Mason Shaul, Cody Freitas pitch BBCHS to 1-0 win in regional semis

NORMAL − Senior Mason Shaul pitched a gem for the Bradley-Bourbonnais baseball team in the IHSA Class 4A Normal Community West Regional semifinals Thursday. After retiring the first batter in the bottom of the seventh of a 1-0 game, he had the Boilermakers just two outs away from a season-extending win over the host Wildcats.

But just six pitches later, Normal Community West had the tying run on third base and the winning run on second after a single and a double, just the third and fourth hits allowed by Shaul in the game.

Cody Freitas came in to pitch from third base to try and escape the jam, and after walking the first hitter he faced to load the bases, picked up back-to-back strikeouts to send the sixth-seeded Boilermakers into the regional championship with a nail-biting win.

They will be playing for their second straight regional crown against No. 1 seed Minooka on Saturday at 11 a.m.

“A lot of emotion,” Freitas said of what when through his mind after the final out. “Especially remembering what happened last year with us making a long run, so I kind of felt those emotions the same as last year. I love this team. This team is amazing, and I love the guys on this team. Just pure joy.”

Shaul watched the final two outs from the field after moving to center after his stellar outing came to an end. Even with the winning run on second for the Wildcats and the season on the line, he said he never doubted that his teammates would come through.

“Honestly there were no nerves, even though it was bases loaded,” Shaul said. “I trust my teammates, I trust Cody. We’re going to get the job done no matter what.”

As two of the team’s six seniors, Shaul and Freitas had the experience from last postseason when the Boilermakers advanced all the way to the sectional championship.

Head coach Brad Schweigert said it has been great having those two veterans to fall back on throughout the season, be it on the mound, at the plate or in the field.

“This time of year you’ve got to ride your hot hands and you’ve got to go with your guys that are going to really compete for you up there,” he said. “Mason has been one of those guys and Cody has been that guy for us all year. We knew we wanted to, if we could play it right, get Mason through enough innings where we could close out with Cody but keep him available for Minooka on Saturday.

“I couldn’t be more proud of those guys as seniors,” Schweigert added. “Just the careers that they’ve had in general, but this year they’ve really stepped up in big situations for us.”

Offensively, the Boilermakers stranded nine runners on base throughout Thursday’s game. But thanks to a couple of miscues from Normal Community West, scored a run in the second that proved to be just enough.

Ty Alderson singled to lead off the inning and advanced to second with one out on an error that also allowed Andrew Konik to reach. Alderson advanced to third on a walk from Sam Frey and then scored on a two-out error on a grounder off the bat of Kason Bynum.

When the Boilermakers meet Minooka Saturday, it will be the third year in a row these teams will meet in the postseason. Bradley-Bourbonnais won 3-2 last season after the Indians ended the Boilermakers’ seasons in 2022 and 2023.

With several Boilermaker players having played five postseason games last season, a number of big games against a tough schedule throughout the regular season this year and now Thursday’s win, they have plenty of experience under pressure.

“I think it’s huge,” Freitas said. “Especially in regionals, it starts with game one. Once you get that energy and you get that feeling of winning game one, it carries onto the next game.”

When riding that energy into Saturday, Shaul said the team just has to avoid getting ahead of themselves.

“The biggest thing is living in the moment,” he said. “...Just being with your guys, and at bat by at bat and pitch by pitch, just getting the job done.”