The following are the articles on the Unity Baseball Web Page during the 2015 Season.

The definition of a champion is not found in a trophy case, it is found in the heart!

Our 2015 Unity Christian Baseball Team

Shawn Hintz  #22

Dalton  Hlubek  #5

Dayne Holsinger  #1

Alex Hoppe  #24

Eric Medinblik  #23

Kyle Smith  #6

Eli Traum  #33

Jessie Vanderide  #21

Katie Vanderide  #10

Nolan Willoughby  #11

Brady Wilson  #8

For many years I have kept very good statistics.  These are used during the season to help the coaching staff direct our practice sessions as well as set the roster for the games.  I have never shared statistics with anyone, parents, players or anyone else.  Though other schools do post their individual player stats, I have not.  My thought process is to have the players play for the team, not for individual stats.  One college coach stated very sternly, "Statistics are for losers."  Though I am not quite that forceful in my process, I believe that during the season statistics should be kept confidential.  That will continue to be the case.  Below you will find statistics for our 2015 season.  The data input was done live during the game via a Palm and uploaded into my statistics program.  None of the coaches input the data in the Palm but it is done by a third party. 

Giving historical team data is something new for me.  I hope you enjoy the information.

Coach Wilson

Don't forget to check the Bulletin Board on this web site.  

Everyone hitting in the cage should have batting gloves.  Will not need them so much for the first couple of sessions.  But after that they will get blisters if they do not have them.

Coach Wilson

Due to the basketball season being exended this year the baseball team will not have as much time to practice before our first game.  If fact, we will have just 6 practice days before we play two games.  Yes, just 6 practice days!   Due to this very short time I suggest each player begin to throw a baseball on a daily basis.  Arm conditioning will be a very important part of our early season.  Each player working on their own will expedite that process. 

                                                                                       Coach WIlson

We are beginning to use the calendar on this web site.  Be sure to check it often for cage and open gym schedules.

Unity baseball practice begins on Monday. From this point forward all practice sessions are mandatory. We put our practice schedule on the calendar section of this coaches web page. We are changing the times of the practice sessions beginning times from 3:45 to 4:00. This will help with the coaches ability to be on time and most days will allow players to come a little early to get some one-on-one help. For practice Players must be on the gym floor ready to go at 4:00. Ready to go means just that, beginning our warm ups. If a player is late to practice they can plan on some extra running.

The exception of starting times is Wednesday.  We will start at 3:30 and end at 5:00.  This should allow all students to attend church functions.

The 4:00 starting time for practice also allows the players to stay after school and work on their homework. It is an opportune time for a student to talk with a teacher concerning items they are struggling with. Students should use this time for keeping their grades up.

We are limited to gym use by other scheduled events in the gym. An example is this Friday when the gym is being used and we will not have access. Thus, we will not have practice on Friday. We will have an extended practice on Saturday which will include snacks during the middle of practice. Please check the calendar for times.

These first couple of weeks of practice are very important for the players. It is the time we will work on the fundamentals used all year. Please ensure the players are at practice and on time.

If you have any questions please contact me.

Go Knights!

Coach Wilson

The batting cage is up and it will begin to be used whenever possible.  We understand there are a lot of activities going on this time of year.  Any open cage hitting is voluntary.  Obviously it will benefit the players to be at the batting cage but it is truly voluntary.

With basketball going late this year we are going to need to be creative to be ready when the season starts.  We now have the girls basketball schedule and as soon as we have the boys basketball practice and game schedules, it will be easier to schedule the open cage times.  There is a calendar on this web site which we will use as our schedule.  You can check back here anytime to see the schedule.

Parents, feel free to contact me at any time.  Typically texting works best.  My number is 815-631-3810.  

Coach Wilson

Parents,

Baseball practice officially begins tomorrow, Monday.  We have had open cages and open gyms but have yet to get into our team practice mode.  Obviously with basketball going so long this year we will not be doing much baseball this week.  However we will have a full practice on Tuesday.  This is mandatory as all our practice sessions and games will be.  There are a few players heading to Erie on Tuesday which we are aware of and that is an excused absence. 

The weather is not cooperating very well this year. Unfortunately this is starting to be a very poor weather year for spring baseball in Northern Illinois.  Baseball is the only Unity sport that suffers each year with being able to practice on a field when practice time arrives.  That is why coach Traver  and I have the indoor batting cage set up in the gym.  It allows us to hone our hitting skills when the snow and cold weather do not allow us outside.  Though inside practicing is better than nothing, It is not a true test of our abilities nor does it allow the coaches to determine the positioning of players.

