Argenta-Oreana blanked Clinton 2-0 in a pitcher's duel Wednesday afternoon in non-conference high school baseball action from Argenta.

Dylan Ragsdale fired 5 1/3 scoreless innings permitting three hits, four walks, and struck out eight.

Jack Manning went six innings allowing two unearned runs on five hits with two walks. 

A run-scoring single and a run-scoring double play were the only runs manufactured by the Bombers on Wednesday and both came in the first two innings.

Mason Walker was 1-for-1 with two walks, Ryne Pine and Jack Manning had the other two hits for Clinton. Brooks Cluver and Pine drew walks on Wednesday.

The Maroons drop to 17-8 overall. They travel to Lincoln on Friday.

Clinton drew the fifth seed in its Regional and will Class 2A postseason play in the Monticello Regional taking on fourth-seeded Tri-Valley on Thursday, May 16 at 4:30 pm.

Ike Young and Luke Teschke hit home runs backing three pitchers who tossed a three-hit shutout as Monticello blanked Tuscola 10-0 in a run-rule, five-inning win Wednesday in non-conference high school baseball action from the Wilkey Complext in Monticello.

Young and Teschke hit two-run home runs in a five-run first inning, setting the tone early for the Sages.

Jacob Long had an RBI single in the frame.

Koyie Williams added an RBI on a ground out in the second and Raiden Colbert singled in a run in the third.

Carter Foran struck out four in three scoreless innings. Jacob Long struck out two and Raiden Colbert struck out the side as each fired an inning of relief.

Teschke was 2-for-2 adding a double and scored another run. Colbert was 1-for-2 with a double and run scored. Dylan Brown tripled and scored a run for the Sages.

Monticello is 25-2 overall. They host Rantoul this afternoon. 

The Sages drew the top seed in its Sectional and will take on the winner of Warrensburg-Latham and Olympia in Regional semifinal action on Wednesday, May 15 in Monticello. 

In a game heard on WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com, Monticello capitalized on Maroa-Forsyth mistakes and came away with a 9-3 win Wednesday in non-conference high school softball action from the Wilkey Complex in Monticello. 

An error and two wild pitches allowed the Sages to scratch a run across in the first inning on a ground out. 

Monticello broke the game open in the third inning with a five-run inning to go up 6-0. It was highlighted by a two-run single from Reese Patton.

Maroa-Forsyth would get three runs on the board in the fifth inning. After breezing through the first four innings, Lady Sages sophomore hurler Cassidee Stoeffel walked two straight to start the inning then after a ground out, walked the next batter. 

With the bases loaded and one out, Aubrey Stewart doubled in two. Then Danni Hovey singled in a run. 

Monticello got those three runs back in its half of the fifth highlighted by an Isa Beery double and a two-run single from Lynnsee Trybom. Patton added an RBI groundout.

Despite some struggles late, Stoeffel finished the game allowing three runs in seven innings. She walked four, allowed five hits, and struck out three. 

Thea Key and Beery were 2-for-3 with doubles, and two runs scored. Patton was 1-for-2 with three RBIs.

Patton earned the ServPro of Piatt/DeWitt Counties Player of the Game.

Maroa-Forsyth falls to 9-8 overall while Monticello moves to 15-12. The Lady Sages host Rantoul this afternoon. 

Maroa-Forsyth is the seventh seed in its Sectional. They will begin postseason play by taking on Bloomington Central Catholic on Monday, May 13. The winner takes on Meridian from the Normal U-High Regional.

Monticello is the fifth seed in its Sectional and will open Regional play by taking on Tolono Unity from the St. Joseph-Ogden Regional starting Wednesday, May 15. 

A run-scoring error allowed Arcola to take down Blue Ridge 3-2 Wednesday in Lincoln Prairie Conference high school softball action in Arcola. 

Ellie Schlieper allowed three unearned runs for Blue Ridge. She permitted three hits, four walks, and struck out five. 

Kacie Sisk struck out 13 across seven innings of two-run ball for the Lady Purple Raiders. 

Schlieper added an RBI at the play for Blue Ridge. Karlee Fenton drove in the other run for the Lady Knights. She also stole a base. 

Cassie Zimmerman was 1-for-3 with a stolen base and a run scored for Blue Ridge. Addison Roos had two stolen bases. 

