The Road to Joliet: Panthers secure all-Perry County final
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Pinckneyville Community High School's baseball proved patience is indeed golden Wednesday.
The Panthers forced Nashville pitching ace Kyle Heggermeier into plenty of deep counts early in the game and the strategy paid huge dividends.
Scoring six times in the sixth inning, the Panthers rallied past the host Hornets 7-4 in the late semifinal of the Nashville Class 2A regional.
Now 17-14 overall, Pinckneyville battles Perry County rival Du Quoin (22-12) in the regional finals Saturday. Game time is 11 a.m. The contest marks the fourth straight year the local squads will decide a regional championship.
At stake is a spot in the Marquette Sectional at Alton's Gordon Moore Park next week, facing the Red Bud regional winner. Top-seed Columbia will play either Red Bud or Freeburg in the finals there.
"Our defense was very good and we need to keep playing at that level defensively if we are going to advance," PCHS coach Alan Engelhardt said. "We also had a very efficent performance on the mound by Drew Dudek (5-4)."
Dudek went the distance with a nine-hitter, striking out four and walking four.
Nashville (19-15) led 2-0 starting the fourth before the Panthers finally broke through against Heggermeier.
A solo home run by Adam Barczewski cut the lead in half and things stayed at 2-1 until the sixth inning Panther uprising.
Barczewski worked Heggermeier for a walk to start things and Marian Brammeier reached one out later after a dropped third strike. Barczewski scored from third on the miscue after moving up a wild pitch and fly ball.
C.J. Opp walked and Dudek's RBI hit plated Brammeier to give PCHS a 3-2 lead.
Landon Chandler then busted things wide open with a two-run double as Pinckneyville's advantage stretched to 5-2. Brandon Long-who worked Heggermeier into a deep count before walking-scored on the play. It was one of six walks issued by the Nashville hurler.
With two outs, Michael Rakers roped a double for the final two PCHS runs. Dudek raced home on a wild pitch and then Rakers hit the very next offering to send Chandler in.
In the seventh, Nashville loaded the bases and scored twice before Dudek ended the game with a pair of strikeouts.
"We were very patient at the plate and had some nice long at-bats to get Heggermeier's pitch count up," Engelhardt said. "
Dudek had two hits with Brammeier's single joining Chandler, Rakers, Barczewski and Matt Nichols in the hit parade with single safeties.