Hit a home run at one of these 15 minor league, independent baseball teams around Illinois
The Springfield Lucky Horseshoes gear up for their season opener May 27 against the Normal CornBelters, marking the centennial of historic Robin Roberts Stadium.The team, owned by Golden Rule Entertainment’s Capital City Baseball LLC, is part of the Prospect League, a collegiate summer league. There are more than a dozen minor league-affiliated and independent league baseball […]
The Springfield Lucky Horseshoes gear up for their season opener May 27 against the Normal CornBelters, marking the centennial of historic Robin Roberts Stadium.The team, owned by Golden Rule Entertainment’s Capital City Baseball LLC, is part of the Prospect League, a collegiate summer league.
There are more than a dozen minor league-affiliated and independent league baseball teams around the state.
Here’s where to catch a ballgame this summer.
Chicago Dogs (Rosemont)
League: American Association of Independent Professional Baseball
Of note: According to its website, the Dogs are named after “Chicago’s favorite and oldest culinary tradition.”…Infielder Zion Pettigrew played at the University of Illinois Springfield, signing with the Washington Nationals as a free agent.
League: American Association of Independent Professional Baseball
Stadium: Northwestern Medicine Field, 34W002 Cherry Lane, Geneva (seats 10,923)
Of note: The franchise’s immediate descendant is the Wausau Timbers, but the team played for more than 75 seasons as the Decatur Commodores, or Commies…On Aug. 2, the Cougars hold a “No Soup for You” promotion with actor Larry Thomas, “the Soup Nazi” from “Seinfeld.”
Of note: During an Aug. 21, 2016, game, Grizzlies outfielder Brandon Thomas launched a grand slam home run, which smashed the windshield of his own truck…The Grizzlies sell a burger with a Krispy Kreme doughnut substituting as a bun, topped by melted cheese and bacon and checking in at 1,000 calories.
Stadium: Slammers Stadium, 1 Mayor Art Schultz Drive, Joliet (seats 6,016)
Of note: The Slammers’ ownership includes Mike Veeck, architect of “Disco Demolition” at Comiskey Park; comedian Bill Murray and Veeck’s son, William “Night Train” Veeck…According to the Joliet News, duck and bacon-filled wantons are among new concession stand offerings.
Of note: The Boomers name honors the Greater Prairie Chicken, which was once prevalent around Schaumburg, but is now on the Illinois Endangered Species Protection Board. “Boomer” refers to the loud sound the bird makes as it “dances” to assert its dominance over other male birds during mating season…Wintrust Field has been named Stadium of the Year for the past three seasons.
Stadium: Ozinga Field, 14011 S. Kenton Ave., Crestwood (seats 4,200)
Of note: Former Chicago White Sox closer and 2005 World Series champion Bobby Jenks is the ‘Bolts field manager…The ‘Bolts were founded as the Cook County Cheetahs.
Stadium: Dozer Park, 730 SW Jefferson Ave., Peoria (seats 8,500)
Of note:St. Louis Cardinals great Albert Pujols made his pro debut with the Peoria Chiefs on Apr. 6, 2000…In 2005, the team re-branded its indigenous imagery associated with the Chiefs name, going to a logo of a dalmatian as a fire chief.
Stadium: Robin Roberts Stadium at Lanphier Park, 1415 N. Grand Ave. E., (seats 6,000+)
Of Note: The ‘Shoes “Centennial Game,” making the park’s 100th anniversary, will be its opener, May 27 against Normal. Tickets are just $1…The ‘Shoes have gotten into the name, image, likeness (NIL) game, announcing a partnership last fall with NOCAP, which specializes in athlete branding…A Sam Antonacci Bobblehead Night (July 20) will honor the first ‘Shoes’ player to be drafted in the MLB draft.
Of note: “The Babe” (John Goodman) was filmed at the stadium in 1991… Gil Hodges, Duke Snider, Jackie Robinson and Pee Wee Reese were among the Brooklyn Dodgers to play against its minor league affiliate in Danville in 1947.
