Litchfield High Sports | The Journal-News

Purple Panthers Leave Lebanon In The Dust

After nearly a week since taking fourth place in the Bill Rucks Thanksgiving Tournament, the Litchfield Purple Panthers were back on the hardwood Friday night, Dec. 1 in Lebanon. In the past five … more

12/4/23

Miners No-Hit Litchfield In SCC Clash

To be the best you have to beat the best, and on Friday afternoon, April 5, the Litchfield-Mt. Olive baseball team needed be ready to meet that challenge. The challenge? The two-time South Central … more

4/8/24

Lady Panthers Snap Skid With 3-1 Win

After falling to two talented teams in Highland and Greenville in their previous two games, the Litchfield girls soccer team snapped their two-game skid with a 3-1 win over Wesclin in Trenton on … more

4/8/24

Salty Defense Pushes Pretzels Past Panthers

On Saturday, Dec. 2, the Capital City Showcase filled the BOS Center in Springfield, as several area basketball teams hit the hardwood in the nearly 8,000 capacity venue. Litchfield would look … more

12/4/23

Rockets Knock Off Purple Panthers

After a tough loss on Friday to Gillespie, the Litchfield-Mt. Olive baseball team would look to bound back on the diamond with a newly scheduled non-conference match-up with the Rochester Rockets on … more

4/8/24

Hillsboro defender Kyle Holcomb (#6) and Litchfield forward Drake Gasperson battled throughout the match-up between the two rivals on Tuesday, Sept. 5, in Litchfield. Gasperson would score for the Panthers, but it was a defensive showcase throughout as the two teams were knotted at one after regulation and two overtime periods. The Panthers eventually handed Hillsboro their first South Central Conference loss since April 2021, winning in a penalty kick shootout 4-2.

Cardiac Cats Shoot Down Toppers

After 100 minutes of soccer against Hillsboro, Litchfield Head Coach Chris Bates was concerned that some of his regular co-workers might need to give him a hand. “They’re going to … more

by Kyle Herschelman | 9/7/23

Lady Bulldogs Win SCC Opener Over Litchfield

With four straight conference titles under their belts, Staunton has been a force on the courts the last several years in volleyball. As it turns out, the Bulldogs are nearly as good when the nets … more

12/4/23

Lincolnwood Girls Top Litchfield At Carlinville

The Lincolnwood and Litchfield girls golf teams were in Carlinville on Monday, Sept. 11, to face off against the host Cavaliers. Lincolnwood shot a 201 at the Carlinville Country Club to … more

9/14/23

Lady Panthers Come Up Short At Pawnee

After a slow start at Pawnee on Sept. 4, the Litchfield Lady Panthers rebounded and went toe-to-toe with the Indians before falling 24-26 in the first set and 15-25 in the second. The … more

9/7/23

Jacobs Takes Medalist Honors At Lakeshore

The Litchfield boys golf team improved to 9-0 on the season with a pair of victories on the back nine at Lakeshore Golf Course in Taylorville. The Panthers shot a 168 on the day, with just five … more

9/7/23

Litchfield senior Kendall Stewart tries to tip a shot over the top over Hillsboro blockers Addison Lowe (#14) and Ellie Miller (#12) during the regional semifinal game in Vandalia on Tuesday, Oct. 24. Despite the best efforts of the Panthers, who won game one 27-25, Hillsboro held off their intracounty rival 25-14, 25-18 in games two and three to advance to Thursday's regional championship game against Shelbyville.

Hiltoppers Hold Off Panthers To Secure Title Shot

For seniors, this time of year isn’t life or death, but it is a half step below that. The postseason is in full swing in several fall sports, including volleyball, where 12 seniors (four … more

by Kyle Herschelman | 10/26/23

With 21 entries between the Litchfield Middle School boys and girls teams, the IESA Class 3A State Finals track meet will have a purple glow to it on May 19-20. In front, from the left, are Coach Victoria Knoche, Hailey Green, Lana Cress, Maggie Schwab, Lydia Gruelle, Leighton Warchol, Ryker Witt,Jaxon Ray, Hudson Walker and Nick Fetter. In the back row are Coach Stephanie Short, Jennah Longwell, Kilee Hoover, Ava White, Gabbi Jarden, Emma Weidner, Jada Carroll, Amari Vickery, Jalen Stewart, Andrew Boston, Lukas Paine, Troy Masinelli, Coach Drew Logan and Coach Vincent Fanelli.

Lady Panthers Have IESA Seeing Purple

East Peoria will be a sea of purple this weekend as the Litchfield Middle School girls track team invades the EastSide Centre for the IESA State Finals track meet. The Lady Panthers have 14 … more

5/18/23

Panthers Take Down Rams

The Litchfield High School wrestling team picked up a victory over Shelbyville on Tuesday, Nov. 28, in a meet on the Rams’ home mats. The Panthers picked up 10 wins in the 14 matches with … more

11/30/23

Gipson Perfect Against Purple Panthers

Emma Gipson pitched a four-inning perfect game and went 3-for-4 with two doubles, a home run and six runs batted in on Thursday, April 25, as Gillespie remained perfect in the South Central … more

4/29/24

Lady Panthers Beat Greenville In Opener

The Litchfield High School volleyball team picked up a win in their first game of regional play on Monday, Oct. 23, against Greenville. Playing in the opening game of the Vandalia Regional, the … more

10/26/23

Litchfield Boys Hoping For Record Breaking State Run

The Litchfield Middle School boys track team will be busy this weekend as they send seven entries to the IESA Class 3A State Finals in East Peoria on May 12-13. The Panther Cubs punched their … more

5/18/23

Litchfield Girls Golf Hosts Trojans, Shells, Vandals

The Litchfield girls golf team welcomed Auburn, Roxana and Vandalia to town on Tuesday, Sept. 5, as they hosted a quad meet at the Litchfield Country Club. The Lady Panthers finished fourth on … more

9/7/23

Williamsville’s Tori Zobus (#35) and Mia Root (#24) try to catch up with Litchfield’s Madi Jenkins as she goes up for a shot during the Panthers’ game with the Bullets on Nov. 28. Jenkins had four points in the game, which Williamsville won 52-22.

2nd Half Sends Bullets Past Purple Panthers

The Litchfield girls basketball team trailed by just six points at halftime before the Bullets from Williamsville wore the Panthers down and came away with a 52-22 victory on Tuesday, Nov. 28, on … more

11/30/23

Litchfield's Emma Walch takes a cut at Anika Camp's offering from the circle during the regional quarterfinal game between the Purple Panthers and Hillsboro on Monday, May 15. Walch, one of four seniors on the Litchfield squad caught the pitch square and sent it over the fence for the final two runs in the Panthers' 7-3 victory over the Lady Hiltoppers in Greenville.

Panthers Knock Off Hillsboro At Regional

It took a few innings, but once the Litchfield-Mt. Olive softball team got rolling on Monday in Greenville, they were hard to stop. The Panthers overcame an early 1-0 deficit to score seven runs … more

5/18/23

Lincolnwood, Litchfield To Host Grace Tourney

After capturing the top four finishing spots in 2022, the four Montgomery County high school volleyball teams are almost ready to get things going at the sixth annual Montgomery County Invitational A … more

9/7/23