One of the main reasons I have continued to collect baseball cards through the years is the nostalgic approach to producing unique sets card companies have taken.

They bring eras together, linking stars of the past with stars of the future in innovative ways.

Topps has done that in its 2008 Series I by introducing the All-Rookie Team 50th Anniversary insert. The company has selected 55 active and retired players who were named to the Topps All-Rookie Team and brought their rookie cards back to life.

Each player is featured on a card modeled after the rookie card design from the 1960 Topps set, and the picture used is taken from each player’s actual Topps rookie card.

Current players to look for include Albert Pujols, Brandon Webb and Ichiro. Among the retired greats are Ozzie Smith, Dwight Gooden and Lou Piniella, whose card can be found at the right.

Topps has also included 40 All-Rookie autograph card and 20 All-Rookie relic cards in the set. Each of the autograph and relic cards is sequentially numbered to 50.

Mark Longo is the authority when it comes to the history of the Quincy High School-Quincy Notre Dame girls soccer series, having coached in every game played between the schools.

So when the first words out of his mouth Friday night were to call the Class AA regional championship game the “greatest” played in the series, it resonantes loudly.

And it would he hard to argue against that.

For 120 minutes, through regulation and four overtimes, the teams engaged in a battle of wills. And although scoreless for each and every one of those minutes, the tension and physical play made it as entertaining as any high-scoring affair.

Let’s be honest. It was the most entertaining game of the season.

“This game has definitely been one I will remember forever,” QND defender Alicia Bower said.

The night was fillied with potential plot lines.

For QHS coach Bill Sanders, it was his last meeting with QND, and as it turned out, his last game as the Blue Devils’ coach. He will become the school’s new athletic director next month.

For QND keeper Megan Rabe, there was a question of how she felt. So ill on Thursday that the QND coaching staff prepped backup Janell Vermeire to potentially start, Rabe regrouped to stay between the pipes.

For QHS midfielder Jenny Dreasler, it was a return to the starting lineup. Saddled with a knee injury since midway through the regular season, Dreasler missed the last meeting with QND and played sparingly in the regional semifinal victory over Jacksonville.

And for QND, it was the chance to maintain its dominance. No senior class in the last five years has suffered a loss to QHS. It was 1999 when QHS last beat QND, a string of 22 games since it last happened.

Yet, the most spellbinding plotline of all — Bower making amends for the penalty kick she missed against Chatham Glenwood in last year’s sectionals — didn’t develop until the two teams had exhausted themselves.

And no plotline could have brought more tears.

QND won on Bower’s made PK, the sixth attempt overall and the first in sudden death. Afterward, she clutched the regional plaque, pulled it tight against her chest and kissed it.

Then she started crying again, overwhelmed by the emotion of the moment.

If you looked close, there was even a glimmer in Longo’s eyes.

“For her to step up and put that side net… it was beautiful,” Longo said.

Across the way, the QHS players shed tears themsevles, finding the ending as heartbreaking as anything they’ve experienced.

“It’s the toughest thing as a goalkeeper that I think I’ve ever been through,” QHS keeper Brittany Senator said. “Not just because it was PKs, but I know I’m walking off Flinn Stadium for the last time.”

Sanders did, too, saying goodbye to a program on which he left an indelible mark.

“I told the girls thank you,” Sanders said. “Usually, I’m sending the seniors off and that’s hard enough. Now, it’s a little harder. I’m sending myself off, but it’s a great way to go out. I’d rather play like that and lose. It’s a good way to go out.”

He can say he took part in the series’ greatest game ever played.

“That’s a huge compliment,” Senator said. “We’re a part of something that is bigger than us, all of us out here who are either Blue Devils or Raiders. The rivalry has been there for years and it will continue to go on for years. We were happy to be a part of it tonight.”

Welcome to Flinn Stadium, home of tonight’s Class AA Quincy Regional championship game between top-seeded Quincy Notre Dame (16-2-3) and fourth-seeded Quincy High School (15-4-2).

Final — QND 0, QHS 0 (QND wins on penalty kicks, 4-3)
 

Team	1st	2nd	OT	2OT	3OT	4OT	Final
QND	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
QHS	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

The Lady Raiders (17-2-3) will face Springfield Sacred-Heart Griffin at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at the QND field in a sectional semifinal game. The Lady Raiders handed the Blazers a 2-1 loss earlier this season.

Sudden death penalty kicks (teams must match each other)

Teams are still shooting toward the east goal

QND’s Alicia Bower — Good, going to her right and just out of Senator’s reach (QND, 4-3)

QHS’s Taylor Nell — Missed high. QND wins in penalty kicks.

Penalty kick shootout:

Teams are shooting toward the east goal.

QND’s Alex Reis — Good. Low shot to her right. (QND 1-0)

QHS’s Ali Hoffman — Missed. Off the crossbar.

QND’s Mercedee Esterlein — Good. Shot high but good over Brittany Senator (QND, 2-0)

QHS’s Amy Schwartz — Good, going to her right (QND, 2-1)

QND’s Erin Thomas — Good, going to her left (QND, 3-1)

QHS’s Katie Cannady — Missed, wide left.

QND’s Trianna Stark — Missed. Save by Senator.

QHS’s Haley Womack — Good, low left past Megan Rabe. (QND, 3-2)

QND’s Leigh McLaughlin — Missed, wide right.