Blue Ridge is 7-13 overall and 1-6 in the Lincoln Prairie Conference. They are off until next Wednesday when they travel to Bethany-Okaw Valley for more Lincoln Prairie action. 

Blue Ridge drew the eighth seed in its Sectional and will open postseason play by hosting Decatur St. Teresa on Monday, May 13 in Farmer City in Regional quarterfinal action.

A five-run fifth inning helped Maroa-Forsyth get by Tri-Valley 8-6 in non-conference high school baseball action from Forsyth Wednesday.

The five-run fifth inning answered a five-run fourth inning by Tri-Valley, helping the Trojans go up 8-6 after trailing 6-3 going to the bottom of the fifth.

Connor Kelly was 2-for-2 with a double and two RBIs to lead the Trojans offense. Andy Munjoy was 1-for-2 with two RBIs. Zayn Giles went 2-for-4 with an RBI while Mitch Williams and Ace Giles added RBIs for Maroa-Forsyth.

The Trojans improve to 18-3 overall. They host Mt. Zion this afternoon.

Maroa-Forsyth drew the third seed in its Sectional and will take on the winner of Bloomington Central Catholic and Prairie Central to open Regional action Wednesday, May 15 from Bloomington Central Catholic. 

Mt. Pulaski used a pair of four-run frames to roll Athens 10-0 in Tomahawk Conference high school baseball action Wednesday in Mt. Pulaski. 

Landon Smith paced the Hilltoppers going 2-for-4 with a double and three RBIs. Colt Selinger drove in three runs while Liam Smith finished 2-for-3 with a double.

Aaron Volle was 1-for-3 with two RBIs while Tyler Cross also drove in a run for the Hilltoppers. 

Luke Martin struck out 11 across six innings of shutout ball. He permitted five hits and two walks.

The Hilltoppers go to 20-1 overall and 2-0 in the Tomahawk Conference. They are at Illini Bluffs this afternoon. 

Mt. Pulaski is the top seed in its Sectional. They open postseason play by taking on the winner of a Regional quarterfinal matchup between Decatur Unity Christian and Cerro Gordo-Bement on Wednesday, May 15 from the Decatur St. Teresa Regional. 

Normal U-High scored four runs in the top of the seventh inning and rallied past Normal Community 6-4 in non-conference high school baseball action from Normal on Wednesday.

Charlie Vercruysse hit a solo shot to start the scoring for the Pioneers in the seventh. A two-run error and then a Will Paxson RBI single was the extent of the damage for U-High. 

Vercruysse, a Notre Dame commit, was a triple short of the cycle going 3-for-4 with a a double, an RBI, and two runs scored. Max Willie, Lawson Shickel, and Paxson added RBIs for U-High. Max Heineman was 2-for-4. 

Ryan Theile was 1-for-3 with an RBI to lead Normal Community. Kyle Beaty was 2-for-3 with a double and run scored and Owen Cavanaugh finished 1-for-3 with a double.

Normal U-High 20-6 overall. They will travel to Decatur MacArthur this afternoon. The Pioneers are the second seed in its Sectional. They will meet the winner of Tremont and Dee-Mack to start Regional play on Wednesday, May 15 from the Bloomington Central Catholic Regional.

Normal Community is 24-3 overall. They will host Bloomington High on Friday. 

Alex Olson singled in Blake Crancer giving Normal West a thrilling, walk-off win 4-3 over Peoria Notre Dame Wednesday in Big 12 high school baseball action in Normal.

Peoria Notre Dame jumped out to a 3-0 in the top of the first inning but Normal West chipped away after that. Crancer tripled in two runs in the fifth inning. Jaxson Crancer doubled in Brady Hart in the sixth inning after the Wildcats played a little small ball to move Hart into scoring position.

Sam Beirne went six innings allowing three runs on two hits with four walks and three strikeouts. Taylor Hafermann picked up the win with a scoreless inning of relief for Normal West. 

Blake Crancer finished 1-for-3 with a triple, two RBIs, a stolen base, and a run scored. Sam DesCarpentrie was 1-for-3 for Normal West.

Normal West is 14-11 overall and 9-5 in Big 12 action. They will host Peoria Richwoods Friday afternoon in more Big 12 action.

