By Michael Belmont
Gargoyle staff reporter
Posted Friday, May 12, 2006, The OG, sports

Senior Al Renner doubled and scored Uni's only run as the Illineks fell 7-1 to Salt Fork in varsity action on Thursday.

The visiting Illineks managed only three hits. Renner scored when the ball got away on an attempted pickoff. Salt Fork is a co-op team combining players from Jamaica and Catlin high schools.

The loss drops Uni's record to 4-11 overall (varsity and JV opponents combined) and 3-7 varsity. (The season's game-by-game results can be found at the end of this article.)

Uni was scheduled to host Buckley Christ Lutheran today at the Knights of Columbus Field in Rantoul, but that game has been canceled, so Thursday's loss concluded the Illineks' regular season.

On the plus side, the team finished with a winning record in the East Central Illinois Conference, 3-2, good enough for second place behind Judah Christian.

Individually, Renner leads the area in batting average, according to statistics compiled by The News-Gazette. Going into the Salt Fork game, the senior shortstop and pitcher was hitting .643 (27 for 42), 82 points higher than his nearest competitor. Renner leads the Illineks in runs batted in, with 11.

His younger brother, sophomore Mike Renner, has also had an outstanding year at the plate. Going into Thursday's game, he was hitting .488 (21 for 43), good enough for 13th in the area, and he had driven in nine runs.

In the Class A playoffs, Uni will compete in the 24-team Tolono (Unity) sectional. The Illineks are seeded 24th.

Uni will begin postseason action Tuesday in the Farmer City (Blue Ridge) regional. The team will visit 11th-seeded Fisher, who defeated Uni 7-0 on April 8.

2006 RECORD
4-11 overall (varsity & JV foes combined), 3-7 varsity, 1-4 JV, 3-2 East Central Illinois Conference

• March 28 —� at Urbana JV: L 10-5
• March 30 �— at St. Thomas More: L 20-3
• April 1 �— East Central: L 9-2
• April 5 �— at Champaign Central JV: L 12-5
• April 8 �— at Fisher: L 7-0
• April 11 �— Judah Christian (ECIC): L 7-5
• April 13 �— at Decatur Christian (ECIC): W 14-0
• April 17 �— at Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley JV: L 6-3
• April 20 �— East Central: L 17-8
• April 22 �— at Paxton-Buckley-Loda JV: W 15-14
• April 27 �— at Judah Christian (ECIC): L 5-2
• April 28 �— at Buckley Christ Lutheran (ECIC): W 8-4
• May 2 �— Decatur Christian (ECIC): W 15-5
• May 6 �— St. Joseph-Ogden JV: L 5-4
• May 11 �— at Salt Fork: L 7-1