SVM area roundup: Sterling’s Brecken Peterson, Newman’s Logan Palmer qualify for state tennis meet

Forreston softball wins regional title on home field

Sauk Valley sports roundup

A pair of local tennis players have qualified for next weekend’s state meet, as Sterling’s Brecken Peterson and Newman’s Logan Palmer advanced to the semifinals at the Class 1A Rochelle Sectional on Friday.

Peterson won both of his matches 6-0, 6-0 after a first-round bye, and will face Sycamore’s Steven Chen in the semifinals on Saturday.

Palmer won 6-0, 6-0 and then 6-3, 6-4 after an opening-round bye, and will take on top-seeded Nicholas Patrick of Alleman in the semifinals.

The top four singles players and doubles teams from the sectional advance to state, and Peterson and Palmer are guaranteed to finish in the top four by virtue of advancing to the semifinals.

Dixon’s Damien Beck won his first-round match 6-0, 6-2, then lost in the second round. Newman’s Ryan Partington topped Dixon’s Bashar Elbzour 7-6 (7-5), 7-5 in a hard-fought first-round match, then dropped his second-rounder. Sterling’s Yamaan Alkhalaf lost to Patrick after a first-round bye.

In doubles play, all six local teams received first-round byes. Sterling’s Hunter Lofgren and Ben Boze defeated Dixon’s Derek Miller and Owen Winters 6-2, 6-1 in the second round, then lost in the quarterfinals. Conner Pham and Elias Jensen topped JP Ryan and Carson Palmer 6-0, 6-2 in the second round, then also lost in the third round.

Newman’s Sam Neisewander and Raul Reyes-Zamora lost their second-round match, as did Dixon’s Samuel Gingras and Alex Basilio.

Softball

Forreston 11, Durand 6: The Cardinals scored five runs in the fourth to take an 8-1 lead, then held on to win the Class 1A Forreston Regional title after Durand scored four in the fifth and one in the sixth.

Rylee Broshous was 3 for 5 with a pair of doubles, a triple and three runs scored, while Brooke Boettner was 3 for 4 with a double, two runs and three RBIs for Forreston (20-5). Jenna Greenfield was also 3 for 4 with a double, a run and two RBIs, and Aubrey Sanders had a pair of singles, scored a run and drove in two more. Alaina Miller added two hits, a run and an RBI from the leadoff spot.

Sanders went the distance in the circle, allowing five earned runs and seven hits, with seven strikeouts and five walks.

The Cardinals will take on Orangeville in the 1A Forreston Sectional semifinals at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. The Broncos won 7-6 over Lena-Winslow in the 1A Eastland Regional final on Friday.

Ty Reynolds

Ty Reynolds

Ty is the Sports Editor at Sauk Valley Media, and has covered sports in the Sauk Valley for more than two decades.