Stadium: The Corn Crib, 1000 W. Raab Road, Normal (seats 7,000)
Of note: The CornBelters share the Corn Crib with a team in the Kernal Collegiate League called the Normal GroundSloths…Former Major Leaguer Hal Lanier, the CornBelters’ manager for their inaugural season in 2010, piloted the Springfield Redbirds to the 1980 championship in the American Association.
Stadium: Schweickert Stadium at Veterans Memorial Park, 2600 Plank Road, Peru (seats 2,200)
Of note: A pistol shrimp uses its snapping claw to emit a powerful sonic blast to stun or kill its prey, including small fish, crabs and other invertebrates. The team’s mascot is Southclaw Sam.
Of note: Ownership adopted the team name the Doggy Paddlers after receiving over 1,000 name submissions. Its mascot is Barkley the Paddler…QU Stadium is known as “the Rockpile.”
Stadium: Lloyd Hopkins Field (Gordon Moore Park), 95 Arnold Palmer Rd., Cottage Hills (seats 1,800)
Of note: The team is having a Tall People Celebration at the park on June 12 in honor of Alton native son Robert Wadlow, who stood 8-foot-11-inches…The River Dragon team name comes from the Piasa bird, a mythical monster depicted in a painting on a cliff overlooking the Mississippi River north of Alton.
Stadium: Marion Stadium, 1000 Miners Drive, Marion (seats 7,000)
Of note: The team announced a $20 game ticket that includes unlimited access to ballpark food…The stadium has Sportexe Turf instead of regular grass and dirt.
Stadium: Rivets Stadium, 4503 Interstate Blvd., Loves Park (seats 3,279)
Of note: The “Rivets” nickname is a nod to Rockford’s once-thriving production of rivets, screws and other fasteners, made by companies like National Lock. Many companies nationwide that employed women became popularized as “Rosie the Riveters” during World War II…The Northwoods League is a summer collegiate league, like the Prospect League.
Cherry Ann Rondina (second from left) and Bernadeth Pons (second from right) pose for a photo with their Japanese counterparts in the 2025 Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Futures in China. | Rebisco Volleyball photo CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu’s very own Cherry Ann “Sisi” Rondina continued her strong showing in the 2025 Volleyball World […]
Cherry Ann Rondina (second from left) and Bernadeth Pons (second from right) pose for a photo with their Japanese counterparts in the 2025 Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Futures in China. | Rebisco Volleyball photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu’s very own Cherry Ann “Sisi” Rondina continued her strong showing in the 2025 Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Futures after scoring back-to-back wins in the main draw on Friday, June 20, in Qidong, China.
Rondina, teaming up with Bernadeth Pons in Pool D of the women’s main draw, stunned the Japanese duo of Nayu Motomura and Kana Motomura with a dominant 21-17, 21-10 win.
Earlier that day, they opened their campaign with a commanding 21-14, 21-17 victory over the home team of Mei-Mei Lin and Hong Xie.
With a 2-0 record, Rondina and Pons advanced to the quarterfinals, where they were scheduled to face Hungary’s Stefania Flora Kun and Lilla Villám as of this writing.
On the men’s side, fellow Cebuano Rancel Varga and his partner Ronniel Rosales suffered a setback in Pool B after falling to Belgium’s Kyan Vercauteren and Joppe Van Langendonck, 19-21, 16-21.
Before the loss, Varga and Rosales made quick work of China’s Ang Wan and Kongquan Xing with a 21-15, 21-9 win.
Meanwhile, the pair of Sunny Villapando and Dij Rodriguez also bowed out after a hard-fought 18-21, 17-21 loss to Lin and Xie of China. The duo earlier outlasted Motomura and Nayu in a grueling three-setter, 21-14, 21-23, 15-11.