Illinois State fell 11-1 to Western Illinois on Wednesday at Duffy Bass Field in seven innings.

The Leathernecks (11-30 overall) scored six early runs in the first two innings and never surrendered the lead.

Illinois State (21-22 overall) saw sophomore Luke Lawrence finish 2-for-4 as he would be the lone Redbird with multiple hits. Lawrence's on-base streak moves to 29 games, the longest by a Redbird this season.

Illinois State is scheduled to host Southern Illinois at Duffy Bass Field in a three-game series starting Friday.

Mason Walker struck out 15 across six scoreless innings and Clinton beat Central A&M 4-0 in Central Illinois Conference high school baseball action from Moweaqua Tuesday.

Walker allowed two hits and walked three. The senior was backed by an RBI double from Brooks Cluver. Colton Walker and Jack Manning drove in runs as well for the Maroons.

Ryne Pine and Aiden Toohill added hits. 

Clinton goes to 17-7 overall and 7-2 in the Central Illinois Conference. They travel to Argenta-Oreana today (Wednesday).

The Maroons also learned Tuesday they will be in the fifth seed in its subsectional as a part of the Millikin Sectional. Postseason seedings come out today.

Gwyn Hardimon allowed two unearned runs and Central A&M took down Clinton 13-2 in a run-rule, five-inning win Tuesday in Central Illinois Conference high school softball action from Moweaqua.

Hardimon struck out eight, walked three, and permitted three hits.

Brooke Reeves was 2-for-3 with a double and two runs scored to lead Clinton. Heidi Humble drove in a run and walked twice. Aliviyah Haynes finished 1-for-2.

Clinton drops to 9-12 overall and 3-6 in the Central Illinois Conference. They are at Argenta-Oreana this afternoon.

Marrissa Miller and Isa Beery drove in two runs apiece to back a complete game effort by Reese Patton and Monticello beat Sullivan 7-1 in non-conference high school softball action from Monticello Tuesday.

Beery drove in two runs on a triple finishing 1-for-3 with a run scored. Miller was 2-for-4 with two RBIs, a stolen base, and a scored a run. 

Patton went seven brilliant innings allowing an unearned run. The senior struck out two, walked one and permitted five hits. 

Sadie Walsh was 2-for-3 with a double and scored a run at the top of the order while Thea Key was 1-for-3 with an RBI, a stolen base, and scored twice.

Cassidee Stoeffel had two hits for Monticello. Lynsee Trybom added a base hit. 

Monticello goes to 14-12 overall. They host Maroa-Forsyth this afternoon. Hear today's action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com.

Tate Brandenburg's two-run double broke a 5-5 tie in the top of the seventh inning propelling Maroa-Forsyth past Riverton in a thrilling 8-5 Sangamo Conference high school baseball game Tuesday in Riverton.

The Hawks used a two-run inning in the bottom of the sixth inning to tie the game up. The Hawks rallied to a tie twice but could never take the lead. 

Brandenburg's double was followed by a Zayn Giles RBI single and Kaiden Maurer finished off the win in the bottom half of the inning for Maroa-Forsyth. 

Brandenburg's seventh-inning double was his second of the game. The senior finished 3-for-5 with two RBIs and scored twice. 

Giles was 3-for-4 with an RBI while Mitch Williams and Maurer had two hits apice, including a double apiece and each scored two runs. 

Connor Kelly drove in two runs for the Trojans.

Maurer struck out four, and allowed a run on two hits in an 1 2/3 of relief for the win.

Maroa-Forsyth jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first. Riverton answered with three runs in the bottom of the second but the Trojans went right back on top in the top of the third with two more runs.

The score remained 5-3 until Riverton tied the game in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Maroa-Forsyth is 17-3 overall. They are 6-2 in the Sangamo. They host Tri-Valley this afternoon.

Lincoln easily dispatched Decatur Eisenhower 15-0 in a run-rule, five-inning win Tuesday in Central State Eight Conference high school baseball action in Lincoln.

Jarrett Evers led the way for the Railsplitters going 2-for-3 with a triple, three RBIs, two stolen bases, and two runs scored. Colby Glenn was 1-for-2 with two RBIs, a stolen base and scored two runs.

Trey Schilling doubled and scored a run while Michael Lucas, Brendan Wurth, Wes Tedrick, and Karson Komnick drove in runs.

