Baseball roundup: Hayden Hicks, Jacksonville down rival Routt for Mayor's Cup
Jacksonville’s Hayden Hicks couldn’t really explain it other than he just found his groove one day.
The senior lefty kept inner-city rival Routt at bay with seven strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings and the Crimsons prevailed 13-8 in a nonconference baseball game on Saturday.
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Hicks remains unbeaten at 3-0 with an 0.87 ERA and 51 strikeouts.
“He’s just been fantastic this year and he’s taken a bunch of really important innings for us and has pitched extremely well, so I’m happy for him,” JHS coach Cory Bunner said.
Hicks will resume baseball at NJCAA Division II Southeastern Community College next school year. Pitching just might be in the cards collegiately.
“It could be,” said Hicks, who has tossed seven games and 31 innings so far this season. Hicks totaled 24.1 innings last year.
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Hicks essentially found the strike zone, according to Bunner.
“He would lose it and he could never bring it back,” Bunner said of last season. “This year, he’s been able to really compete in big spots and make big pitches. I’m just really happy for him for sure.”
Hicks worked out of a bases loaded jam in the second inning and JHS (13-7) rolled to a big lead before hanging on at the end.
Hicks and Anderson Decker scored the first two runs in the opening frame on a Brandon Sims 2-RBI double. Hicks went 3-for-5 with an RBI and run. Sims walked twice with the double and scored twice. Nolan Peters, Cody Fry and Joe Reif supplied two hits as well.
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Routt (20-7) scored seven runs in the seventh. That included a three-run home run by Eli Olson, who wound up with three hits and four RBIs. Jace Lautemann also had three hits and two runs while Talon Thompson provided two hits and two RBIs.
The Rockets also left the bases loaded in the fifth after Decker ended the threat in relief with a strikeout. Jerseyville swept the triangular against JHS 15-5 and Routt 9-3 earlier in the day.
“We did a good job of getting guys on, we just didn’t get them in,” Routt coach Ryan Turner said.
ALTON MARQUETTE 2, STAUNTON 0: At Alton, Braylen Brown suffered the loss despite giving up one run on one hit and six walks with six walks in a nonconference game. Carter Legendre provided two of the team’s four hits.
PIASA SOUTHWESTERN 7, GILLESPIE 3: At Gillespie, Bryce Buhs knocked in a pair of runs in the Miners’ nonconference home loss.
Buhs singled in three at-bats. Teammate Tristen Wargo also singled, scored a run and stole a base.
Southwestern swept the two-game series against South Central Conference foe Gillespie. The Piasa Birds beat Gillespie 5-4 in the SCC matchup.
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MATTOON 11, TAYLORVILLE 1 (5 innings): At Mattoon, Joey Stewart threw a no-hitter and gave up one run on five walks with eight strikeouts in the win. He also had a double with two RBIs.
MATTOON 7, TAYLORVILLE 2: At Mattoon, Joey Stewart delivered a three-run home run and finished with four RBIs in the win.
Maxx Grieme hit a two-run home run in the third inning for Taylorville.
BUFFALO TRI-CITY 18, LUTHERAN 12: At Lutheran, Casey Whittington went 3-for-5 with a triple and three RBIs in the Tornadoes’ MSM Conference road victory.
Tri-City's Noah Clark was 2-for-3 with a double and three RBIs while teammates Keeton Martinsic and Cash O’Connell each had two hits and drove in two runs apiece.
Lutheran sophomore Lane Seifert was 3-for-4 with four RBIs and Tad Andrews hit two doubles.
Friday's results
GILLESPIE 6, PANA 2 (6 innings): At Gillespie, the Miners scored three runs each in the third and sixth innings and recorded a rain-shortened South Central Conference win.
Gillespie went ahead 3-0 when Jesse Berry had an RBI single, and Colin Griffith (2-for-2) ripped a two-run triple in the third.
Pana got within 3-2, scoring two runs on a Gillespie error in the sixth. The Miners finished it off in the sixth when Tristen Wargo and Luke Schuckenbrock (2-for-3, two runs) scored on wild pitches and Bryce Buhs (2-for-4, double) had an RBI double.
Wargo went the distance, fanning 11 batters and walking one. The two runs allowed were unearned and he gave up five hits.
STANFORD OLYMPIA 5, RIVERTON 1: At Riverton, two Olympia pitchers combined on a three-hitter and the Spartans broke a 1-1 tie in the later innings to post a Sangamo Conference win.
With the game evened at one apiece in the top of the sixth inning, Cooper Kleinschmidt drove in two runs with a single to give Olympia a 3-1 lead. The Spartans added two insurance runs in the seventh when Eric Hohulin had an RBI single, and Tyler Dabney scored a run on a sacrifice fly.
Ian Tackett threw three hitless innings in relief and earned the win. He struck out three and walked none. Brody Rinkenberger started for Olympia and tossed four innings.
Ethen Bates, the losing pitcher, tied the game in the third with an RBI single for Riverton. Bates threw six innings, allowing three earned runs on six hits.
Trevor Lawrence contributed to the roundup
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: High school baseball results around Springfield for April 26-27