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Sam TaylorSports reporter: COMMENTARY: ‘This is never what college sports were meant to be’
Jun. 21—Washington State sprinter Brooke Lyons had just learned through a 10-minute Zoom meeting that the Cougar track and field team was about to be cut in half and that her coach was out of a job. In shock, she typed a question into the chat only to be interrupted by WSU Athletics administrators ending […]
Jun. 21—Washington State sprinter Brooke Lyons had just learned through a 10-minute Zoom meeting that the Cougar track and field team was about to be cut in half and that her coach was out of a job.
In shock, she typed a question into the chat only to be interrupted by WSU Athletics administrators ending the meeting.
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“I think that the way it was handled was just disrespectful to the athletes that have worked so hard and have fought for this program and committed so much time and effort into it,” Lyons said.
WSU athletic director Anne McCoy informed the members of the WSU men’s and women’s track and field teams that the program would shift to a “distance-first approach,” cutting field events such as throwing and pole vaulting and significantly scaling back sprints and hurdles.
Assistant coaches Julie Taylor (throws), Gabriel Mvumvure (sprints) and Derick Hinch (hurdles) were let go. They learned their fates about half an hour before the student-athletes learned theirs, Lyons said.
Lyons said WSU Athletics leadership simply stated what was going to happen and did not offer an explanation.
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However, Lyons and her teammates are perfectly aware of why WSU is doing what it is doing.
They just don’t agree with it.
Joshua Lyons is a 1997 WSU graduate. He was a proud father of a WSU student-athlete, but will soon find himself wearing another school’s colors when his daughter, Brooke Lyons, who owns the Cougars’ 100-meter record, finds a different school.
“The breadth and depth of the college sports that have been offered historically allow people to develop (a) sense of community,” Joshua Lyons said. “If we go to a system of college athletics that only includes the revenue-producing sports, you’re going to destroy an ecosystem — the very ecosystem that supports those revenue-producing sports.”
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In fairness to McCoy and WSU’s leadership, I don’t think they are particularly happy about scaling back track either.
In the weeks since the House vs. NCAA settlement — which in part allows schools to directly pay athletes through revenue sharing — athletic department heads have scrambled to figure out what that exactly means for their institutions.
The settlement enables schools to spend up to $20.5 million in revenue sharing with student athletes — the majority of that going to football and basketball players.
McCoy said in January that WSU would provide the football program with a $4.5 million pot to share with players.
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With WSU Athletics experiencing an over $11 million budget decline from two years ago — its last full year in the 12-school Pac-12 Conference — and the media rights earnings of the new Pac-12 expected to be far below the traditional conference earnings, WSU Athletics must make hard choices.
This choice was to gut a historically successful WSU program that owns one of WSU’s two NCAA national championships.
There is no universe where scaling back track and field can be seen as a “good thing,” despite WSU’s official statement framing the move as a way to give the program “the best opportunity to remain competitive at the conference and national levels in distance events.”
While years of less-than-ideal decisions at the school, conference and national levels ushered in this reality, there is no single person worthy of 100% of the blame either.
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However, while McCoy and her team are not responsible for how WSU got into this situation, they are accountable for how WSU responds to it.
That is to say that the optics of a 10-minute Zoom meeting, in which 18-24-year-olds learn that their or their teammates’ athletic pursuits will no longer be supported by WSU, followed by little communication or dialogue, are not great and could have been easily avoided.
Would a question-and-answer period during the Zoom meeting have changed the outcome of numerous current athletes and alumni scorning the university? No, probably not.
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However, student-athletes, many of whom have moved across the country or the world to entrust their athletic and academic careers to an institution, deserve a little more grace than that.
“We were upset because they said they had known for weeks but didn’t tell us because a few of us had made it to Nationals and were still competing,” WSU sprinter Ashley Hollenbeck-Willems said.
The WSU track and field program has consistently produced national champions. While some of the program’s most decorated athletes were distance runners, four out of the five athletes to represent WSU at Nationals this past year were sprinters, comprising a 400-meter relay team.
One of those relay team members, Mason Lawyer, set the WSU record in both the indoor and outdoor 200-meter dash this year and competed in the 100 and 200 at Nationals.