Werth stole three bases. Tedrick, Lucas, and Komnick had stolen bases as well.

Dyllan Ferguson struck out six in four scoreless innings of one-hit ball. 

Lincoln is 13-7 overall and 4-3 in the Central State Eight. They will travel to New Berlin this afternoon.

Illinois baseball (26-15) got back into the win column with an emphatic 21-11 run-rule victory, in seven innings, over No. 24 Indiana State (31-10) at Illinois Field Tuesday.

Ryan Moerman went 4-for-5 at the plate with three home runs and nine RBI. Cal Hejza also had a multi-home run performance, going 2-for-5 with two home runs and three RBI. 

Connor Milton delivered the walk-off win with a solo blast to center to cap a 2-for-3 a double, home run, one RBI and two walk performance. 

The Illini slugged a total of seven home runs in the ballgame, their fifth game of the season with at least five round-trippers.

Jake Swartz picked up the victory out of the bullpen to improve to 2-2 on the season. The right-hander went 3.0 innings, giving up three runs on four hits and striking out two. Korey Bunselmeyer turned in a scoreless seventh inning, retiring all three batters on groundouts.

Coltin Quagliano went 3-for-4 with a home run, three RBI and a walk - extended his career-best hitting streak to 20 games. Camden Janik went 2-for-3 with 2-for-3 with four runs and two walks. 

Illinois Hosts Ohio State this weekend. 

Iowa beat Illinois State 8-7 on Tuesday at Duane Banks Field, thanks to a late-inning comeback for the Hawkeyes with six runs across the 6th and 7th innings.

Illinois State (21-21 overall) was led by sophomore Daniel Pacella, who went 2-for-4 with two RBIs.

Iowa improves to 25-17 overall including 17-3 at home this season.

Trailing 2-0, Illinois State scored the game's next five runs with three in the 3rd inning, one in the 5th, and one in the 6th. Two of the five runs for the Redbirds came off an RBI single by Pacella in the 3rd inning.

The Redbirds would rally late as senior Auggie Rasmussen sent out his 10th home run of 2024 in the top of the 9th to make it an 8-7 game, but it would not be enough for the win.

Illinois State is scheduled to host Western Illinois at Duffy Bass Field on Wednesday.

In a game heard on WHOW, Max Kepler drove in the tiebreaking run in the ninth inning for the second straight game, this time with a sacrifice fly, and the Minnesota Twins won their ninth in a row, 6-5 over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night.

The Twins extended their longest win streak since a 10-game run in June 2008. They also won their seventh in a row against the White Sox and put themselves in position to sweep Chicago again after taking four games at Target Field last week, though this one certainly wasn’t easy.

Chicago’s Andrew Benintendi homered leading off the eighth to tie it at 5 after Minnesota scored twice in the top half. But the Twins pulled it out in the ninth.

Danny Mendick gave Chicago a 4-2 lead with a two-run homer against reliever Kody Funderburk in the fifth inning.

Benintendi tied it when he led off against Cole Sands with his third homer. Mendick doubled, but Robbie Grossman struck out. Thielbar then retired Korey Lee on a pop fly and Nicky Lopez on a grounder.

The White Sox are a major league-worst 6-24 overall and 2-17 against the AL Central.

Chicago had 12 hits but was 2 for 11 with men in scoring position. The White Sox stranded nine runners.

Soroka gave up two runs and three hits in 4 1/3 innings. The right-hander has a 6.48 ERA through seven starts.

The three-game series wraps up with RHP Bailey Ober (2-1, 4.21 ERA) pitching for Minnesota and RHP Chris Flexen (1-3, 5.11) getting the ball for Chicago. Ober has a 1.48 ERA in four starts since getting pounded in a loss at Kansas City on March 31. Flexen threw five scoreless innings in a win over Tampa Bay last week.

311 schools have teams entered in this year's IHSA bass fishing state tournament series. There are 25 sectionals around the state this Thursday with anglers trying to get to the state finals later this month at Carlyle Lake says the IHSA's Kurt Gibson.

This marks the 15th year for the IHSA State Tournament Series in Bass Fishing.

 Jack Flaherty tied an American League record with seven straight strikeouts to open a game and struck out a career-high 14 before the St. Louis Cardinals rallied against a usually reliable bullpen with a two-run ninth inning to beat the Detroit Tigers 2-1 in a doubleheader opener Tuesday.

