Bradley-Bourbonnais falls to Normal Community in sectional semis

BLOOMINGTON − The Bradley-Bourbonnais baseball team has been able to conjure up plenty of postseason magic the past couple of seasons.

After making an improbable run to the sectional finals a season ago, the Boilermakers found themselves on the brink of the Sweet 16 once again Thursday, playing Normal Community in the IHSA Class 4A Illinois Wesleyan University Sectional semifinals.

But after picking up a big upset win against Minooka last week to win their second straight regional title, the sixth-seeded Boilermakers had that playoff magic run out as they looked to upset yet another one of the state’s winningest 4A teams, the No. 2 Ironmen.

The Boilermakers fell 2-0 in a game that featured four combined hits. They had only one hit off Normal Community’s Gavin Swartz, a first-inning infield single from Cody Freitas.

After striking out five times in the first two innings, Bradley-Bourbonnais struck out just once in the final five innings against Swartz. But despite making consistent and often solid contact, the hits just would not drop in.

The last out of the game came on one of the Boilermakers’ hardest-hit balls of the game. Cayden Arbour lined a shot toward the line in left, but Normal Community’s Andrew Naour left his feet for a diving catch to end the season for Bradley-Bourbonnais.

“I think we competed like we did all year,” head coach Brad Schweigert said. “Balls didn’t fall, and that’s baseball. That happens a lot, and we had a few games like this this year where we felt like we hit the ball well, but we didn’t get a whole lot of hits. You don’t want it to come in a game like this.”

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Bradley-Bourbonnais senior Ty Alderson leaves the field with his teammates following the Boilermakers’ 2-0 loss to Normal Community in the IHSA Class 4A Illinois Wesleyan University Sectional semifinal on Thursday, June 5, 2025. (Tiffany Blanchette)

The Ironmen scored a run on a pair of hits in the first inning off of Bradley-Bourbonnais starter Mason Shaul. Freitas took the mound in the second inning and matched Swartz pitch for pitch over the next three frames. He struck out four of the first six batters he faced and initiated a 1-6-3 double play in the fourth to keep the deficit 1-0.

Normal Community scratched out another run in the fifth. With Swartz on third, Freitas fielded a ground ball and looked Swartz back to third, but his throw to first sailed over the head of Eric Rainbolt and down the line, allowing Swartz to walk home.

A popout and strikeout ended the inning, and after a leadoff single in the sixth, Freitas got a strikeout and another double play to finish off his day on the mound.

Although the season had to come to an end, Freitas said that as one of the team’s six seniors, he is grateful for the chance to make another run with his team to finish things off.

“I’ve been here for four years, playing with Brad for four years, and he’s a hell of a coach,” Freitas said. “These players, too, I love every single one of them. ... Even though our season is over with, every single one of us will still call each other and be there for each other. I think this is bigger than baseball. It’s a family.”

Freitas pitched five innings, allowing one hit and one unearned run. He had six strikeouts and one walk.

Shaul, Arbour, Ajae Konik, Ty Alderson and Kason Bynum also played their final game as Boilermakers on Thursday. After being a part of last season’s playoff run behind the team’s 11-player senior class, this year’s seniors got to lead the team to another regional title. Finishing with a 19-19 record, they also helped the team to its winningest season in a decade.

“They’re just a bunch of gritty, tough-nosed ballplayers,” Schweigert said. “A regional championship and getting to sectionals doesn’t just happen. These guys put the work in all year long, in the offseason all the way through the season. They’ve just done a great job, and I think they’re going to do big things outside of baseball.”

While these seniors managed to pull of plenty of notable wins over the past few years, Freitas said that the memories he will cherish the most came off the field.

“We had team dinners every week,” he said. “I loved that. We were a family every year, all four years. That’s my favorite part.”