SCOTS, MIDDENDORF CROWNED MWC CHAMPS

Monmouth golf coach Dave Ragone anticipated a few harrowing moments Saturday on the final day of the Midwest Conference Championships at the Aldeen Golf Club in Rockford.

"I was not very comfortable going into the third day," he said. "We had a chance to pull away a little on the second day, and when we didn’t, I was a little nervous."

But when it came down to the end, the only tough spot for Ragone was what to tell his first-place golfer as he played the final two holes.

By that time, the Fighting Scots had already clinched their third MWC title in the past six years, taking an 11-stroke lead on the first day and never relinquishing it at the 54-hole event. As coaches do, Ragone worried when Monmouth wasn’t able to take advantage of "ideal scoring conditions" on the second day, but the Scots’ lead remained at 11 strokes.

When Ragone checked his team’s score midway through the final round, he learned that his four scoring players were all around par, and that was still the case through 15 holes, meaning the championship, which they wound up winning by 19 strokes, was in the bag.

That’s when Ragone went looking for senior Doug Middendorf (Peoria, Ill./Notre Dame), who opened the tournament with a first-round 74 and, to that point, was the wire-to-wire leader for individual honors.

"When I found him, he was on No. 17, and his drive was just off the fairway," recalled Ragone. "I asked him, ‘What information do you want?’ The first thing he asked was ‘How’s the team doing?’ I told him we were going to win. So then I asked him how he was doing, and he was at two-over. I knew what (his closest competitor) had shot, so I told him ‘78 wins this thing.’"

Middendorf went on to par No. 17 and, to avoid the considerable water trouble on the par-5 finishing hole, played a series of iron shots, capping off his final round 75 with a meaningless bogey to win by four strokes. He became Monmouth’s first MWC medalist since 1981.

"Doug didn’t play well at the South Division tournament," said Ragone of his rounds of 83 and 84 the week prior. "But he was very focused, determined and relaxed this weekend. He also played very smart." Asked what had changed to lift Middendorf from a poor week to the MWC championship, the veteran coach smiled and said, "This is a direct quote from Doug: ‘I am pin-seeking. My irons are on fire.’"

His teammates weren’t bad, either, as three of them also earned All-MWC honors by placing in the top 10. The list included senior Justin Martin (Monmouth, Ill./Warren), junior Aaron Thiel (Williamsfield, Ill./Williamsfield) and senior Nick Harwick (Canton, Ill./Canton). Martin shot in the 70s each day and placed fifth with a 235, Thiel had back-to-back rounds of 77 to place seventh at 236 and Harwick fired a final round 76 to card a 240. Senior Lee Radford (Orion, Ill./Orion) and sophomore Jake Kilberg (Rock Falls, Ill./Rock Falls) rounded out the six-man squad.

Ragone said Harwick, in particular, was an interesting story. Through 36 holes, the senior was not ranked in the top 10. But he definitely found the silver lining in a cloud that surfaced early in the final round.

"He broke his driver on his first tee shot," said Ragone. "The driver head went 50 yards and the drive went 250. So Nick was forced to use his 2-iron the rest of the day, but I think that’s his best club. He tends to spray his driver."

Harwick’s 76 allowed to rally him from four strokes down to finish 10th.

For the first time since 1978, Monmouth’s season has not come to a close with the conference tournament. The Scots’ victory gave them the MWC’s new automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Men’s Golf Championships, which will be held May 15-18 just north of Indianapolis, Ind.

"We’re very excited," said Ragone, who explained that the team has set three levels of goals. The short-term goal is to play well each day, hopefully breaking 310. The next level is to make the cut of the 72-hole event, which comes after the first two days and will include the top 23 teams in the 35-team field. Finally, Ragone said the long-term goal is win the national championship.

Monmouth gets to take five golfers to the tournament, and Ragone’s team will consist of Middendorf, Martin, Harwick, Radford and Thiel.

ALL OF A SUDDEN, THEY’RE SULTANS OF SCOT

It’s not uncommon to hear the exaggeration, "He hit that ball a mile!" following a long-gone home run.

