Peoria Notre Dame won a sectional, but still isn't playing its best baseball

CHILLICOTHE — Notre Dame put them on, and Jackson Campbell brought them home.

The Peoria Notre Dame junior drove in both runs to help beat Illini West 2-0 in the championship game of the Class 2A Chillicothe Sectional on Saturday. PND (22-10) heads to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2011 and will face Wilmington (26-1) at 1 p.m. Monday in the Geneseo Supersectional.

“Absolutely not,” PND coach Jon Lowry said when asked if his team is playing its best baseball. “… If it comes at the right time, then we’re going to be really hard to beat.”

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Campbell stepped to the plate with one out and two on in the bottom of the first. He looked at a first-pitch ball, then smacked a deep fly to left field. Illini West outfielder Haydon Rankin misplayed the hit, allowing Lawson Alwan to score from second.

“Playoffs hasn’t been going so well for me at the plate,” Campbell said, “so I was really just, you know, see it and hit it and hit it hard.”

Five innings later, Campbell set the final score with his run-scoring fielder’s choice. His third at-bat came after Illini West intentionally walked Thomas Mickels.

And Campbell wasn’t happy about that at all.

“I took it personal,” the PND first baseman said, “and just said (to myself), ‘Hey, just get a job done like you did your first at-bat,’ and that’s what happened. Put the bat on the ball and things can happen.”

Added Lowry, “He is one of those guys that when he puts the barrel on it, it’s hit hard every single time. That’s what he needs to focus on: just finding a way to get more barrels on the baseball because he’s got the power and he’s got the strength.”

Jack Livengood did the rest for the Irish. The junior pitcher pounded the zone, twirling a three-hitter with six strikeouts and no walks on just 71 pitches. He was working on a week’s rest following last Saturday’s regional title victory where he beat Canton, 4-3.

“Everything was really working for me today,” Livengood said. “Just trying to hit my spots.”

Alwan, the PND catcher, confirms that all of Livengood’s pitches — fastball, curveball and slider — did exactly what he wanted.

“Jack was phenomenal today,” Alwan said of his battery mate. “He did everything we could have asked him and then some. … His location is phenomenal today. He was spot on.”

Illini West (28-5) came in on an 11-game winning streak, having not lost since April 29. But Livengood kept the Chargers lineup guessing and getting on base until a two-out, fourth-inning single from Wesley Robertson.

Livengood retired 10 of the final 12 IW hitters.

“He’s just getting better and better the last three weeks,” Lowry said. “… The confidence there when you know the guy on the mound is going to be good and he’s going to bring his stuff. We were just hoping that he could do it one more time.

“He did more than what we expected today, and that was perfect timing.”

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Ethan Carlisle did keep the Irish hitters at bay. He struck out five, walked three and gave up two hits, but didn’t get any run support and was shut out for the first time all season.

Now, it’s one more win and PND heads to the state finals for the first time in program history.

“We still are yet to play our best baseball,” Alwan said, “but we know it’s coming and we’re looking for a trip to Dozer (Park). We’re real excited.”

Adam Duvall is a Journal Star sports reporter. Email him at aduvall@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @AdamDuvall.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: IHSA baseball: Peoria Notre Dame wins Class 2A sectional championship