As coaches we have stated that everyone will play in every game unless there are disciplinary issues.  We have a set of team rules which we will review with the players soon and then present to you on this web page.  It appears we will have 11 people on the team this year.  We play nine of them each inning of each game.  We will rely of every player being available in any inning.  We will need everyone as there will be some very hard games this year.  At this time we have 6 varsity games scheduled.  Some of these teams, if not all, will be very competitive for us.  It will give our team a chance to see our true strengths and weaknesses. 

Thank you for the support of Unity baseball.  Our goal is, "Excellence, both on and off the field."  Your student is part of this goal.  While pursuing it, their baseball knowledge and skills will also grow.  We also want to be a part in their personal development in their walk with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Go Knights,

Coach Wilson

It appears we will play our two baseball games this week.  We should have a final decision on Monday.  Our practice field is still very wet and will be for another week, just in time for it to rain.  When will we be able to get on our practice field? That is our biggest question.   For practice on Monday we will practice in the outfield of our practice field.  The location of practice on Thursday and Friday we will determine.  

In all my years of coaching I have never played a game prior to having a chance to practice on a baseball field.  This tells me we are not ready for the games this week. There are so many items we have not had time to go work on.  Yet we will play the baseball games to the best of our abilities.  It probably will not be pretty, but we will work to get it done.

Thank you for your support of Unity Baseball!

Coach Wilson

Knights To Play At Lumberkings Stadium

Come out and support our Knights at the Lumberkings Stadium!

Our baseball team will be taking on the Forreston Cardinals tomorrow night (Thursday, April 16) at 5:00 pm at the Lumberkings Stadium in Clinton. Admission is $2 for adults and $1 for students. Concessions will also be available. Come show your support for our Knights and enjoy a night of baseball with your family!

Knights Post A Win In Alexis

On Friday night our Unity Knights drove to Alexis to take on the United JV baseball team.  The visiting Knights started the game with Shawn Hintz taking four straight pitches for a base-on-balls.   Shawn went to second on a past ball and advanced to third on a Nolan Willoughby ground out.  Eli Tralum then hit a ball to the shortstop to push Shawn across the plate for the first run of the game.  On defense the Knights began the game very poorly and throughout the game gave up nine errors, allowing United a total of four runs on one hit and four base-on-balls.

United’s first batter of the game hit a ball for a double over our left fielder, Kyle Smith’s head.  The second batter walked on five pitches.  Both runners advanced and scored on a stolen base and errors.  In the second inning the three Knight batters went down in order.  United’s second inning consisted of the first batter reaching base on an error and Nolan Willoughby striking out the next two.  The fourth batter of the inning flied out to the center fielder Shawn Hintz.  The third inning for the Knights started off with a Kyle Smith, Shawn Hintz and Nolan Willoughby reaching base on singles. After one run scored Eric Medenblik hit a single to score two more runs, for a total of three in the inning.  The fourth inning brought a pitching change for the Knights.  Alex Hoppe came in as the second pitcher of the evening.  In his four innings of pitching he struck out nine, walked three and allowed one run.  The United fourth inning started with the first batter flying out to Dayne Holesinger.  Dayne had to battled the strong wing to catch the first out of the inning.  The third batter walked, went to second and third on a passed ball and scored on an error.  That was the end of the scoring by United.  In the fourth inning the Knights went down in order again. 

The fifth inning ended Shawn Hintz’s amazing streak of 7 consecutive plate appearances where he reached base.  The Knights went down in order again only to bring up the action packed 6^th inning.

In the Knights half of the sixth, with one out, Eric Medenblik and Dalton Hlubek got on base with singles.  Eric went to third on an error by the second baseman.  Jessie VanderEide walked on five pitches loading the bases.  Katie VanerEide then hit a ball into the outfield for a double scoring two runners.  Kyle Smith then hit another single driving in a third run.  Next up was Shawn Hintz who grounded out to the shortstop allowing another Unity baserunner to score.  When the inning was over the Knights had scored four more runs for a total of eight.

Though the game was not well executed by the Unity Christian Knights, it was enough to gain another win.  The coaches were disappointed in the amount of errors and mental lapses in the game.  They were impressed with the mental attitude of the players as the errors mounted.  The players kept their minds on what was next and not on the many errors of the past.  This mental attitude allowed the team to overcome their many mental lapses and errors and keep putting runs on the scoreboard.  It was a win and though it was not pretty, it was done with integrity and perseverance.  Good job Knights!

