Jacksonville, Routt, Carrollton post big wins in busy April 24 roundup

Jacksonville blanked Lanphier 10-0, Routt erupted for a 23-3 win over Barry Western and Carrollton knocked off Calhoun 10-3 in a busy April 24 stretch that put Morgan County teams squarely in the middle of a spring push toward postseason play.

The same scoreboard also showed how active the region was across baseball and softball. Greenfield-Northwestern lost to West Central 6-1 in baseball, then came back to beat West Central 17-6 in softball. Porta/AC rallied past Williamsville 10-9, Payson topped Rushville Industry 12-5, New Berlin edged Athens 5-3 and Quincy Notre Dame beat Beardstown 12-3. Calhoun, meanwhile, answered Carrollton’s baseball loss by beating the Hawks 12-2 in softball.

Jacksonville’s shutout was the kind of result that stands out even in a crowded scoreboard. The Crimsons entered the game at 13-6 and had won five of their previous six, while Lanphier came in at 0-12 and was still trying to break a 16-game losing streak that stretched back into last season. A 10-run margin against a team in that kind of slump gave Jacksonville another comfortable step in a strong late-April run.

Routt’s win over Barry Western was even louder. The Rockets had already piled up eight wins by six runs or more before the game, and the 23-3 final showed the offense was still rolling. For a program trying to keep pressure on opponents every night, a margin like that usually signals a lineup that is seeing the ball well and cashing in when chances open up.

Carrollton’s 10-3 baseball win over Calhoun carried its own weight in the local conversation. It was Carrollton’s biggest victory over the Warriors since April 25, 2019, and it came as the Hawks had won seven of their last nine games. Calhoun, though, had the last word in softball, beating Carrollton 12-2 while winning four of its last five and averaging 6.4 runs per game.

The next-day schedule kept the same local names moving. Greenfield-Northwestern was set to play at Lincolnwood in baseball, Brown County was to host Calhoun, Carrollton was welcoming Williamsville in softball, Auburn was traveling to Greenfield-Northwestern in softball and Athens was heading to Beardstown in soccer. With regional quarterfinals beginning May 25, those late-April results now sit in a tighter postseason frame, where every big win and every lopsided loss helps define who is peaking at the right time.