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Area postseason roundup: SJ-O baseball wins regional title in walk-off fashion

matt daniels, the news-gazette, champaign-urbana, ill.
·7 min read

May 18—BISMARCK — A back-and-forth regional championship baseball game on Saturday between top-seeded St. Joseph-Ogden and fourth-seeded Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin ended in dramatic fashion.

And with SJ-O adding another Class 2A regional plaque, a year after BHRA denied the Spartans a shot at postseason hardware.

SJ-O defeated the Blue Devils 4-3, with Nolan Earley putting a ball in play to third base with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh and the game tied at 3 with one out, allowing Kodey McKinney to score the game-winning run.

"Nolan made solid contact to make them have to make a play," SJ-O coach Josh Haley said. "It's a situation we work on regularly."

After McKinney, who went 1 for 2, reached first to start the bottom of the seventh, BHRA opted to intentionally walk Illinois signee Luke Landrus and Danville Area Community College signee Braxton Waller to load the bases.

Earley, who did not have a hit in his first three at-bats, then made sure to put the ball in play, giving McKinney enough time to cross home plate and deliver SJ-O its 10th regional championship since 2013.

"A good, grind-it-out win for our club," Haley said. "They've battled all year. I'm happy for this team and the seniors to get another regional."

Landrus was 1 for 3 with a double and RBI for the Spartans (32-4), who advance to play Maroa-Forsyth at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday in a sectional semifinal game at Workman Family Baseball Field on the Millikin University campus in Decatur.

Logan Rosenthal and Will Haley also went 1 for 3 with an RBI, with Rosenthal doubling for his hit. Earley started on the mound and lasted 5 1/3 innings. He gave up three runs on four hits, but struck out nine. Parker Fitch picked up the win with 1 2/3 innings of shutout relief, striking out two.

"Nolan had good rhythm and pace on the mound," Haley said. "He pitched around trouble in the fourth, but was effective all day."

Micah Stanford went 2 for 3 for BHRA (24-7), while Chaz Dubois was 1 for 2 with two runs scored. Karson Stevenson, Enrique Rangel and Caden Kelemeinic all drove in a run for the Blue Devils, who built a 2-0 lead in the top of the fourth before SJ-O answered and took a 3-2 lead into the sixth inning until the Blue Devils tied the game at 3 in the top of the sixth to set up the thrilling finish.

. Taking advantage of brilliant pitching performances from Kollin Asbury and Traxton Roberts, along with opportunistic offense, second-seeded Armstrong-Potomac defeated third-seeded St. Anne 5-0 on Saturday in Potomac to give the Trojans their third straight regional championship.

Asbury started and threw four no-hit innings, walking three and striking out nine. He earned the win, with Roberts nearly as effective in three innings of relief by only giving up one hit and no walks while striking out six.

"Kollin and Traxton pitched great," A-P coach Wade Rogers said. "They have great control on the mound, and we feel confident with both up there."

A-P (16-5) only managed two hits from Nathan Rogers and Roberts, but pushed across all five of its runs in the bottom of the third. Rogers, Roberts and Bowen Hesterberg all drove in a run.

"We played well in the field," Rogers said of his defense that did not commit an error. "We hit the ball right at them at times, but took advantage when we needed."

The Trojans move on to play Mt. Pulaski at 4 p.m. Wednesday in an Arcola Sectional semifinal game. The second sectional semifinal game on Wednesday will feature host Arcola, which defeated Salt Fork 9-2 on Saturday in a regional title game in Arcola, against either Milford or Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley. Those two teams play at 4:30 p.m. Monday in a regional championship game in Grant Park.

While winning a third consecutive regional title is an accomplishment, Rogers and his team want more after losing sectional semifinal games in 2022 and 2023.

"We all agreed at the beginning of the this year it wasn't enough to just win a regional title," Rogers said. "There are great teams standing in our way, but I feel confident with this group. They are locked in and playing their best ball at the right time. We want another trophy."

. Milford/Cissna Park didn't waste much time asserting itself against Salt Fork on Saturday, building an early lead and keeping the Storm at bay to win 7-1 in a regional championship game in Georgetown.

The top-seeded Bearcats (20-6) led 4-0 after the first inning and increased it to 5-0 in the bottom of the third. Even after fourth-seeded Salt Fork scored its lone run of the game in the top of the fourth, Milford/Cissna Park responded with single runs in the fifth and sixth to enjoy a stress-free seventh inning.

Kami Muehling threw a complete game for Milford/Cissna Park, only allowing singles to Megan Russell and Ava Ringstrom. She issued two walks and struck out three.

Addison Lucht went 2 for 3 with two RBI and two runs scored for the Bearcats, while Muehling was 2 for 4 with an RBI out of the leadoff spot. Jossalin Lavick (2 for 3), Lillie Harris (1 for 3, two RBI) and Hunter Mowrey (1 for 2, two runs scored) also contributed in the win.

Milford/Cissna Park advances to the LeRoy Sectional, where the Bearcats will face host LeRoy at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday in a sectional semifinal game.

Bulldogs win regional title. Top-seeded Mahomet-Seymour cruised past fourth-seeded Lincoln 7-1 on Saturday in a regional championship match in Mahomet. The Bulldogs (11-5-3) will move on and play Chatham Glenwood at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday in a sectional semifinal match in Pleasant Plains.

. Champaign Central placed second in the team standings, with Ezra Bernhard and Abel Vines leading the way as the two Maroons earned a return trip to the state tournament in the process.

Bernhard cruised past James Bretzloff of Kankakee 6-0, 6-0 in the semifinals on Saturday and then defeated Vines 6-1, 6-0 in the championship match in the first season Central is in the Class 2A postseason. Bernhard finished fifth in singles last year at the 1A state tournament, helping Central bring home a third-place team trophy.

Vines opened up his Saturday with a 6-1, 6-1 win against Evan Henneberg of Normal Community before facing his teammate in the championship match.

. Aryan Sachdev won a singles sectional title, the duo of Swapnil Kumar and Mason Miao placed second in doubles and Taehan Lee added a fourth-place finish in singles, helping Uni High win a team title on Saturday in Champaign.

Sachdev beat Ian Shin of Normal U-High 6-3, 6-2 in the semifinals before defeating Hunter Madigan of St. Thomas More 6-3, 6-3 in the championship match. Madigan opened up his Saturday by sweeping Lee 6-0, 6-0 in the semifinals. Shin defeated Lee 6-3, 6-1 in the third-place match.

Kumar and Miao started Saturday with a 6-0, 6-2 win against Jacob Atteberry and Caleb Bushue of Mahomet-Seymour in the semifinals before Boester and Narra won the championship match with a 6-1, 6-3 victory.

Centennial's doubles tandem of Jason Kim and Tyler Luchinski placed third, with Boester and Narra of Normal U-High winning their semifinal match 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-4 before Kim and Luchinski responded in the third-place match with a 6-1, 6-1 win against Atteberry and Bushue.