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Days following WSU “limiting” his events and not renewing his coach’s contract, Lawyer is in the transfer portal.
He joins a slew of WSU athletes in the portal, including Hollenbeck-Willems and Lyons, who must cancel leases and figure out their next steps without the assistance of significant name, image and likeness deals or, for many track athletes, the benefit of full scholarships.
It also leaves three coaches and their families in a similar state of transition.
Coaches and pundits alike warned that Olympic sports could suffer drastically as schools attempt to reorder their budgets to prioritize revenue sharing.
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Track and field was the first WSU sport affected. It almost certainly won’t be the last.
WSU, along with the rest of college athletics, is in uncharted waters.
Before any more programs drown at sea, the powers that be — college presidents and athletic directors, conference commissioners and TV executives — should come to terms with the weight of their actions and do everything they can to reverse course.
That won’t happen because TV executives are getting everything they want and everyone else is just trying to survive.
College sports may never be the same again and no one should be spinning it into a positive or spending any energy not attempting to fix what is clearly broken.
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“This is never what college sports were meant to be,” Brooke Lyons said. “College sports are meant to build a spirit and community within the universities. Obviously, now we’re seeing it’s just kind of tearing them apart, and it’s lost its purpose. And I think people need to realize that quick, or else there’s going to be a lot more issues like this.”
Perhaps the powers that be in college athletics should start listening to the college athletes themselves.
Taylor can be reached at 208-848-2268, staylor@lmtribune.com, or on X or Instagram @Sam_C_Taylor.
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U.S. Women Dominate the Netherlands in 2025 VNL Week Two
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 21, 2025) – The U.S. Women’s National Team put together its strongest performance of the 2025 Volleyball Nations League (VNL) with a 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-19) victory over the Netherlands on Saturday in Belgrade, Serbia. The U.S. (3-4) returns to the court tomorrow, June 22, against France at 7:30 a.m. PT. […]
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (June 21, 2025) – The U.S. Women’s National Team put together its strongest performance of the 2025 Volleyball Nations League (VNL) with a 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-19) victory over the Netherlands on Saturday in Belgrade, Serbia.
The U.S. (3-4) returns to the court tomorrow, June 22, against France at 7:30 a.m. PT.
“We want to come out and put back-to-back matches together. I don’t think we’ve really been able to do that. France is doing a nice job right now and playing at a very high level,” U.S. head coach Erik Sullivan said.
The U.S. led in every statistical category with 10 more kills (49-39) and two more blocks (6-4) and aces (4-2). The U.S. Women committed just 14 errors in the match with the Netherlands making 16. The U.S. hit .330 or better in each set.
Veteran middle blocker Dana Rettke hit at a 56 percent efficiency rate for the match with 11 kills and just one error in 18 attacks. She recorded seven points on six kills and a block in the third set with five coming on slide attacks off consistently good sets from Saige Ka’aha’aina-Torres.
“This group has so much great energy and is so willing to adapt, adjust and get better. I’m proud of how they have been able to rise up to this challenge. I know this is a lot of their first VNLs, and it’s been so much fun to play with them and have that experience with them,” Rettke commented. “In general, I’m just proud of the way this group has continued to get better every single day whether that is a match or a practice.”
Outside hitter Logan Eggleston led all players with 14 points on a match-high 13 kills and a block. She hit .480 with only one error in 25 attacks and shared match-best honors with seven successful receptions.
Opposite Madi Skinner totaled 13 points on 10 kills, two blocks and an ace. Outsider Sarah Franklin delivered nine kills. Libero Lexi Rodriguez equaled a match-high with 11 digs, Skinner added six and Ka’aha’aina-Torres finished with five.
“I thought there were moments in that match where in the past couple of matches we’ve let it get away from us that we made a progression and grew in that space today,” Sullivan remarked. “We’re talking about the process, not worrying about the results, and that showed today.”
