Hunter Whitecotton joins the show to talk about the growth of Southern Focus, a brand that started as Whitecotton Photography and is starting to evolve into one of the top sports media names in Southern Illinois. He gives a lot of credit to the people have helped, and a few of those names are Ryan Zeigler, John Homan, Darren Kinnard, and many more. Hunter discusses his new affiliations with River Radio Sports Central, the Thrillbillies and The Southern Illinoisan, and more. He also talked about his passion for storytelling through photography, but also in the past year he has gotten into writing. He really enjoys covering the sports that don't get much coverage like racing out the Southern Illinois Raceway in Marion, Illinois. Hunter also says most important thing to him is what it means to spotlight local athletes in our communities, and even guys who don't live in the area.

We also had a few Massac County athletes Zach Maurer, Adan Mizell, and Max Elliott to talk Patriots athletics. The guys discuss balancing multiple sports, life growing up in deep Southern Illinois closer to Paducah than the rest of the region, favorite local restaurants and hangout spots, and their plans after high school and college. Then most importantly talking about this baseball team, and what makes the Massac County Patriots special. It was a fun episode packed with sports, stories, and just bunch of guys who love Southern Illinois.

Timestamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:08:02 - Hunter Whitecotton

1:08:57 - Massac County Baseball

This week on the Ballin4God Talk Show, we feature three of the top players from the DuQuoin Indians baseball team: senior Layne Pyron and juniors Max Zimmerman and Cy Craft.All three players have been nominated for Ballin4God Player of the Week this season, with Zimmerman recently winning after a huge week at the plate.Each player plays a major role on the mound for DuQuoin. Pyron is committed to Frontier Community College to continue his baseball career as a pitcher only. Zimmerman and Craft have both posted ERAs under 2.00 this season.At the plate, all three are hitting above .320. Craft leads the team with a .409 batting average, while Zimmerman leads the Indians in home runs with four, all coming within the last week. Craft has added three home runs this season, while Pyron has hit two.We also talk about Du Quoin’s season, their chemistry as teammates, success on the mound, tradition and more in Episode 24 of the Ballin4God Talk Show.SPONSORS:ALL STARS-N-STITCHESREND LAKE CABINS IN THE WOODSFOLLOW US: Instagram: @B4G_SILTwitter: @ConwellRussellFacebook: Ballin4GodTikTok: B4G_SIL

Timestamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:20:06 - Du Quoin Baseball

1:33:01 - Outro

This week’s episode features new Woodlawn Cardinals boys basketball head coach Brian Gamber. Gamber previously coached at Woodlawn from 2016-20, where he posted a 96-34 record and won three regional titles. He later spent time as the head men’s basketball coach at Rend Lake College and has served the past two seasons as an assistant coach for the Mount Vernon Rams boys basketball team.Our second interview features Goreville senior Garrett Church, one of the top baseball players in Southern Illinois. Church recently committed to Rend Lake College, where he plans to continue both his academic and athletic career as a pitcher and position player.Church also made a major impact on the basketball court during his time at Goreville. He set the school’s single-season 3-point record with 74 as a junior and followed it up with 86 this past season. However, teammate Zech Green finished with 103 made 3-pointers. Together, the Blackcats knocked down 337 threes this season, which ranks 13th in IHSA history. Goreville also finished as the 1A state runner-up this past season.

Timestamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:11:44 - Brian Gamber

1:02:33 - Garrett Church

1:57:05 - Outro

On this week’s episode of the Ballin4God podcast, we had two seniors from the Carterville Lions softball team, Caidence Phillips and Taryn Ford.Both are elite softball players, not just in our area, but across the country. Ford is committed to Wichita State and is a pitcher and utility player. Phillips is committed to Illinois as a pitcher-only player. They talked about the success of Carterville softball, the team chemistry and why the Lions have been so successful. Phillips also recently won our Player of the Week for April 27-May 2. Phillips pitched 14 innings, 33 K’s, 0 earned runs, allowed only 5 hits. She also hit two home runs and six RBI's.In our second interview, we had Jaylon Downey and Reed Robinson from the Waltonville/Sesser-Valier Spartans baseball team. Downey is a senior from Sesser-Valier, and he has put on a great show so far in his senior season. Downey won our Player of the Week for April 13-18 after batting 5/6 with two home runs, seven RBIs and an .810 on-base percentage.We also had sophomore Reed Robinson on the show. Robinson has been a big part of WSV the last two seasons. He played a lot of big innings on a WSV team that made the Elite Eight in Class 1A last year, and he is a big part of the team again this season.SPONSORS:ALL STARS-N-STITCHESREND LAKE CABINS IN THE WOODSFOLLOW US: Instagram: @B4G_SILTwitter: @ConwellRussellFacebook: Ballin4GodTikTok: B4G_SIL

Timestamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:01:33 - Caidence & Taryn