QHS’s Katie Runyon — Good, over the top of Rabe (Tied, 3-3)

Fourth OT notes:

Thirty seconds into the fourth overtime, QHS’s Katie Runyon got past the QND defense and put a shot on goal on the low, left side, but the ball went wide of the net.

QHS had another chance in the final 20 seconds. Haley Womack going up the right side and centered the ball but QND keeper Megan Rabe beat Katie Cannady to the ball to end the threat.

Third OT notes:

The center official, Matt Hillhouse, stopped play with 5:03 left after hurting his leg. After receiving treatment, he went to a sideline and Keith Gerhardt took over in the middle.

QHS’s Brittany Senator made three saves as QND had five shots in the third overtime.

Second OT notes:

QND forward Leigh McLaughlin had to be helped off the field with 7:26 left after a scrum in the box. She got tied up with a QHS defender. She did not return. QND’s best scoring chance came with 10 seconds on a cross from the right side by Alex Reis. The ball ended up untouched in the middle of the box before QHS keeper Brittany Senator covered it.

First OT notes:

Both teams had scoring chances. Three minutes in, Mercedee Esterlein of QND had a header off an Erin Thomas cross go wide. With 3:41 to play, QHS’s Katie Runyon crossed the ball into the box, the ball bounced around to Haley Wommack, whose shot went high.

Second-half notes:

Erin Thomas got inside the QHS defense and went one-on-one with sweeper Ali Hoffman, carried the ball to the top of the box, turned to shoot and her shot blocked by Kristen Muehlenfeld with 2:50 left. The rebound went to Hilary Obert, who ripped a shot from about 25 yards right into Brittany Senator’s chest.

QND outshot QHS 7-4 in regulation. QND committed 18 fouls to 13 for Quincy High School.

First-half notes:

Not much in the way of offense for either team. QHS had three shots and QND finished with two. QND was whistled for nine fouls and QHS for six as play was physical in the midfield.

The best scoring opportunity of the half belonged to QND. With 12:30 left in the half, Erin Thomas dribbled up the right side, passed two QHS defenders and hit a low shot on goal that defender Kristin Dreasler cleared out of the goalmouth.

Pregame notes:

There were a couple of interesting story lines going into tonight’s game:

1 — Can QND continue its dominance of QHS?
The Blue Devils
have not beat QND since the sectional title game in 1999. Since then,
QND is 18-0-3 vs. QHS, including a 1-0-1 mark this season.

2 — Win one for the skipper
Quincy High School is trying
to extend the coaching career of Bill Sanders, who is resigning after
the season to take over as the school’s athletic director.

3 — Heading back home
QND’s incentive to win rides with
the fact it is playing host to the sectional next week. Nothing would
be worse than having the dance at your place and not being invited to
the ball.

The Illinois baseball postseason gets started in earnest today with quarterfinal games in the Class 1A and 2A regionals. Class 3A and 4A open regional play next week. So here’s a look at five under-the-radar players who could impact which teams survive and which begin summer vacation early.

1. Mat Kissinger, second baseman, Illini West: Every team needs a heart-and-soul type of player and Kissinger fits the bill. Scrappy and tough, Kissinger reminds a lot of fans of Phillies outfielder Lenny Dykstra, which explains why Chargers skipper Todd Porter called him “nails.”

Said Porter, “He knows how to play the game, and he gives 150 percent every time he steps on the field.”

2. Ty Runge, first baseman, Nauvoo-Colusa/Warsaw: Most teams take an all-hands-on-deck approach to their pitching staffs as the postseason nears, and the Vikings have made certain their depth can’t be questioned.

Runge won his first career game last week, beating Liberty 18-3 as he struck out nine over five innings. It was just his second varsity start and he walked only one.

Vikings coach Rich McGhghy has frontline guys Ross Purchatzke and Drew Reinhardt lined up to pitch and Blake Lomax ready to shut the door, but Runge’s presence is another viable option in case the Vikings run into trouble.

3. Clint Hamilton, infielder/closer, Pittsfield: Hamilton can’t really be considered under the radar since he is hitting . 418 with six home runs and 30 RBI and has garnered some talk as a potential player of the year candidate.

Few realize how dominant a closer he can be.

He’s pitched 14 2/3 innings in nine appearances, striking out 15 and recording four saves with a 3.34 ERA. His 1.57 WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched) is second best on the staff, and Saukees coach John Schultz doesn’t hesitate to use him.

4. Brad Rumple, catcher, Griggsville-Perry: It’s hard to get noticed when you’re a freshman and one of your classmates is leading the team in hitting with a .447 average. Yet, Rumple has been outstanding as a backstop and clutch hitter.

He has power to the alleys, the aggressiveness to take an extra base and the intelligence to move a runner up when needed. He handles the pitching staff well and continues to improve defensively.

5. Nathan Lunt, first baseman, Quincy Notre Dame: No player in the area looks more like a power-hitting corner infielder than Lunt, and last weekend against Rock Island Alleman, he showed just how powerful he can be.

In the Raiders’ 6-3 victory in the opening game of doubleheader, Lunt launched a solo home run that cleared the center field fence and was estimated at approximately 425-430 feet.

As one veteran coach remarked, “I haven’t seen many like that over the years.”

Lunt hasn’t hit many like that. It was his first home run of the season, and he doesn’t have to hit home runs to help this team. He does need to hit the ball with authority. If he can fill the gaps and drive the ball through holes on the infield, he becomes a major presence in the bottom half of QND’s lineup.