Pitching against his first big league team, Flaherty kept the Cardinals off balance and flailing at four-seam fastballs and knuckle-curveballs.

Riley Green hit a fourth-inning home run off Kyle Gibson.

Nolan Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt and Alec Burleson had one-out singles in the ninth, with Burleson's driving in the tying run off Shelby Miller (3-3). Pedro Pages followed with a go-ahead sacrifice fly.

Matthew Liberatore (1-1) struck out two in a 1-2-3 eighth, and Ryan Helsley fanned two in a perfect ninth for his 10th save in as many chances.

Gibson, though, made the comeback possible by holding Detroit to one run on four hits over seven innings.

Wenceel Pérez hit homers from both sides of the plate, including a tiebreaking blast in the fifth inning, to help the Detroit Tigers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 11-6 Tuesday night to split a doubleheader.

The Tigers went ahead again in the second game and pulled away with a four-run seventh.

Perez hit a right-handed, opposite-field solo shot in the second inning off Steven Matz and a left-handed, two-run homer against Ryan Fernandez to put Detroit ahead 7-5.

The 24-year-old Dominican became the first rookie to clear the fences for the franchise hitting right and left-handed in the same game since Raúl Casanova in 1996, and the first Tiger with any level of experience to do it since Victor Martinez in 2018.

Perez hit a homer for the first time in the majors on Sunday in his 16th game.

Cardinals RHP Miles Mikolas (2-3, 5.91 ERA) and Tigers RHP Kenta Maeda (0-1, 5.96) are scheduled to pitch in the series finale on Wednesday afternoon.

DJ Stewart hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in the sixth inning Tuesday night, lifting the New York Mets to a 4-2 win over the Chicago Cubs.

Stewart had just three hits in his previous 23 at-bats before sending a no-doubt drive into the second deck in right field against Adbert Alzolay (1-3) to give New York a 4-1 lead.

With the arrival of designated hitter J.D. Martinez last week and the return Tuesday of right fielder Starling Marte from the bereavement list, Stewart's roster spot could have been in jeopardy. But the Mets hung onto the left-handed batter, and he certainly delivered against the Cubs.

All three runs against Alzolay were unearned due to a throwing error by Gold Glove shortstop Dansby Swanson. First baseman Patrick Wisdom also made a throwing error in the first, leading to Pete Alonso’s sacrifice fly.

Sean Reid-Foley (1-0) tossed a hitless sixth. Jorge López earned his second save after giving up a run in the ninth, when Mike Tauchman doubled and scored on a groundout by pinch-hitter Matt Mervis.

Miguel Amaya had a sacrifice fly for the Cubs in the second.

Chicago starter Javier Assad and Mets counterpart Sean Manaea each allowed one run in five innings. The teams were hitless in six plate appearances with runners in scoring position against the starters.

Cubs LHP Shota Imanaga (4-0, 0.98 ERA) looks to continue the historic start to his career Wednesday night, when he opposes Mets RHP José Buttó (0-1, 2.86) in the third game of the four-game series. Imanaga is the first pitcher since 1901 to open his career 4-0 with a sub-1.00 ERA and at least 28 strikeouts in his first five starts.

In a game heard on WHOW, Clinton used a seven-run fourth inning to get by Decatur MacArthur 11-1 in a five-inning, run-rule win Monday in non-conference high school baseball action relocated to Lincoln.

Nearly 2.5 inches of rain fell in Clinton over the weekend leaving the Evans Field baseball diamond too wet for a game so Decatur MacArthur and Clinton relocated the game to Lincoln High School's turf baseball field. 

Mason Walker finished 3-for-3 with two RBIs, two stolen bases, and three runs scored to pace the Maroons' offense. Brooks Cluver was 2-for-2 with a triple, a stolen base, and a run scored. Colton Walker finished 1-for-3 with a double, two RBIs, and two runs scored.

Jack Manning, Brock Wilson, and Noah Bass drove in runs for Clinton.

Wilson struck out eight in five innings of one-run ball on the mound for the Maroons. The sophomore walked one and permitted three hits. 

Clinton is 16-7 overall and travels to Central A&M for a Central Illinois Conference tilt today (Tuesday).