The Unity Knights baseball team was finally able to play another game after some very cold weather and the spring break.  Though there was a chance of rain on Wednesday it turned out to be a good day for baseball.  The two weeks between games showed a little in our level of play but the Knights fought to the last out of the seventh inning.  The game started with Shawn Hintz getting one of his four hits.  Shawn went on to score after reaching second on a balk and stealing third. A Nolan Willoughby ground out drove Shawn in for the first run of the game.  While holding Forreston scoreless through four innings the Knights had a chance for a big inning in the fourth with the bases loaded and one out.  However Katie Vandereide was forced out at home and the inning ended with a strike out.  The Knights scored again in the 6th when Shawn Hints hit a single, stole second and then scored on an Alex Hoppe single.  That was all the scoring Unity could muster for the night.  Forreston scored three in the 5th which was due to two base-on-balls, a hit-by-pitch and two errors.   Forreston added another run in the 7th which was started with a lead off base-on-balls.

Though the game ended with a 4 - 2 score against the Knights, it was good to get outside and play the game of baseball we have been practicing for.  We will learn from our mistakes and learn to be more aggressive on the base paths.  Our pitching will improve as we are able to play more games and our pitchers are allowed to throw more.  We have an aggressive schedule ahead of us but we are working hard to give all for our opponents a challenge.  Some of those challenges will end up with the Knights on top of the score!   This one was not one of those games.

Go Knights!

The Knights began the game on Wednesday night with high hopes of starting the season with two wins.  Facing a United varsity team the knights knew they would need to play good, hard baseball.  Unfortunately the Knights failed to bring their bats as we were held hitless through all seven innings.  The United team used three pitchers during the seven inning game.  The first two were right handed pitchers which were very hittable.  Their third pitcher was a very good left hander with an awesome breaking pitch.

The high speed camera pictures shows we have a lot of work to do on our hitting.  We need to learn the hitting system and be able to duplicate it during our games.  This game is not indicative of how we play baseball.  We must work harder to develop our hitting system to be consistent in hitting and scoring runs.  There are no excuses to be made for the way we played tonight.  Rather it should increase our determination to play harder and work harder. 

Though the game did not go well for Unity Christian, we handled the situation very well.  We tried very hard, we played hard and we represented our school, our families and our God very well.  Though we may have lost a game our commitment to get better lives on.  We will strive to be better, one day at a time!

Go Knights!

Coach Wilson

Today's game is cancelled due to cold weather.  Practice in gym.

Baseball pictures today at 3:30 at the school.  Need hat, blue jersey, long sleeved blue t-shirt, pants and belt.  Wear gym shoes.

Tuesday's Game, 3/24, is cancelled due to the weather.  Practice 4:00 to 6:00 in the gym.

Due to weather todays game is cancelled!

Indoor practice in gym 4 - 6 for high school players.

Monday's game at Riverridge is questionable.  It looks like the high temperature is to be 38 degrees with some snow and rain forecast for Hanover, Illinois.  With some of our players already suffering through colds and sickness we do not need to play in a cold rain.  Throughout the day we will be looking at the weather and discussing with Riverridge.  If the game is played we will leave the school at 2:45 with the game starting at 4:30.  If we have the game, dress very warm.

To find directions to the field click on the game in the calendar for that date.  It will bring up the address and driving directions.

Coach Wilson

Knight Suffer 2 – 1 Loss To Forreston

It was a great evening for baseball as the Knights took the field to play against a very good Forreston team.  The Knights could not get their bats working and had to settle for only three hits during the game.  The Forreston right handed pitcher threw very well and kept the Knight hitters from regularly getting on base.  The Forreston Cardinals managed to score a run in the second inning and another one in the third.  They were then held scoreless for the rest of the game.  The Knights were unable to capitalize on Brady Wilson’s three hits until the bottom of the seventh inning when he scored on a wild pitch.  The three Knight pitchers and defense did a good job of keeping the opponents score down.

This was a hard loss for the Knight coaches as they have spent a considerable amount of time working on hitting.  The team just did not use the hitting form tonight but will keep working on it.  The coaches would like to thank everyone that came to the Lumberkings stadium to watch the game.  Though the score was not in our favor we hope everyone enjoyed the game.

Knights Suffer Another Loss

The Knights played a good West Carroll team on Saturday which ended in Unity on the short end of the Mercy Rule.  The Knights allowed West Carroll to score three in the first inning and from that point Unity's level of play declined.  Catching errors, not seeing fly balls, dropped fly balls, poor throws, etc., etc., etc.  Not a good day for the Knights.  We will need to regroup and "shake the dust off our shoes" and move ahead.  There will be some learnings from the game which will help the team's ability to play better.  Thanks to everyone that came out and supported our team.

