SJO baseball reaches Sweet 16, faces Tuscola in sectional title game

Strong offensive games have happened here and there this season for the St. Joseph-Ogden High School baseball team.

The Spartans picked the right time to launch hit after hit after hit, though, in defeating Bloomington Central Catholic 16-8 on Wednesday during a Class 2A sectional semifinal game in Bloomington.

The win advances SJO (27-8-2) into a 2 p.m. sectional championship game against Tuscola (29-2) on Saturday, the fifth time in the last seven seasons the Spartans have reached the Sweet 16. The game will be played at Illinois Wesleyan University’s Hornberger Field after rain earlier this week made conditions unplayable at Bloomington Central Catholic’s McGraw Park.
No matter where SJO takes the field next, though, SJO coach Josh Haley is proud of the strides these Spartans have made.

“I’m just happy for this group,” Haley said. “We’ve come together and become a team that supports one another and is going to be a tough team to beat.”

Especially if the offense performs like it did against Bloomington Central Catholic. The Spartans collected 18 hits, with six players compiling at least two hits. Crayton Burnett went 3 for 5 with five RBI, Adam Frerichs went 3 for 3 with three RBI and reached base in all six of his plate appearances by drawing three walks, Drew Coursey went 4 for 5 with two RBI and Brayden Weaver went 3 for 5 with two RBI. Adam Rose (2 for 3, three runs scored), Blake Primmer (2 for 3, RBI) and Nick Boggs (1 for 3, two runs scored) also chipped in.

“I thought we were going to break out at some point, so it was nice to see the players have success at the plate,” Haley said after SJO won two low-scoring and close games to open the postseason. “We had a couple big two-out hits that made a difference in the game.”

SJO trailed 2-0 after the first inning, but went ahead 3-2 by the time the bottom of the second inning arrived. Boggs walked with one out before Coursey advanced him to second base with a single. After a wild pitch advanced both Boggs and Coursey up 90 feet, Weaver tied the game at 2 with a two-run single. Back-to-back singles by Primmer and Rose loaded the bases before Frerichs drew a walk to put SJO up 3-2.

SJO quickly added to its lead in the top of the third. Kaden Jacobs walked to lead off the inning before Boggs walked again. Both came around to score on a two-run double by Coursey that increased SJO’s lead to 5-2.

After a groundout by Weaver moved Coursey up to third base, Primmer lined a single to center field that gave SJO a 6-2 lead. The Spartans loaded the bases again following a walk to Rose and a single by Frerichs before Burnett laced a two-run single and Sam Wesley drove in a run with a fielder’s choice as the Spartans went ahead 9-2.

SJO didn’t slow down in the fourth, pushing across three runs — all with two outs — to take a 12-2 lead. Weaver singled before Primmer and Rose walked to load the bases. That set the stage for Frerichs, who delivered a two-run single and Burnett also came through with an RBI single to give SJO a 10-run lead.

Bloomington Central Catholic cut into its deficit by scoring six runs in the next three innings to only trail 12-8, but SJO answered with four runs in the top of the seventh to seal the win.

Jacobs reached on an error to lead off the seventh and with one out, Coursey singled for his fourth hit and Weaver followed with a single to load the bases. Blake Dable then hit a sacrifice fly to increase SJO’s lead to 13-8 and Burnett capped the scoring with a two-run single.

All the offense was more than enough run support for Keegan McCarty and Rose. McCarty started and lasted five innings, giving up seven runs (six earned) on seven hits to go with four strikeouts and a walk, to record the win. Rose closed out the win with two innings of relief, giving up an unearned run and one hit while striking out four.

While Rose did throw against Bloomington Central Catholic, he’ll likely be available to pitch on Saturday against Tuscola if needed. Burnett, who threw a complete game last Saturday in SJO’s regional championship game win against Monticello, seems likely in line to get the ball against the Warriors.

Whoever starts for the Spartans, though, will need a total team performance if SJO wants to get by Tuscola. The Warriors have won 22 straight games and own an 11-5 win against SJO when the two teams met on March 19 in Tuscola.

“I don’t take too much away from March games, regardless of who it is,” Haley said. “We’ve changed and they’ve changed. Saturday will be about which team executes the best. Tuscola is a quality club. They’ve had success this year and bring back some players from last year’s team that had success.”

Saturday’s game features two of the area’s better programs in the recent past. SJO placed second in state in 2016 and 2017, while Tuscola placed third in 2018.

Both programs are familiar with playing in the state tournament at Dozer Park in downtown Peoria and both sit only two wins away from doing so next weekend. Win on Saturday and a super-sectional game awaits at 6 p.m. on Monday at Lincoln Land Community College in Springfield against either Pleasant Plains (23-10) or New Berlin (18-11). Those two teams are slated to play at 11 a.m. on Saturday in Pleasant Plains.

For Haley, he hopes to win his fifth sectional title while in charge of SJO on Saturday. But more importantly, he hopes to bring a new set of players one step closer towards reaching their ultimate goal: Peoria.

“This group wants to have success,” Haley said. “I think every group is motivated by past success, and this group isn’t any different. They want a chance to play in Peoria.”