The latter victories clinched the Scots’ seventh straight MWC South Division title and extended their winning streak to five games. That run came to an end Sunday in a 10-5 loss at Augustana that put the wraps on a 17-15 regular season.

The Scots had just six homers in their first 25 games before their recent power surge. But as long as their 15 roundtrippers traveled an average of 352 feet, the answer to "How far did they fly?" is "At least a mile."

One blast that easily soared that distance came off the bat of senior Jeremy Kafka (Huntley, Ill./Huntley), who had a week to remember. In the opener against Grinnell, his blast to the gap in left-center cleared the hill and bounced across the street to the American Legion parking lot. He went yard again later in the opener, then started a series of back-to-back-to-back homers in the nightcap that coach Roger Sander said was the first he could remember in his many years with the Monmouth program. Joining in the fun following Kafka were junior Nate Palkovic (Peoria, Ill./Woodruff) and senior Jake Bice (Colchester, Ill./West Prairie).

Two days earlier, Kafka had four hits by the third inning of the rout vs. MacMurray, which he sealed by striking out the side in both the eighth and ninth innings. In the five-game span, he was 11-for-20 with two doubles and three homers, raising his average to a robust .432. That mark sits just outside the top 14 single-season averages in school history.

"Jeremy’s been consistent all year long," said Sander. "Right out of the gate, he’s been hitting, and he’s been healthy all season. He’s having the kind of season you want your seniors to have."

Another notable home run during the week came from junior Ryan Priola (St. Charles, Ill./East), whose two-run blast in the bottom of the sixth of the MacMurray nightcap was the game-winning hit. In the opener, reserves Matt McIntire (Stronghurst, Ill./Southern), Mark Allemang (Rochelle, Ill./Rochelle) and Jake Gustafson (Wyanet, Ill./Bureau Valley) all hit homers in the same inning. It was the first collegiate dinger for both Allemang and Gustafson.

"I think there’s a couple factors at work with the home runs," said Sander. "No. 1, we’re getting quality swings. No. 2, the wind’s been blowing out an awful lot lately. But some of those homers would have been gone anywhere. The one Kafka hit at Knox was into the teeth of a very stiff wind. Our guys have just been taking a good approach. They’re not dipping their shoulders to get them. I’ve always told them that if you hit the ball hard, the home runs will take care of themselves."

He didn’t leave the yard, but another offensive hero was sophomore Kevin Sashko (Mundelein, Ill./Mundelein), who had hits in every game to run his streak to 19. Freshman Beesan Hryckiewicz (Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg) had the game-tying two-run single as the Scots rallied from an 8-3 deficit vs. Grinnell and junior Ryan Stubler (Crystal Lake, Ill./Prairie Ridge) delivered the game-winning hit in the 10th. Stubler had a solid week at the plate, getting hits in every game, including two apiece in the final three contests. Bice also had three multi-hit games and, dating back to an April 28 twinbill at Knox, Palkovic reached base 14 straight times.

Of course, pitching is part of the game, too, and Monmouth’s most impressive outing might have come from reliever Matt Tye (Mundelein, Ill./Mundelein). He held Grinnell to no runs on just two hits while pitching the final 4-2/3 innings of the comeback win vs. the Pioneers.

"This team has been resilient like that all year," said Sander, referring to the Grinnell comeback win. "Even against Augustana we battled. We were down 10-1 in the ninth, but we scored four runs and left the bases loaded."

Stubler notched the win in the Grinnell nightcap, sophomore Chris Schwarz (Moline, Ill./Moline) won the rout vs. MacMurray and senior Ross Reedy (Monmouth, Ill./Monmouth) posted his first career decision in the second game with the Highlanders.

Monmouth will meet Ripon at 10 a.m. Friday at Westwood Park in De Pere, Wis., while tourney host St. Norbert plays the winner of tonight’s playoff between Illinois and Knox. the winners meet at 1 p.m., with the victor advancing to Saturday’s championship game, while the losing teams play an elimination game at 4 p.m.

