Showdown with Unity awaits for SJO baseball; Spartans earn top seed in postseason

The postseason is almost here for the St. Joseph-Ogden baseball team.

And that doesn’t the Spartans are coasting into the playoffs, either.

SJO has five games scheduled in the next five days to end the regular season, starting at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday with a nonconference home game against Mattoon.

The Spartans (27-2, 8-1 Illini Prairie) will then travel to Tolono for a 4:30 p.m. showdown at league rival Unity on Friday.

The Spartans won’t get much rest after playing the Rockets, with an 11 a.m. doubleheader at Salt Fork scheduled for Saturday.

And SJO is set to conclude the regular season at 4:30 p.m. next Monday at home against Prairie Central.

These final five games all serve as a precursor to the start of Class 2A postseason play. SJO has earned a No. 1 seed in the postseason, and the Spartans begin regional play at 4:30 p.m. next Wednesday in Hoopeston.

SJO will play either 10th-seeded Paxton-Buckley-Loda or ninth-seeded Iroquois West in the regional semifinal game. Iroquois West hosts PBL at 4:30 p.m. next Monday in a regional quarterfinal game.

Clifton Central, the sixth seed, will host 11th-seeded Hoopeston Area at 4:30 p.m. next Monday in a regional quarterfinal game. The winner of that game will play fourth-seeded Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin at 4:30 p.m. next Thursday in a regional semifinal game in Hoopeston.

The regional championship game is set for 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 21 in Hoopeston, with the winner moving on to play in a Decatur Sectional semifinal game at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, May 25.

The Workman Family Baseball Field on the campus of Millikin University is the sectional host.