, SJO’s first-year coach who earned his first postseason win with Tuesday’s triumph. “They are not only great hitters, but are great team leaders both on the field and in the dugout. When they speak, everyone around them listens. It is truly invaluable.”


So are the performances like the rest of SJO’s lineup on Tuesday, particularly when opposing teams opt to pitch carefully to Dowling and Dukeman.


“Kaylee and Savannah have provided insurance for us and have, for the most part, made teams pay for walking Dowling and Dukeman,” Sparks said. “Savannah has just been consistent day-in and day-out. Successful teams have got to have players like her to be successful.”


SJO owns a 9-0 win against Maroa-Forsyth when the two teams met on April 1 in St. Joseph. The Trojans advanced to Saturday’s game with a 3-0 win against Argenta-Oreana in Tuesday’s other regional semifinal game.
The early-season win by SJO against Maroa-Forsyth was one of 11 straight to start the season undefeated. The Spartans faced some adversity this season, losing four straight games in mid-April, but Sparks feels his team is hitting its stride.


“The main key was getting in some practices during all the rainouts and getting better at the areas that were costing us games,” Sparks said. “It’s hard to fix things on the fly when you’re playing five and six days a week. It was more mentally tacking on the returnees more than the newer younger players. It was just some stuff we had to play through, and it’s about getting better every day.”


More performances like the one Witruk threw against Monticello could help the Spartans go a long way as SJO tries to win its 11th straight regional title and 36th overall in program history on Saturday.


“Early on, our pitchers were all basically trying to work their way back into pitching shape after coming off injuries,” Sparks said. “As of late we’ve done a better job of attacking the strike zone and limiting our pitch counts to where they can throw more days a week. The postseason schedule plays better into where our pitching is right now playing two days a week versus five to six days.”


If SJO is able to defeat Maroa-Forsyth, the Spartans would advance to next week’s Olympia Sectional. SJO would face either Olympia or Prairie Central at 4:30 p.m. next Wednesday, two Illini Prairie Conference foes that SJO has beaten this season. The Spartans topped Prairie Central 13-3 in five innings at home on April 23 and won 7-2 at Olympia on May 7.


“Winning a regional at SJO is more of an expectation more than anything else, but I would say to win that and move on would take this season to the next level,” Sparks said. “Anything we get after that is a bonus. I know this: once regionals started, I wouldn’t want to look past us. We may not have the record of teams in the past, but we’re battle tested and have a lot of heart and character.”

Banner
Related Posts

Armstrong, Lannert key three-game win streak for SJO girls’ basketball

December 6, 2021

December 6, 2021

The St. Joseph-Ogden High School girls’ basketball team ventured away from its home gymnasium for the first time last week....

SJO wrestling wraps up successful season

March 5, 2024

March 5, 2024

Holden Brazelton led a trio of St. Joseph-Ogden wrestlers who competed at the IHSA Class 1Astate finals last week at...

SJO softball remains unbeaten

March 28, 2019

March 28, 2019

A strong offensive showing by the St. Joseph-Ogden High School softball team and baseball teams led to wins earlier this...

Cain, Pence help SJO boys’ basketball post two wins

January 27, 2020

January 27, 2020

Playing a competitive nonconference schedule is nothing new for the St. Joseph-Ogden High School boys’ basketball team. The Spartans face...

Burnett, Rose help SJO baseball post three wins

April 22, 2019

April 22, 2019

The past week featured a bit of everything for the St. Joseph-Ogden High School baseball team. Solid pitching. Timely hitting....

Seeley’s hat trick leads SJO soccer to first win

September 10, 2019

September 10, 2019

Prolific goal scoring highlighted both of St. Joseph-Ogden High School’s soccer matches last week. One went in favor of the...

Griebat dances her heart out

January 24, 2019

January 24, 2019

Dancing is what Haley Griebat loves to do. And she’ll get a chance to do so on the state’s biggest...

SJO girls’ basketball wins regional title, sees season end in sectional semifinal defeat

March 5, 2024

March 5, 2024

The beginning of the season didn’t treat the St. Joseph-Ogden girls’ basketball team well.The Spartans slogged through the first month...

On the call: Sjuts delivers in PA role for Spartans

September 20, 2019

September 20, 2019

Even if you don’t know his name, chances are you know his voice. For nearly 20 years Keith Sjuts has...

Heritage softball hires new coach

March 8, 2019

March 8, 2019

Greg Immke is no longer the Heritage softball coach. The Heritage Board of Education accepted his resignation at their February...

SJO girls’ basketball wins tournament title in Fisher

December 2, 2019

December 2, 2019

The St. Joseph-Ogden girls’ basketball team already has a tournament championship to its name this season, but the Spartans are...

Burnett, Bigger spark SJO volleyball on recent win streak

October 8, 2019

October 8, 2019

A big hitter. And a superb setter. Every quality volleyball team needs that combination, and the St. Joseph-Ogden High School...

Dowling wins Gatorade Player of the Year, SJO softball bows out in sectional semifinals

June 6, 2019

June 6, 2019

Late May provided bittersweet moments for the St. Joseph-Ogden High School softball team. Sweet in the sense junior shortstop Bailey...

Walsh giving back: Former SJO quarterback now an assistant with the Spartans

November 2, 2019

November 2, 2019

Dalton Walsh has grown up around St. Joseph-Ogden High School football. Quite literally. “I remember being a kid and always...

SJO Board to discuss basketball at November meeting

November 4, 2020

November 4, 2020

Basketball isn’t a sure thing at St. Joseph-Ogden High School this winter. The district will have to decide whether to...

Comments
Leave a Reply