Tri-Valley was too much for Clinton as the Lady Maroons fell 11-1 in non-conference high school softball action from Downs on Monday afternoon.

Zoey Whitaker hit a home run for the Lady Vikings and Kelsey Bartels drove in four runs on three hits - including a double. 

Heidi Humble hit a solo home run and drove in two, finishing 2-for-3 for the Lady Maroons. Brooke Reeves and Aliviyah Haynes also collected a hit for Clinton.

The Lady Maroons drop to 9-11 overall. They travel to Central A&M for a Central Illinois Conference matchup today (Tuesday).

Madison Stevens twirled a complete-game shut backed by an Ellie Ward homer and St. Joseph-Ogden blanked Monticello 2-0 in Illini Prairie Conference high school softball action from St. Joseph Monday afternoon.

Ward's sixth-inning homer broke a scoreless tie as Stevens and Monticello's Cassidee Stoeffel went toe-to-toe for most of the game. 

Ward struck out four while permitting six hits and a walk. 

Stoeffel allowed two runs in her seven innings of work. The sophomore struck out seven and allowed seven hits while issuing just one walk.

Monticello is 14-12 overall and 2-5 in the Illini Prairie Conference. They will host Sullivan this afternoon (Tuesday).

Landon Smith and Chance Payne hit home runs and Mt. Pulaski rolled to an easy 15-3 win over Meridian in non-conference high school baseball action Monday in Macon. 

Payne's grand slam in the third broke the game open for the Hilltoppers. 

Landon Smith finished 1-for-3 with three RBIs and three runs scored. Franklin Wake and Aaron Volle drove in two runs for Mt. Pulaski. Volle was 2-for-3 with a double and three runs scored.

Liam Smith struck out nine in five innings of work. He allowed three unearned runs with four walks and permitted three hits.

The Hilltoppers go to 19-1 overall. They will host Athens in Tomahawk Conference action on Wednesday.

Normal Community combined to score 43 runs in two easy victories over Peoria, 29-1 and 14-0 Monday in a Big 12 doubleheader sweep for the Ironmen in high school baseball action.

Kaileb Hackman and Dexter Niekamp both went yard in the opener. Hackman was 2-for-2 with a homer, a double, and five RBIs. Niekamp was 1-for-1 with a grand slam. Alex Herren had three RBIs while Riley Hendren and Ryan Thiele each doubled. Hendren, Reid Johnson, Luke Railey, and Justin DeHaii drove in two for the Ironmen. 

In the second game, Railey, Johnson, and Ben Schweigert drove in two runs to pace a 14-run attack. Collin Kearfott doubled for the Ironmen. Brady Burkhart had two hits for Normal. 

The Ironmen drew 14 walks in the second game and had just six official hits. 

Jack Richards struck out 11 in four innings of one-hit ball. 

Normal Community is 23-2 overall and 12-0 in the Big 12 Conference. They will take on inner-city rival Normal U-High on Wednesday.

Jack Livengood limited Normal West to four hits over 6 2/3 innings of shutout ball as Peoria Notre Dame blanked the Wildcats 5-0 Monday in Big 12 high school baseball action in Peoria. 

Livengood struck out eight, walked three, and allowed four hits.

Brady Hart was 2-for-3. Trent Durham walked twice and Sam DesCarpentrie and Bradyn Whitehead had a hit apiece for the Wildcats.

DesCarpentrie allowed five runs, one was earned in six innings on four hits with four strikeouts to two walks for the Normal West.

The Wildcats fall to 13-11 overall. They will host Peoria Notre Dame on Wednesday.

Max Kepler had a tiebreaking RBI single in the ninth inning, and the Minnesota Twins beat the Chicago White Sox 3-2 on Monday night for their eighth straight win.

Byron Buxton doubled to lead off the ninth against John Brebbia (0-1). Kepler, who entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the sixth, then drove him in with a line-drive single to right.

Caleb Thielbar pitched out of a first-and-third jam in the ninth, striking out Korey Lee to end the game after walking Tommy Pham and giving up a two-out single to Robbie Grossman.

Joe Ryan threw six solid innings for the Twins. Coming off a win against the White Sox last week at Target Field, he gave up two runs and six hits.