Trailing 7-5 early in the first set, the U.S. scored the next six points and rolled the rest of the set. A block and kill by Skinner followed by a Franklin kill off hands made it 11-7 and forced a Netherlands timeout. The U.S. Women hit .370 in the set, which included a kill by opposite Logan Lednicky on her 21st birthday. Eggelston led a balanced attack that saw five U.S. players score two points or more with four kills.
The second appeared to be a near replay of the first set when the U.S. used a 7-0 run to turn a one-point deficit into a 17-11 lead. Eggleston scored three of the final four points in the run, one off a set from Franklin, another on a swipe off the block, and the third on a roll shot.
Setter Rachel Fairbanks made her VNL debut in style, serving an ace when she entered the match to make it 19-12. A Franklin kill gave the U.S. a 21-14 lead before the Netherlands ran off six consecutive points to cut the lead to one. With a narrow 22-21 lead, the U.S. scored a key point when Skinner took advantage of no libero in the back row, placing a shot in the middle of the court.
Another Franklin kill gave the U.S. set point at 24-22 and the set ended as the Netherlands struggled with an Igiede serve. Eggleston recorded six kills in the set, while Skinner scored six points on five kills and a block.
The Netherlands jumped out to an early three-point lead for the third set in a row, but Rettke scored four points in a 6-1 U.S. run, the final two on slides. The U.S. lead was just one point, 12-11, when Brionne Butler’s smart play to push the ball into an empty back court put the lead back to two points and the Netherlands got no closer.
Eggleston scored on a block and then a deep push shot to make it 17-13. Rettke’s seventh point of the set gave the U.S. a 22-18 lead and a Franklin call off a one-handed set from Ka’aha’aina-Torres made it 23-19. Skinner closed out the match with back-to-back kills.
Week Two Roster for 2025 VNL
U.S. Women’s Preliminary Roster for 2025 VNL No. Name (Pos., Ht., Hometown, College, USAV Region) 6 Morgan Hentz (L, 5-9, Lakeside Park, Ky., Stanford Univ., Pioneer) 7 Lexi Rodriguez (L, 5-5, Sterling, Ill., Univ. of Nebraska Great Lakes) 8 Brionne Butler (MB, 6-4, Kendleton, Texas, Univ. of Texas, Lone Star) 9 Madisen Skinner (OH, 6-2, Katy, Texas, Univ. of Kentucky and Univ. of Texas, Lone Star) 13 Amber Igiede (MB, 6-3, Baton Rouge, La., Univ. of Hawaii, Delta) 15 Rachel Fairbanks (S, 6-0, Tustin, Calif., Pitt, Southern California) 16 Dana Rettke (MB, 6-8, Riverside, Ill., Univ. of Wisconsin, Great Lakes) 21 Roni Jones-Perry (OH, 6-0, West Jordan, Utah, BYU, Intermountain) 22 Sarah Franklin (OH, 6-4, Lake Worth, Fla., Univ. of Wisconsin, Florida) 24 Olivia Babcock (Opp, 6-4, Los Angeles, Calif., Pitt, Southern California) 28 Logan Lednicky (Opp, 6-3, Sugar Land, Texas, Univ. of Texas A&M, Lone Star) 29 Molly McCage (MB, 6-3, Spring, Texas, Univ. of Texas, Lone Star) 32 Saige Ka’aha’aina-Torres (S, Honolulu, Hawaii, Univ. of Texas, Aloha) 33 Logan Eggleston (OH, 6-2, Brentwood, Tenn., Univ. of Texas, Southern)
Reserve 27 Ella Powell (S, 6-0, Fayetteville, Ark., Univ. of Washington, Delta)
Coaches Head Coach: Erik Sullivan Assistant Coach: Mike Wall Second Assistant Coach: Brandon Taliaferro Second Assistant Coach: Tayyiba Haneef-Park Second Assistant Coach: Joe Trinsey Team Manager: Rob Browning Team Doctors: William Briner, James Suchy, Chris Lee, Andrew Gregory Physiotherapist: Kara Kessans Physical Trainers: Shawn Hueglin, Shannon Boone Mental Performance Coach: Andrea Becker, Katy Stanfill Performance Analyst: Virginia Pham
Week 2 Schedule: Belgrade, Serbia (all times PDT) Matches will be shown on VBTV, Big Ten Network and/or CBS Sports Network. Please check listings for BTN and CBSN.
