By PHIL JOHNSON
For The Weekly Post
WILLIAMSFIELD – Hot bats and a pair of pitchers delivered a Class 1A regional title to ROWVA-Williamsfield Monday in an 11-1 thrashing of Roanoke-Benson.
Ahead 6-1 after five innings, R-W (11-5) scored five in the bottom of the sixth to end the game by way of the 10-run rule.
The Cougars put on a 10-hit parade, which was very well distributed throughout the lineup. Brodie Secrist hit 4-for-5 with one RBI, Hunter Ramage was 2-for-4 with a triple and an RBI, Denver Weedman drove in two, Adam Kohl tripled and had one RBI and Logan Kuberski hit a double and drove in one.
Jake McGarry, Graham Wight and Parker Sornberger each added an RBI in the win.
“Brodie had a nice day, and constant output from the entire lineup allowed us to be competitive for the entire game,” R-W Coach Arnie Gonzalez said.
Seth Stewart pitched two frames, giving up just one run, but he gave up five free passes. Kuberski pitched the final four, yielding just one hit and striking out five.
“I thought Seth developed a little discomfort in the second inning, so as a precaution we took him out, and Logan was good from the get go,” Gonzalez said. “He consistently got ahead in the counts and continued to attack.”
“I’m extremely happy for these seniors, as well as the entire ball club for continually working each day to get better. “It’s one of our daily sayings, to make yourself better each and every day you step on the field,” Gonzalez said. “A good effort by our team was fueled by a great, supportive and enthusiastic crowd.”
R-W won its way into the title game with a 9-2 victory over Midland last Friday at home. The Cougars scored a combined nine runs in the first four innings with a 10-hit total game barrage.
Secrist was 2-for-3 with one RBI and a double, McGarry drove in two, Wight was 2-for-3 with a double and a triple and one RBI. Kohl, Stewart and Kuberski each had an RBI in the win.
Kuberski was stellar on the bump with two hits allowed, eight strikeouts and no walks in four innings of work. Weedman threw two frames, fanning one and walking one. Secrist threw to no hits and one walk in Midland’s last at bat.
Illini Bluffs (10-6) defeated Gardner-South Wilmington, 6-4, on Tuesday for its regional title. That set up Wednesday’s sectional semifinal at Glasford between R-W and Illini Bluffs at 4:30. The Cougars won the regular season meeting, 3-2, on Weedman’s walkoff single.
The winner advances to the sectional final Friday at 4:30 vs. the winner between Delavan and Kewanee Wethersfield.
Brimfield-Elmwood
A 20-5 Brimfield-Elmwood season came to a heartbreaking end Friday at Chillicothe in a 6-5 IVC walk-off win in the regional semifinals.
The Indians took a 5-4 lead in the fifth. IVC evened things in the sixth and IVC’s Nathan Cooley ended it with an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh.
Drew Bryant pitched, giving up no walks, 10 hits and striking out six.
Frank Kelch hit 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI. Mason Kieser drove in a run and Bryant went 2-for-4 at the dish.
“This loss hurt because we gave it away. Bryant kept us in the game from the mound,” B-E Coach Brandon Porter said. “We just didn’t make enough plays in the field, which led to two unearned runs for IVC.
“We bring back six starters next season. We were grateful to get a season in this year. We didn’t think we would make it this far in 2021.”
The Indians concluded their regular season with a 10-inning 6-5 win on the road at Peoria Heights on June 1. Down 5-2 in the bottom of the seventh, B-E rallied, concluding with Eddie Peterson scoring the tying run.
In the bottom of the 10th, a wild pitch gave the win to B-E.
Jude Strahm had two hits, Marty Gensler was 3-for-5 and Kyle Binder drove in two runs.
Caleb Tyre pitched four plus innings, fanning five. Levi Moon tossed five plus, yielding one hit and striking out three.
“Levi Moon was great in relief,” Porter said.
Princeville
Princeville (4-18) dropped a 14-1 decision to always strong Putnam County in the regional semifinals on the road last Friday.
The hosts came out slugging and never stopped. Free passes to Putnam County also added to the home team’s total.
The Princes had four total hits. Gage DeVries, Griffin Crear, Chance Pulley and Ted Fritzenmeier each had one hit.
“We are graduating four seniors from this year’s team. We will be welcoming in 10-11 freshmen next year,” Princeville Coach Chris Delbridge said. “Being a young team, we are hoping and looking forward to building on the experience we gained this season.”
“We will return all of our pitching wins and our most productive hitter, Devries, and we’re also looking forward to getting him back on the mound next year.”
Princeville orchestrated a 5-4 comeback win over Stark County last Wednesday on the road in a regional quarterfinal. A three-run rally in the top of the seventh led to a regional semifinal advancement.
DeVries went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a double and ended up with a .490 batting average for the season and a .552 on-base percentage.
Wyatt Pitman, Liam McGrath and Crear each drove in key runs in the win over Stark County.
Crear pitched six frames with six strikeouts. Chase Williams got the save, helped by striking out two.
Farmington
Farmington’s season concluded last Wednesday on the road in a 3-2 regional quarterfinal setback to El Paso-Gridley. It was a pitcher’s duel with Riley Embry going all the way for the Farmers.
“Both pitchers hit their spots throughout the game,” Farmington Coach Justin Begner said. “Riley pitched his best game of the year.”
The Farmers (5-14) had a good rally in their last at bat, but came up short with the tying and go-ahead runs on base.
“Our batters put the ball in play throughout the game but were hitting balls right at them,” Begner said. “We had nothing to hang our heads about. It was a great game to coach and watch.
“It just turned out to be their day.”