Sander said that sophomore Brian Chandler (5-0, 6.08) will get the Friday morning start but said his rotation is "up in the air" from there.

SCOTS SEEK SPOILS IN WISCONSIN

Monmouth’s track teams did not bring back a lot of spoils from their most recent Wisconsin invasion, but that figures to change in a few days after the Midwest Conference Championships this Friday and Saturday in Ripon.

Fighting Scot athletes are ranked first in 20 individual events as well as all four relays. The men will be looking for their seventh straight outdoor title, while the women seek their third consecutive crown. Both teams won decisively at the MWC indoor meet in March.

Last Saturday, Monmouth was in Madison for the Wisconsin Twilight Meet. There were quite a few solid performances, including three that saw Monmouth entries rise in the national rankings.

The biggest mover was junior Jenny Babos (Leland, Ill./Somonauk), who broke her own school record in the discus with an automatic-qualifying throw of 152’2. She is now ranked second in the nation.

"She had four very solid throws in the discus and another one that went out of bounds that was farther than 152," said Haynes. "That consistency will help her at the national meet."

Senior Zach Barr (Roseville, Ill./Roseville), the 2005 national steeplechase champion, cut a few seconds off his season-best time with a runner-up clocking of 9:19.49. His performance earned him one of the conference’s Performer of the Week honors.

"One guy got away on him a little bit, so Zach didn’t run as fast as we had hoped," said Haynes of the race. "He was on pace to run around 9:10, but there was no one around to chase or to push him."

Both of the men’s relay teams looked good, as the 4x100 squad of senior Dante Daniels (Waukegan, Ill./Gurnee-Warren), sophomores Aaron Daverin (Herscher, Ill./Herscher) and Luke Reschke (Geneseo, Ill./Geneseo) and senior Tyler Rundle (Monmouth, Ill./Warren) matched their season-best of 41.61. The 4x400 team of Daniels, Reschke, Rundle and senior Josh Reschke (Geneseo, Ill./Geneseo) was the one that rose in the rankings, as their season-best time of 3:14.82 trails only six schools in the nation.

With several Monmouth athletes now in their final month of their collegiate track careers, Haynes said many are making "that senior stretch run." Included in the group are distance runners Sara Ingersoll (Monmouth, Ill./Monmouth) and Joni Nelson (Little York, Ill./Yorkwood). Ingersoll set a PR of 2:22.50 in the 800-meter run and finished the 1500-meter run in 4:58.23. Both times are among the eight fastest in school history.

"She ran the 1500 pretty much all by herself," said Haynes. "Her 800 was a very intelligent race. She was very solid in both."

Nelson’s times in those races were 2:29.28 and 5:17.80.

On the men’s side, seniors who made a move Saturday included Tim Frank (Farmington, Ill./Farmington), who not only reached his top mark in the high jump this year (6’4-3/4) but also found success at a new event, the triple jump. Unofficially, Frank had a jump of more than 42 feet, which will make him a contender to medal at the MWC meet and helped him win one of the league’s Performer of the Week honors. Senior Brad Gross (Galesburg, Ill./Galesburg) was also solid, completing the 400-meter hurdles in a season-best 56.09.

It was a good day for Monmouth’s throwers, too, as several athletes posted solid numbers. In the discus, sophomore Tanesha Hughes (Peoria, Ill./Woodruff) couldn’t beat Babos, but she unleashed a provisional-qualifying throw of 139’7. She also set her PR in the hammer with a throw of 139’3 and threw the shot put 39’7-1/4 for a trio of "solid marks," according to Haynes.

Senior Jeff Rebholz (Henry, Ill./Henry) won the shot put (53’0-1/4), while classmate Alex Stuart (Kirkwood, Ill./Yorkwood) took first in the javelin (179’5). Junior Zach Wilson (Lacon, Ill./Midland) nearly matched his school-record hammer throw of 177’5 from a week ago, falling five inches short with his third-place throw. Wilson is just two inches shy of a top-eight national ranking.