Knights Loss to Glena 8 - 5

On a very, very cold day the Knights traveled to Galena to face their varsity team on a very windy field.  With wind gusts exceeding 35 mph, the ball game began.  In the first four innings the Knights stranded 5 base runners.  Galena had their chances to score but the Knight fought hard to prevent any Galena player from crossing the plate.  In the fifth inning Kyle Smith got on base with a base-on-ball and Shaw Hintz hit a double driving Kyle to third base.  Brady Wilson then hit a double to drive in the two runs of the inning.  In the bottom half of the 5th inning the Knights began to struggle.  Nolan Wiloughby took over pitching from Eric Medenblik with the bases loaded.  In the inning Galena scored 8 runs on 4 hits, 5 base-on-balls and one hit batsman.  With the score 3-8 the Knights went into the last inning ready to do battle.  Kyle Smith ran hard to first base on  a hit ball to the shortstop.  When the shortstop bobbled the ball Kyle was safe at first.  Shaw Hintz then hit another double driving Kyle to third base again.  Nolan Willoughby hit a double of his own driving in Kyle and Shawn.   Brady Wilson also hit a double driving in Nolan.  The score was then 5 to 8.  Eric Medenblik hit the ball hard sending the "rocket" baseball back at the pitcher.  Unfortunately the pitcher was able to catch the hard line drive then turn and throw to second for a double play.  That is the way the game ended.  The Knights on the losing end of a very cold 8 to 5 game.  It was good to see the Knights fight hard to come back after the bad 5th inning.  We hope the cold games are over for the year and that we begin to be more successful. 

The Knights Post A Win Against Quad City Christian

The Knights faced a very young and inexperienced Quad City Christian team Thursday night under the lights.  The Knights pitching started with Eric Medenblik for an inning, then Dalton Hlubek for 2 innings, followed by Dayne Holsinger, Nolan Willoughby and closing with Brady Wilson.  Though it was a cool evening the Knights went on to score 8 runs on 10 hits while holding the Eagles to 3 runs.  This was a good game for the Knights to work on our hitting, base running and extending our pitching to three players that have not pitched this year.  The Knights have a lot of work to complete on both their offense and their defense.  We will continue to grow.

Go Knights

Knights Get Another Victory

The Unity Knights visited the Quad City Christian Eagles on Tuesday to play the final of our two game series.  The Knights struggled early with the slower pitcher but finally got the bats going.  The Knights were able to put together a total of 18 runs while holding the Eagles to three.  The Eagles are a very young and inexperienced team with a lot of growth potential.  The Knights used the same pitching rotation they used for the first game, Eric Medenblik started off the game followed by Dalton Hlubek.  Nolan Willoughby and Dayne Holsinger came in to pitch and Brady Wilson closed out the day.  It was good to see Dalton, Dayne and Brady pitch well as they typically are not in our pitching rotation.  Great job by those three!  As we look forward to the remaining games we will be facing some very good teams.  We are continuing to work hard to play our high level of baseball.  We are the Knights and we play for our families, or school and our God!  We strive for "Excellence, both on and off the field".

The greatest comeback in CWS history happened in 1973.  Minnesota held a 7-0 lead over USC going into the bottom of the ninth.  Dave Winnfield was pitching for Minnesota.  He had struck out 15 and only given up an infield single.

But in the top of the ninth, a Minnesota batter tried to bunt for a base hit.  The USC team took it as “trying to show them up.”  They got aroused.  When you are winning, let the other team sleep.

USC started the bottom of the ninth with a single. Then came a grounder to short.  They tried to turn a double play, but the runner barely beat the throw to first.  Who would have thought it would have made the difference?

Obviously the Minnesota coach did because he was ejected for arguing the call.  There were two more singles before Winnfield was pulled.  The Trojans eventually scored eight runs and won the game 8-7.

It’s never over.  When you are behind or when you are ahead, you never have enough runs.  Play the game right, and don’t change your game because of the score. 

Whatever happens during the season, don’t give up.  If we are ahead, don’t slow down.

We will play like champions.   We will do this because we will represent Unity Christian, our families and our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Knights Post A Win Over Fulton

 The Knights played a make-up game against the Fulton fresh-soph team on a great evening for baseball.  The knights came out putting players on the bases.  Shawn Hintz began the game with an 0-balls and 2-strike double.  Nolan Willoughby got on base with a base-on-balls.  Brady Wilson then hit a double driving in two teammates.  Eric Medenblik then got on with a base-on-balls.  Erick and Brady advanced one base on a wild pitch.  With one out Alex Hoppe hit a deep line drive to left field to drive in a tagging Brady Wilson.  The first inning ended with the Knights scoring three runs.

