M-G returns to Sectional 39 final

May 25—GREENTOWN — When Teagan Yeagy was a Madison-Grant freshman, he was one of the driving forces at the plate and on the mound that led the Argylls to the 2021 Sectional 39 championship. He may have had some feelings of déjà vu Saturday as he watched another young pitcher put M-G on the verge of another trip to regional.

Sophomore Tripp Haisley shut down Elwood over five strong innings, and Yeagy powered the Argylls with his bat and his glove as Madison-Grant defeated Elwood 8-1 on Saturday afternoon in the Sectional 39 semifinals held at the brand-new Eastern Athletic Complex.

Madison-Grant (15-10) will face host Eastern (22-8-1) after the Comets defeated Alexandria on Saturday 3-0 in the first semifinal game.

The Argylls are back where they want to be, with a chance to heal the sting of a 3-2 loss to the Comets in last year's championship game.

"This is the goal," Yeagy said.

First-year Argylls coach John Walters knows very well what is at stake and what Monday's opportunity means to his players.

"We've talked about this all year," Walters said. "I wasn't here last year, but I coached (2023 graduate) Maddox Beckley in the offseason, and he told me what a shock it was to them last year. I told our guys that we have one goal and that is to get back to the sectional championship and let the chips fall where they do."

The Argylls wasted little time jumping on Elwood and starting pitcher Jackson Blackford in the first inning.

Xavier Yeagy and Luke Gilman opened the game by reaching base when they were hit by pitches. Both stole second with Xavier Yeagy coming home with the game's first run on a wild pitch. Gilman trotted home when Teagan Yeagy hit a long double to left.

Teagan Yeagt scored on a Haisley single to left, and Max Franklin capped a four-run first inning with a single to center, driving in Harry Brooks, who doubled.

"That's the biggest thing for us," Teagan Yeagy said. "I think we've lost one game when we scored in the first inning."

During the inning, Luke Jones came in to relieve Blackford. Although Jones surrendered the fourth run of the inning, he blanked the Argylls for the next three frames to keep the Panthers within striking distance.

Jones, Elwood's top arm, had been dealing with shoulder tenderness which is why Elwood coach Grant Sailors went with Blackford.

"Luke has had some arm trouble the second half of the year," Sailors said. "I think he threw a bullpen Thursday, and it was still pretty weak, so we went with Jackson, obviously on a short leash."

But, while Jones was keeping the Panthers close, Haisley was keeping the Panthers off the scoreboard.

After wriggling out of a two-on, one-out first inning, he retired nine straight batters at one point before a fourth-inning walk. He surrendered an unearned run in the fifth when Owen Huff singled and scored on an error.

"A lot fastballs today. They were working in the zone," Haisley said. "My curve ball was my best pitch today. I could throw it for a strike or for a putout pitch."

Throughout the game, the Yeagy brothers — Teagan at shortstop and Xavier at second base — had the middle of the field sealed off. The duo combined for 11 putouts and turned a 4-6-3 double play in the fifth inning. The Yeagys also scored five of the Argylls' eight runs.

"It helps me throw with confidence that, no matter what, if they hit it, I'm going to get an out," Haisley said. "The defense up the middle was perfect today."

Franklin came on in the sixth and, singles by Jones in the sixth and Huff in the seventh aside, shut down the Panthers to complete the victory.

Elwood's season ended at 4-23 after suffering its 10th consecutive loss.

"I told them next season starts now," Sailors said. "I told them any chance they get to play or throw — and we just put in a new $30,000 batting cage — any chance they can get to play, that's what they need to do."

The Argylls will go into Monday with their top three pitchers — Franklin, Xavier Yeagy and Gilman — fully available while the Comets will be without their outstanding senior, Corbin Snyder, after he pitched in Saturday's win over Alexandria.

Monday's championship game is set for a 1 p.m. first pitch.

"We're excited about what we've got," Walters said. "We're really excited about our pitching staff, and on the defensive side of things, we're in great shape."

Contact Rob Hunt at rob.hunt@heraldbulletin.com or 765-640-4886.