April 19, 2024
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Notebook: It will be a Super Saturday for area baseball/softball teams

By Kevin Hieronymus
Princeton's Augie Christiansen slides in safely to third base Thursday at Prather Field.

Augie Christiansen and the Princeton Tigers slide into a regional championship matchup against Sherrard at 1 p.m. Saturday at Prather Field. (Mike Vaughn)

Six area teams will be playing for regional championships in what is best described as “Super Saturday” for the lllinois Valley.

Here’s a rundown of the area games:

BASEBALL

At Princeton (Class 2A): Saturday’s regional title game will be a showdown of Tigers - Princeton (18-6) and Sherrard (22-6). Princeton will send senior ace Danny Cihocki to the mound seeking its first regional title in 18 years when the 2005 squad won the sectional. Princeton beat rival Bureau Valley, 6-1, on Thursday while top-seeded Sherrard downed Kewanee, 13-3, on Wednesday. Game time is 1 p.m. at Prather Field.

The winner advances to the Knoxville Sectional to face the Macomb Regional winner on Wednesday, May 24 at 4:30 p.m.

At Orion (Class 2A): The Hall Red Devils (20-8) will meet Riverdale (8-14) at 11 a.m. seeking its first regional championship since 2019, the year after winning the state championship. Hall has junior Max Bryant available to pitch. Riverdale upset host and favorite Orion, 5-1, in Wednesday’s semifinals while Hall beat Rockridge, 12-2. Game time is 11 a.m. at Love Park in Orion.

The winner advances to the Knoxville Sectional to face the Farmington Regional winner on Thursday, May 25 at 4:30 p.m.

At Ottawa (Class 1A): The St. Bede Bruins (21-6) used a walk-off squeeze bunt to squeeze out a 1-0 win over Yorkville Christian on Thursday to advance to Saturday’s finals against the host Marquette Crusaders (27-2). This regional showdown features two coaches with over 1,100 combined wins with Marquette’s Todd Hopkins with more than 600 wins and St. Bede’s Bill Booker recording his 500th this season.

Game time is 1 p.m. at Masinelli Field in Ottawa.

The winner advances to the Elgin Harvest Academy Sectional to face the Winnetka North Shore Country Day Regional winner on Thursday, May 25 at 5 p.m. at Judson University.

At Granville (Class 1A): Host Putnam County (19-13), the 4 seed, will meet No. 2 Aurora Christian (19-9) at 11 a.m. The winner advances to the Elgin Harvest Academy Sectional to face the Elgin Harvest Academy Regional winner on Wednesday, May 24 at 5 p.m. at Judson University.

SOFTBALL

At Annawan (Class 1A): State-ranked St. Bede (20-7) will square off with host Annawan-Wethersfield (17-13) at 11 a.m. Saturday at Howes Park in Annawan. The Bruins cruised to a 16-0 win over Midland in four innings Wednesday while the Titans beat Stark County, 9-0, on Thursday.

The winner advances to the St. Bede Sectional to face the Sciota West Prairie Regional winner at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, May 23.