ST. JOSEPH — Randy Wolken's state-record 800th victory as a high school softball head coach came Saturday in his 1,001st game at St. Joseph-Ogden. His 14-0 Spartans are closing in on the school's 32nd consecutive winning season in the sport and 24th in a row with at least 20 wins.

"Players will make you look pretty good," said Wolken, who believes the tradition is a major reason for the success. "It builds. You get a good group and the next group wants to do as well or better, and it snowballs."

To put his feat in perspective, a coach would need to average 30 wins a season for 27 years to have more wins than Wolken, whose unbeaten squad is ranked first in Class 2A. The IHSA permits schools to play only 35 regular season games.

Whether Wolken will coach long enough to achieve 900 wins is a question he hasn't yet answered.

"I don't know," he said. "I don't have the energy I used to have. To do this coaching right, you have to spend a lot of energy each day. I don't know how much longer I'll be able to do that."

For a quarter of a century, he has worked closely with pitchers in the offseason.

"You don't want a pitcher who is lazy," he said. "You've got to spend the time at it, and it has paid off. We usually have good pitching."

In Wolken's early years as coach, there were very few games on the schedule. His first team played 12 games, and his second year he coached seven games.

Among the assistants currently helping Wolken coach the Spartans are Bob Biehl, Leonard Winchester, Dave Richmond, Aaron Allen and Amanda Moss.

In this week's Class 2A state poll, SJ-O moved up to the No. 1 position in the rankings. The Spartans were ranked third last week.

Hawks moving forward

BROADLANDS — Hilary Smith was the first area softball pitcher to reach the 100-strikeout mark for the season, but her totals won't change any time soon. While attempting to bunt April 2, she suffered a broken finger on her pitching hand.

The Heritage junior will be sidelined at least a month. Smith had an 8-1 record and a 1.61 ERA in 61 1/3 innings pitched.

Coach Lisa Sappenfield Boyer has shifted senior center fielder Katie Rutledge back to pitching. The Hawks' pitching coach is Brian Smith, Hilary's father.

Rutledge had thrown through her freshman year, but Boyer said "was playing phenomenally in center field."

Heritage is 11-3.

"We're working hard to readjust the pieces of the puzzle and figure out the best positions for this group of kids," Boyer said. "We still have a lot of talent."

Loaded field at Tolono

TOLONO — Unity High is one of five sites where area baseball teams have been assigned to compete in Class 2A. The five competing teams at the site are among the area's best: Unity has a 14-2 record, Rantoul is 11-2, St. Thomas More is 12-4 and St. Joseph-Ogden is 8-5. Bismarck-Henning is the other team at Tolono.

In The News-Gazette's first rankings for baseball, Rantoul was rated second, Unity fourth and St. Thomas More eighth. SJ-O just missed a top-10 slot.

In Class 1A, Schlarman will serve as host for a regional and sectional at Danville Stadium. That winner will advance to a super-sectional at Illinois Field.

Wheeler among state elite

FARMER CITY — Area home run leader Jordan Wheeler, from Blue Ridge, is close to securing a spot among the all-time IHSA leaders.

She has hammered nine home runs in the first half of the softball season. If she gets to 12, it will be one of the top 20 all-time single-season marks.

Benefit for Sam Wells

CHAMPAIGN A benefit for former St. Thomas More and Parkland golfer Sam Wells will be held at 5 p.m. April 25 at Tumble Inn Tavern in Champaign to raise money for Wells' medical bills as he continues to battle cancer.

Wells was diagnosed with Ewings Sarcoma in 2007. After 36 weeks of chemotherapy, 30 days of radiation and surgery to remove a tumor, he remained cancer-free until November. He underwent surgery in December to remove a second tumor and is undergoing chemotherapy.

For more information about the event, contact Christie Martin, Nancy Sullivan, Vicki Eddings, Cam Wallace or Sarah Rouse at fosamw@gmail.com.

Marcus Jackson and Fred Kroner