In the second inning Shawn Hintz got on base with two outs and scored on a single by Nolan Willoughby.  In the third inning Eli Thrum got on base with a single and advanced to home with two past balls and a stolen base.  The Knight were scoreless in the fourth and fifth innings.  In the sixth inning Shawn Hintz led off with a single and advanced to second and third on two stolen bases.  With one out Brady Wilson hit a deep fly ball to the Steamer center fielder allowing Shawn to tag and score.  In the seventh inning the Knights went down in order.

The Knights pitching shut down the Steamers with 16 strikeouts and holding them to two  hits.  Alex Hoppe has been on the pitching DL (disabled list) for 10 days with a sore shoulder.  This was the first game he pitched since comig off the DL. Alex pitched well, striking out 12 and allowing one hit.  Eric Medinblik came in to pitch the sixth and seventh innings striking out four and allowing 1 hit.  The pitching performance by the Knight pitchers, kept the Steamers on their heels.

 This was a good win for the Knights.  The team is now back to a wining record of six and five.  Go Knights!

Knights Come Out Strong At East Dubuque

The Unity Knights travelled to East Dubuque to face a JV team on an overcast afternoon.  Arriving at the field late due to traffic problems on the trip, the Knights warmed up quickly and were ready to play.  The Knights leadoff hitter, Nolan Willoughby went to a two ball, two strike count and then hit a hard shot into left-center for a double.  The next Knights hitter, Alex Hoppe, wasted no time hitting Nolan in with single on a no ball one strike count.  Brady Wilson then came up and hit another single putting Knights base runners on first and third.  Brady advanced to second and with one out Eli Traum hit a double driving in Alex and Brady.  The next Knights hitter, Dalton Hlubek was hit on the helmet by a wild pitch.  The Knights left two runners on base to close out the top half of the first inning.  As the game progressed these runs were very important.

The Knights defense was up to the task of holding East Dubuque to no runs in the first inning.  With Eric Medenlik on the mound, the first batter struck out.  The next two batters reached base on a single and a base-on-balls.  The following batter flew out to Nolan, our shortstop.   The next batter hit a weak ground ball which Eric fielded and threw to Eli at first base for the third out.

With one out in the second inning Nolan got a base-on-balls after taking the pitcher to a full count.  With two outs Brady hit a ball into right center for a triple scoring Nolan.  That is all the Knights could score in the second inning.

East Dubuque scored their only run in the second inning on a couple of errors by the Knights.  Alex then ran hard to catch a fly ball in short left-center field.  Eric struck out the next two batters to retire the side. 

The Knights went down in order in the third.  In the fourth inning the Knight could not capitalize on a leadoff double by Jessie VandereEide.  The fifth, sixth and seventh inning were uneventful for the Knights offense.

In the 4 inning the Knights brought in Alex to pitch.  After the first two batters reached base on singles, Alex struck out the next two and the following batter flew out to the first baseman Dayne Holsinger.  Alex finished the game striking out 10 of the 14 batters he faced. 

This was a good game for the Knights.  The Knights are now 7 and 5 and are guaranteed a winning season!  Way to go Knights!!!!!

Another Rain Out

The weather did not cooperate as the Unity Knights played their last game of the season in the rain.  The game started with a light rain and ended with a steady increase of showers.  Two and a half innings after starting, the game was called due to the weather.  We had hoped there would be an hour break in the rain but that did not happen.  The score of the game ended as it started, zero to zero.  The knights had a few players get on base with base-on-balls but could not get beyond second base.  River Ridge had two runners reach base.  One was thrown out trying to steal second and the other stranded on second base.  Alex Hoppe pitched for the Knights during the entire rain soaked game.  During the three innings he allowed one hit.

Had the game been allowed to reach a full seven innings the Knights would have faced a good Varsity team in River Ridge.  It would have been a good test of our team’s ability to play at the higher level.  As I looked around the field I saw a Unity team ready to play baseball.  Each player was “down and ready” to field the ball on each pitch.  We were in the proper positions and we looked like a much better team than we did last year at this time.  Experience helps our program to grow.  We, as a team want to play the game of baseball at the best level we can.  This is done through practice and hard work.  We want others to see we can play hard but we also have a desire, an inner demand of ourselves, to play at our best.  We want to show our “Excellence both on and off the field.”  When we take the field we know we are playing for our families, our school and our God. 

Coach Wilson

Baseball Awards Night - May 18th

Baseball Awards Night is scheduled for Monday, May 18th.  We will serve ice cream and toppings.  During the evening each player will receive  recognition for the 2015 season.