Brock Stewart worked the seventh, Griffin Jax (2-2) dodged a first-and-second jam in the eighth when he struck out Eloy Jiménez to end that threat, and Thielbar finished up to earn his second save.

Carlos Santana hit a two-run homer in the second to tie the score before Minnesota beat Chicago for the 12th time in the last 13 games. The Twins also matched their best winning streak since also winning eight straight in June 2011.

Andrew Vaughn lined an RBI double and scored in a two-run first to give the White Sox a 2-0 lead, but they couldn’t hang on after winning a season-high three in a row.

Garrett Crochet pitched five innings for the White Sox, allowing two runs and five hits after dropping his previous three starts. The left-hander struck out seven and walked one.

Michael Soroka (0-3, 6.83 ERA) will take the mound for the White Sox after lasting five innings, giving up four hits and striking out one against the Twins on Thursday. RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (1-0, 2.45) starts for Minnesota. He went five innings against Chicago last week, allowing seven hits and striking out six.

Christopher Morel hit a two-run homer off Edwin Díaz to snap a ninth-inning tie and the Chicago Cubs beat the New York Mets 3-1 on Monday night after being held hitless by Luis Severino into the eighth.

Swanson singled off Severino with nobody out in the eighth for Chicago's first hit, putting runners at first and second following a leadoff walk to Michael Busch.

With runners at the corners and one out, pinch-hitter Nick Madrigal hit a broken-bat grounder to third baseman Joey Wendle, who had just entered for defense.

Wendle easily could have thrown out Busch at the plate, cutting off the tying run. Instead, the veteran infielder made an ill-advised decision to try for an inning-ending double play. Madrigal beat the relay to first and the Cubs evened it 1-all.

Brandon Nimmo hit his 13th career leadoff homer for the Mets, but Jameson Taillon shut them down after that in a fast-moving pitchers' duel that zipped by at a breakneck pace.

Mark Leiter Jr. (1-1) got two outs for the win, and Héctor Neris worked around two walks in the ninth for his fourth save. With two runners aboard, he struck out pinch-hitters DJ Stewart and Brett Baty to end a game that took just 2 hours, 5 minutes.

Mike Tauchman doubled off Díaz (0-1) with one out in the ninth. One out later, Morel drove a 3-1 fastball to left-center for his fourth home run.

Cubs RHP Javier Assad (2-0, 2.00 ERA) starts Tuesday night against LHP Sean Manaea (1-1, 3.33) in the second game of the four-game series.

Raiden Colbert homered and drove in three, Hayden Romano went the distance in a shutout effort as Monticello downs Warrensburg-Latham 8-0 in non-conference high school baseball action Saturday in Monticello.

Colbert hit a solo homer and doubled in another as the senior was a triple shy of the cycle, finishing 3-for-3 with two runs and three RBIs.

Romano struck out seven in seven shutout innings. The sophomore walked one and allowed three hits. 

Luke Teschke and Jacob Long drove in runs for the Sages. Matt Swartz was 2-for-3 with a run scored for Monticello.

The Sages go to 24-2 overall. They have an Illini Prairie Conference showdown with St. Joseph-Ogden on Monday in St. Joe up next.

Normal Community swept Plainfield North in a Saturday doublehead, 5-2 and 8-1, to extend a six-game winning streak from Plainfield in non-conference high school baseball action Saturday.

Luke Drengwitz and Kaileb Hackman each homered in the opening contest. Drengwitz hit a three-run home run in the second inning. Hackman opened the scoring for Normal with a solo shot in the first. 

Owen Cavanaugh finished 3-for-3 with a double, a stolen base, and two runs scored while Brady Burkhart was 1-for-3 with a double.

Three Ironmen pitchers combined to limit Plainfield North to a run. Ethan Eberle struck out five in 1 2/3 shutout innings. Hackman three two hitless, scoreless innings with four strikeouts.

In the second game, four Ironmen arms combined for a five-hitter. Cavanaugh threw two innings with three strikeouts and permitted the only run. Burkhart struck out two in an inning of work while Kyle Beaty and Parker Michels each threw a scoreless inning. 

Connor Kearfott was 2-for-3 with three RBIs and scored twice. Jack Richards, Luke Railey, and Reid Johnson each drove in runs for Normal.

With its two wins, Normal Community improves to 22-2 overall. They travel to Peoria on Monday.