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Marion County College Report

Centralia baseball standout Aaron Newcomb signs with Delta State

Posted on January 21, 2010 by Daniel L. Chamness

In one month, Centralia grad Aaron Newcomb will begin his sophomore season at Olney Central College.

While some junior college athletes will be wondering where they will be competing next year, Newcomb will start his season knowing exactly where he will be as he has already signed to play baseball at Delta State in Cleveland, Miss.

break-out.

"I am relieved to have it out of the way," Newcomb said of the signing. "I signed with Delta State because of their size and the fact they were a southern team. There are some great teams in the south and I am eager to play down there. At OCC this year, I want to be more consistent than I was one year ago."

One year ago, Newcomb posted a 2-5 record with a 2.40 earned run average. In 38 innings of work, the freshman hurler allowed 10 earned runs on 39 hits with 28 strikeouts and 12 walks. Olney finished the 2009 season with a 26-15 mark.

"Aaron just needs to continue what he did last year which was keeping us in games and giving us a chance to win every time he pitched," OCC coach Dennis Conley said. "Aaron is an excellent pitcher and will be a great addition to the Delta State team. It is a great fit for him."

Delta State posted a record of 38-16 mark one year ago including a dominant 18-3 record in the Gulf South Conference. There are currently 11 underclassmen on the DSU pitching corps, most of whom should return for Delta State in one year.

"Aaron has a great fastball and several different versions of it," Delta State assistant coach said Stephen Waggener said. “He has three or four pitches that he can throw for strikes. He brings a great deal to the table both as an athlete and a student. We want student-athletes like that at our school."

Newcomb selected Delta State over Murray State University and University of Dayton. ...

Men's Basketball

Lincoln Land Community College took it on the chin twice this past week, falling to Illinois Central (71-54) and Danville Area (95-68). Centralia grad Carlton Westbrook was in double figures in both games. Westbrook hit 9-of-17 field goals and 4-of-4 from the charity to finish with 25 points. He also had three assists and three steals. In the loss to ICC, Westbrook had 15 points and two assists. Westbrook hit 5-of-7 field goals and 2-of-2 from the charity stripe. He had three treys in each game.

Fellow Centralia grad Devin Wells, also a LLCC player, also played in both games. Against DACC, Wells had seven points, six assists and three rebounds. Against ICC, Wells finished with five points and two rebounds. LLCC is 5-12 overall. ...

Joey Parker, a former Centralia basketball player, scored in double figures twice to help the Lindenwood Lions defeat Graceland College (80-69) and Avila College (69-52). Parker poured in 18 points in the win over Avila, hitting 5-of-9 field goals and 6-of-10 free throws. Parker, who struck twice from beyond the arc, also had five rebounds, five assists and two steals. In the win over Graceland, Parker finished with 13 points, four assists and two rebounds. Parker drained 5-of-11 from the field and 3-of-4 from the stripe. Lindenwood is 12-4 overall and 4-2 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference. ...

McKendree University, now ranked 12th among NAIA, put two more in the win column this past week. Centralia resident Andy Wolff scored 14 points in McKendree's 80-71 win over Columbia College. Wolff hit 4-of-8 from the field and 6-of-8 free throws in the contest. He also had five rebounds, two steals and a team-best seven assists. In McKendree's 74-59 triumph over Hannibal-LaGrange College, Wolff had three points, four rebounds and two assists. McKendree is 14-5 overall and 3-0 in the American Midwest Conference. ...

Illiabum Clube has won its past two games and are now 4-5 after topping CAB (69-66) and Barreirense (75-67). Former Centralia Orphan Matt Shaw was in double figures in both games. The former Southern Illinois University-Carbondale player posted a double-double in the win over CAB as he scored 13 points and pulled down 11 rebounds. Shaw, who hit 5-of-9 field goals and 3-of-6 from the charity stripe, also had two assists and two steals. Against Barreirense, Shaw had 10 points, nine rebounds and two steals. Shaw hit 4-of-9 field goals and 2-of-3 free throws. ...

John Fischer, a Salem grad, had two points as his college team, Greenville College, lost a 94-74 decision to Westminster College. Fischer also had two rebounds in his 12 minutes of play. Greenville is 4-9 overall and 1-4 in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. ...

Women's Basketball

Southern Indiana won its 12th consecutive game, beating Saint Joseph's 84-67. Salem grad Ellen Young, a USI junior, finished with 18 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals. Young hit 7-of-13 field goals and 2-of-2 from the charity stripe. It was not all good news for USI as they lost to Missouri University of Science and Technology 73-51. Young was held to nine points. She also had two rebounds and two steals. Southern Indiana is 13-3 overall and 4-1 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. ...

Dominican University sophomore Danielle Miller, a former Centralia player, has 126 points and 132 rebounds this season for respective averages of 8.4 and 8.8 per game. She also has 15 steals. The 5-foot-11 sophomore forward has scored her points by hitting 43-of-80 field goals and 40-of-60 free throws. She has started every game and averaged 23.7 minutes per game. Dominican is 7-8 overall and 3-6 in the Northern Athletics Conference. ...

Centralia grad Kristin Barrow, a DePauw senior, had five rebounds in seven minutes in DePauw's 71-35 win over Millsaps College. DePauw is 13-3 overall and 6-1 in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. ...

Track

Travis Lavin, a Centralia grad and McKendree distance runner, finished eighth in the 3,000-meter run at the Southern Illinois-Carbondale hosted SASF Invitational. Lavin finished the race in 9 minutes, 2.97 seconds. ...

Swimming

Illinois State dropped a squeaker in women's swimming, dropping a 154-146 decision to Ball State. Centralia grad Lindsay Dinkelman, an ISU senior, was a member of the 200-yard medley relay, which won in 1:50.43. Individually, she was second in the 100-yard breastroke (1:09.05) and third in the 200-yard breastroke (2:30.63). ...