In the javelin, Haynes was impressed by the efforts of juniors Megan Clennon (109’1) and Cassie Jensen (104’3) and freshman Gloria Lehr (100’6), who should all be in the top five in the MWC. Men’s competitor Dan Higgins (165’8) also caught Haynes’ eye.

Sophomore Shannon Turczyn (26.59) and senior Jacquie Ouart (1:01.70) both lowered their times in the 200- and 400-meter dash, respectively, and Turczyn was third in the 100-meter hurdles (15.22). For the men, Daverin was third in the 100-meter dash (11.11) and junior Jonny Henkins (Kewanee, Ill./Kewanee) was second in the pole vault (16’0-3/4). Sophomore Damon Bautista (Silvis, Ill./East Moline) ran a strong time of 1:58.24 in the 800-meter run, while freshman Sean Wells (Heyworth, Ill./Heyworth) high jumped 6’0-3/4.

In regard to the conference meet, Haynes said, "No. 1, we’re pretty healthy. The other factor to consider is the weather in Ripon. You can get sunburned on the first day and have snow on the second."

For the record, the forecast shows temperatures in the upper 60s both days, with showers possible on Saturday.

Haynes said that improvements from Beloit and St. Norbert on the women’s side should make it a different meet than the indoor championships. On the men’s side, Illinois College is Monmouth’s main competition.

FOUR SCOTS MAKE ALL-MWC SOFTBALL TEAM

Four members of the Fighting Scots softball team were named to the Midwest Conference’s All-South Division team.

Senior outfielder Drew Robinson (St. Charles, Ill./North) was the lone first team selection after a stellar campaign that saw her hit .447 and steal 19 bases in 21 attempts. Robinson led the team in average, steals, hits (42), at-bats (94), runs (27), triples (3) and slugging percentage (.553).

Named to the second team were shortstop Emily Willems (Moline, Ill./Rockridge), third baseman Kembra Bell (Beardstown, Ill./Beardstown) and freshman utility player Maggie Dort (Spring Grove, Ill./Richmond-Burton).

Willems hit .376, was a perfect 8-for-8 on steals and drove in 16 runs. Bell, who finished the year on an 11-game hitting streak, hit .348 and drove in a team-high 20 runs. Dort came on late in the year and batted .360.

Robinson and Willems were both selected to the all-conference team for the third time.

MEN COULD CLAIM ALL-SPORTS TITLE

There are just two men’s sports left to be counted in the Midwest Conference’s All-Sports standings, and things are looking good for Monmouth in its bid to win its third straight title.

With the points in baseball partially determined and only track left to go, the Scots trail Grinnell by 2.5 points. Monmouth is guaranteed a minimum of a four-point swing over Grinnell in baseball, meaning that if the Scots defend their title at this weekend’s MWC track meet, the Ralph Shively Trophy will stay on campus.

PELICAN BRIEF

Loyal readers of Scots Scoop know that we check in on Mitch Tanney’s pro career every few weeks or so, and that will also be the case now with Josh Ragar, who signed a contract last Friday with the Pensacola Pelicans of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball.

Ragar, a career .288 hitter at Monmouth from 2003-2006, was initially invited to the team’s spring camp, and his performance there led to his contract offer. He figures to start the season as a backup catcher, starting once or twice a week.

"It’s a whole different level of talent out here and it’s awesome," said Ragar, who is batting .385 in the team’s simulated games and intrasquad scrimmages. "I’ve loved every minute of it so far and look forward to a lot more fun because we look to be pretty good this year."

The Pelicans open their season May 10 against the Lincoln Saltdogs. They make a northern swing in late June, with a pair of three-game series in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Sioux City, Iowa.

SPEAKING OF TANNEY …

Quad City Steamwheelers fans take note: Your team is up against a red-hot quarterback this weekend. The Steamwheelers will travel to Alabama Saturday to meet Mitch Tanney’s Steeldogs, who are fresh off a 58-27 arena football victory over the Texas Copperheads.

Tanney rebounded nicely from a loss in his first game as a starter, completing 22-of-33 passes for 287 yards and seven touchdowns. He did not throw an interception.