0:55:33 - Jaylon & Reed

1:31:31 - Outro

What a fun show it was for our twenty-first episode of the Ballin4God Talk Show.We had three juniors from the Harrisburg Bulldogs baseball teams: Aidan Hankins, Ian Crabb, and Rylan Palmer. They talked about how their season is going so far, what the key to success is, and what it is like to be a part of the Bulldog family. Palmer also won our Ballin4God Player Of The Week a couple of weeks ago.Then our segment was with the newly named head coach of the Mt. Vernon Rams boys basketball team, Luke Cooper. Cooper is a 2019 graduate from Mt. Vernon, and he talked about how cool it is to be the head coach at such a young age. Cooper had coached the last six years at Woodlawn, and four of those years he was the head coach for the Cardinals. We also got to talk about some of his favorite gyms to coach and some of the toughest places to play on the road.SPONSORS:ALL STARS-N-STITCHESREND LAKE CABINS IN THE WOODSFOLLOW US: Instagram: @B4G_SILTwitter: @ConwellRussellFacebook: Ballin4GodTikTok: B4G_SIL

Timestamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:03:32 - Harrisburg Baseball

1:12:40 - Luke Cooper

2:02:47 - Outro

On this week’s Episode 20 of the Ballin4God Podcast, we featured two segments.

In the first, Russell Conwell interviewed Pinckneyville track & field athletes Christian Queen and Brody Wilt. Queen competes in the 400-meter dash, while Wilt is primarily a long jumper and triple jumper. Wilt is committed to Purdue Fort Wayne.

Then our second interview, which we were very excited for, was with the first-year head baseball coach of the Benton Rangers, Tyler Leffler. Leffler is a 2012 graduate of Benton High School. He played at Bradley University and was also drafted in the MLB draft in the 27th round. We also had Austin McPheron, the first-year pitching coach for the Rangers. McPheron is a 2013 graduate of Johnston City High School. He played at Southern Illinois University after high school. McPheron and Leffler faced off against each other in high school, but also in college.

SPONSORS:

ALL STARS-N-STITCHES

REND LAKE CABINS IN THE WOODS

FOLLOW US:

Instagram: @B4G_SIL

Twitter: @ConwellRussell

Facebook: Ballin4God

TikTok: B4G_SIL

Timestamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:04:03 - Christian & Brody

0:49:33 - Austin & Tyler

2:30:02 - Outro

Filmed episode 19 of the Ballin4God Talk Show, brought to you by Rend Lake Cabins In The Woods. We had the head coach of the Carterville Lions softball team, Will Capie, and his son, Drake Capie, who played football and is a current member of the Lions baseball team. Both teams are on fire as the softball is 20-0, and the baseball is 15-3.

SPONSORS:

ALL STARS-N-STITCHES

REND LAKE CABINS IN THE WOODS

FOLLOW US:

Instagram: @B4G_SIL

Twitter: @ConwellRussell

Facebook: Ballin4God

TikTok: B4G_SIL

Timestamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:17:15 - Will & Drake Capie

1:28:03 - Outro

SPONSORS:ALL STARS-N-STITCHESJOE'S PIZZA & PASTAREND LAKE CABINS IN THE WOODSFOLLOW US: Instagram: @B4G_SILTwitter: @B4G_SILFacebook: Ballin4GodTikTok: B4G_SIL

Timestamps:

0:00:00- Intro

0:05:14 - Ryley House

0:33:52 - Callahan & Lane

1:28:43 - Outro

Preview of the 47th Annual Lions Club All-Star Game at Rend Lake College, featuring many of the top area senior basketball players for boys and girls in Southern Illinois. We also had Brian Murley and JR Russell of Blackcats Network, as well as Dave Severin and Shane Hawkins, together discussing what this all-star game really means, its significance, and sharing some old stories, while also looking back on the season.

Timestamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:13:50 - Group #1

0:36:52 - Dave & Shane

0:54:40 - Group #3

1:01:07 - Group #4

1:08:04 - Group - #5

1:09:57 - Group #6

1:12:15 - Group #7

1:18:42 - Outro

In Episode 16 of the Ballin4God Talk Show just before supersectional night. The episode features seven members of the Benton Rangers, including the starting five and assistant coaches Jason Hobbs and Lucas Roberts.

The Benton Rangers take on the Quincy Notre Dame Raiders tonight at 7:00 PM at the Banterra Center in Carbondale in the 2A Supersectional.

We were also planning to have some of the Goreville Blackcats on the show, but the team left early Sunday to make the trip north to Jacksonville, Illinois, where they will face the Jacksonville Routt Catholic Rockets in the 1A Supersectional at the Jacksonville Bowl.

If both of our area teams advance tonight they will head to Champaign for the IHSA State Finals in their respective classes.

Episode 16 is brought to you by Rend Lake Cabins in the Woods. We filmed this week’s episode at The Light House to fit all of our guests.

If you’re looking for a quiet place to relax in a beautiful setting, you’ve found it with Rend Lake Cabins in the Woods.

Timestamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:06:19 - Benton Rangers Starting 5

0:47:31 - Lucas Roberts & Jason Hobbs

1:28:07 - Outro