IHSA STATE BASEBALL: Split Decision - Indians share Third Place
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Du Quoin and Erie-Prophetstown will each receive a trophy for third place in the 2011 IHSA Class 2A State Tournament as a result of Saturday's game ending in a 4-4 tie after only six innings of play.
The game, which included a 30-minute delay for lightning, was official after the bottom of the sixth despite the tie because the IHSA wanted to make sure the Championship got in on Saturday evening.
"We had one bad inning," said Indians' head baseball coach Tim Craft. "Two good teams fighting it out. It's just unfortunate that we didn't get to finish it out. The kids fought their rear ends off and I'm proud of them, it's just a tough way to end the game."
When lightning was spotted during a light rain shower at around 4:19 p.m., the teams were called off the field with the Panthers leading 4-3 and batting in the bottom of the fifth inning. When play resumed at 4:49 p.m. and the announcement was made that the game would be over after six innings, Du Quoin showed the fire and enthusiasm that had propelled them to thirteen straight wins prior to Friday's disappointing State Semifinal loss to Walther Lutheran.
"The group that we've had, they're loose," Craft said. "They've fought back all year long. We knew the game was manageable, we told them we needed to get one run right there, we knew it was going to end in that sixth inning, and they did what we asked them to do. I wish we could have gotten another one and then closed it out, but you know what, it is what it is."
Trent Bigham sent down the first two hitters he faced in the bottom of the fifth, then surrendered a single to Sawyer Kuepker, but Indians' catcher Travis Chapman gunned the Prophetstown centerfielder down at second trying to steal with the help of a sneaky tag by shortstop J.C. Davis.
Davis tripled with one out in the top of the sixth and Kegan Robbins followed with a ground ball to second base. Davis waited for Kyle Carsten to commit to throw to first then darted for home, scoring the tying run as he avoided the tag of Panthers catcher Austin Peterson.
"Once I saw the kid bobble it and look over at me I knew he was going to throw it to first," Davis said. "I had to score, I had to keep the game going."
Brandon George and Drew Bennett added two-out singles, but Du Quoin failed to get the go-ahead run, and headed to the bottom of the sixth knowing they could do no better than a tie.
Bigham issued a one-out walk to Zach Inskeep, but got Trey Hannam to fly out to left before fanning Peterson to end the game and the most successful post-season in Du Quoin High School baseball history. The Indians last advanced beyond the Super-Sectional in 2000, but had never placed in the top four of the State Tournament.
"I think it means a lot, it's a testament to our season," Craft said of the accomplishment. "We didn't want to settle for just making it up here. The last game (on Friday) kind of got a little bad, but the kids bounced back. I thought they played well, I thought they played hard. They put it all out there today."
Bigham threw all six innings for Du Quoin and seemed unaffected by the 30-minute delay, allowing just one hit after lightning struck.
"I stayed loose, I wrapped some towels around my arm and kept my arm warm, stretched out and played a little catch," Bigham said. "I felt even better than what I did (prior to the delay)."
The senior right-hander picked up the victory to move to 9-4 on the season, allowing two earned runs on five hits and four walks while registering six strikeouts.
The Indians had control of the game twice in the early-going, with Bennett driving in Robbins for a 1-0 lead in the first inning and Bigham and Seth Baxter knocking in runs in the third for a 3-1 edge.
The Panthers took the lead with three runs in the third, two coming with the aid of fielding miscues by Du Quoin.
"Fun game, I think we did what we've done all year, just kind of hung in there and our pitchers got us through," said Erie-Prophetstown head coach Jason Orman. "I think we only put five hits up there, but we made them count. We took advantage of their mistakes."
The Indians (18-13-1) racked up eleven hits off of three different Panther hurlers with Bennett (3-4, 2B, R, RBI) and Bigham (3-4, 2B, RBI) leading the charge. Davis (2-4, 3B, R), Robbins (1-3, R, RBI), George (1-4) and Connor Wheeler (1-3) had the other hits for DHS.
"It's tough," Wheeler said after Saturday's tie. "I thought one more inning and we were going to pull away and win it, that's just the confidence I have in me and my teammates, but that's how it is I guess."
Caleb Miner led the Panthers with a 2-for-2 showing at the dish.
The Indians returned home around 11:30 p.m. on Saturday to a police and fire truck escort, which led them to a reception held at Du Quoin Middle School where an estimated 300-400 fans came out to show their support.
<u>Broncos end Indians' streak</u>
On Friday afternoon, the Indians' 13-game winning streak that began way back on April 30 came to a crashing halt at the hands of Walther Lutheran High School out of Melrose Park. The Broncos were all over George, the Indians' starter, tagging the right-hander for eight earned runs in one-plus innings of work on their way to a 15-2 short-game victory.
"(George) just struggled a little bit control-wise," Craft said of his starter. "In the sectional he was right on top of the team we faced."
"It happened pretty fast, they got on us pretty quick. We saw some of their numbers and knew they were capable of putting up some runs, we just weren't able to slow them down."
Along with Bigham, George had helped carry Du Quoin on the hill throughout the season, posting a 2.23 ERA with 73 strikeouts to just 29 walks coming into Friday's rough outing. George walked two and didn't strike out a batter against the Broncos.
"I couldn't throw my off-speed for a strike," George admitted. "I didn't have control, that was my problem, that's why I struggled."
Robbins was able to slow Walther Lutheran's bats down briefly in the third, but ended up on the receiving end of seven more Broncos runs before giving way to Sam Kuhnert.
"After they saw me a few times, they were good enough to where they were just hitting the ball all over the place really," Robbins said. "They were tough outs."
Broncos' starting pitcher Dan LoDolce was solid, allowing six hits and just one earned run to pick up the win. His only real blemish was a solo home run allowed to Chapman in the bottom of the fifth inning.
"He worked fast, he got the ball, got back out there and got right after us," Craft said. "We missed some pitches we probably should have hit, but he just kept going. When he's got a ten, fifteen run lead, he doesn't have to throw much at you. He's just going to throw it and let the defense work behind him and I think that's what happened."
Davis (1-3), Robbins (1-3), Bennett (1-3), Bigham (1-2, RBI), Wheeler (1-2) and Chapman (1-2, HR) accounted for Du Quoin's offense.
Walther Lutheran pounded out 17 hits with Josh Galvan's 3-for-3, 6 RBI effort standing out.
"We just kind of do what we do, we came out there, our heart of the order, and put the ball in play, hit the ball hard," said Broncos' first-year head coach Matt Tuomi. "For the first time we jumped on a team and stayed on them, and were able to keep going. We got a good pitching effort out of Dan (LaDolce) and our defense held up today."
Walther Lutheran completed their season on Saturday by falling to Teutopolis 4-0 as the Wooden Shoes won their second straight State Championship in Class 2A.
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