June 18 USA def. Serbia, 3-2 (25-22, 25-20, 22-25, 22-25, 15-11) June 19 Poland def. USA, 3-1 (20-25, 25-20, 25-17, 25-18) June 21 USA def. Netherlands, 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-19) June 22 at 7:30 a.m. vs. France
Week 1 Results: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil June 4 Italy def. USA, 3-0 (25-13, 25-13, 30-28) June 5 Brazil def. USA, 3-0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-19) June 6 Czechia def. USA, 3-2 (23-25, 20-25, 25-17, 25-20, 27-25) June 8 USA def Korea, 3-0 (25-13, 28-26, 25-17)
Emma Myall Named Head Coach of UC Santa Barbara Women’s Water Polo
UC Santa Barbara has named Emma Myall the permanent head coach of its women’s water polo program, removing the interim title she held during the 2025 season. The announcement was made Wednesday by Director of Athletics, Kelly Barsky. “Emma Myall has demonstrated leadership and worked to establish a competitive culture within our program,” said Barsky […]
UC Santa Barbara has named Emma Myall the permanent head coach of its women’s water polo program, removing the interim title she held during the 2025 season. The announcement was made Wednesday by Director of Athletics, Kelly Barsky.
“Emma Myall has demonstrated leadership and worked to establish a competitive culture within our program,” said Barsky in a press release. “We look forward to building on this foundation in the seasons ahead.”
Myall was appointed interim head coach shortly before the start of the 2025 season. Under her leadership, the Gauchos finished with a 16–13 record, including wins over ranked opponents such as Loyola Marymount, Brown, and Cal State Northridge.
Myall joined the Gauchos as an assistant coach in 2024. She previously coached at Pacific, where she was a student-athlete on the women’s water polo team and a volunteer assistant with the men’s team. In 2021, she helped the men’s program reach the Golden Coast Conference Championship match.
Myall holds a degree in Sports Science and Sports Education from Pacific and a master’s degree in Management Entrepreneurship from Durham University in the United Kingdom. She is originally from Lafayette, California.
Nygaard reflections on photographing 2024-2025 Pirate track and field
CLICK gallery to enlarge and view at your own pace / See also Foster on photographing Pirates By Jamie Nygaard Over my 32 years behind the camera, one truth has become clear: it’s not just about the action. It’s about the relationships—the quiet moments behind the scenes, the camaraderie between competitors, the traditions and quirks […]
CLICK gallery to enlarge and view at your own pace / See also Foster on photographing Pirates
By Jamie Nygaard
Over my 32 years behind the camera, one truth has become clear: it’s not just about the action. It’s about the relationships—the quiet moments behind the scenes, the camaraderie between competitors, the traditions and quirks that make each athlete unique. The way an athlete bites their necklace for comfort. The lucky socks. The verse on their spikes. The pre-race prayer.
These are the moments you don’t see from the stands—but they are the soul of the sport.
As Don Schweingruber once said, “It’s all about relationships.” And I couldn’t agree more.
These athletes may run against each other, but they also cheer for one another. They push each other to be better, form friendships across lanes and school lines, and show us that sportsmanship and connection matter just as much as medals.
Being part of this world—as a mom, as a photographer, as a fan—has been one of the greatest honors of my life. And I can’t wait to see where these incredible young people go next.
The Springfield Lucky Horseshoes gear up for their season opener May 27 against the Normal CornBelters, marking the centennial of historic Robin Roberts Stadium.The team, owned by Golden Rule Entertainment’s Capital City Baseball LLC, is part of the 
