Shortly after the calendar flipped to May, the Bradley-Bourbonnais baseball team underwent a bit of an awakening when the Boilermakers swept Stagg in a SouthWestern Suburban Conference series, a series that began with a home win on May 8.

Entering that series with a 6-16 record, the Boilermakers have been hot since then, with their 3-1 home win over Pekin in Monday’s Class 4A Bradley-Bourbonnais Regional quarterfinal improving their mark to 12-19 and giving them a spot opposite Minooka in Wednesday’s semifinal.

“We had our mishaps with some people, things weren’t going our way, we were getting down on ourselves,” senior shortstop Keaton Allison said. “It took one big game and things just clicked for everyone. I think everyone just found a way to get together, and everyone’s been happy.”

Coach Brad Schweigert credited Allison for being the “catalyst” for the Boilers, who are eyeing a third straight regional plaque, on Monday. After stranding a pair of runners in each of the first two innings, Allison’s one-out RBI double in the third plated Aiden Fitzgerald, who opened the frame with a triple. Allison stole third and later scored on a passed ball to give the Boilers an early 2-0 lead.

“That’s what you need, that’s how you win these games,” Allison said. “It’s regionals, everyone’s going to fight, so to get those big hits, that’s what you need.”

Jace Boudreau tallied another with an RBI single to score Sam Frey an inning later, giving sophomore Jack Haley plenty of support in the second outing of his varsity career. The right-hander retired the first nine Dragons he saw and ended his day escaping a bases-loaded jam in the fifth, surrendering just two hits and no walks while striking out three and hitting one in five shutout innings.

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Bradley-Bourbonnais' Jack Haley throws a pitch during the Class 4A Bradley-Bourbonnais Regional quarterfinals against Pekin at 315 Sports Park in Bradley Monday, May 25, 2026. (Mason Schweizer)

Haley, who credited the “family” atmosphere that a senior class of 15 Boilers have helped create this spring for his comfort on a varsity mound, also said that since he was brought up earlier this month, he’s felt right at home.

“They’ve brought me in, talked to me nice, helped me out in the field and just played well,” Haley said. “It’s a really good team. … I just like to play my game. It’s the same game I’ve been playing all my life. I just go out, hit the corners, trust my defense."

The Dragons mounted a late rally in the top of the seventh, finally getting on the scoreboard and loading the bases, but senior right-hander Andrew Kubal forced Owen Sanders into a fielder’s choice to third baseman Max West to seal the deal on his two-inning save and give the Boilers at least one more game in 2026.

That game will come against a Class 4A heavyweight in a Minooka team that’s 28-6, including winners of 10 of its last 11. The Boilers are seeded seventh compared to the No. 2 seed the Indians hold, but the Boilers have upset Minooka as the lower seed in each of the past two seasons, including a 2-1 win in the regional championship round last spring.

“We call it dogpile season,” Schweigert said. “ … It’s what we lead up to all year. When we make goals at the beginning of the year this is everyone’s goal, win a championship and go back to [Illinois] Wesleyan (for sectionals). It’s that time of year, it’s win or go home and the atmosphere is fun because that’s what it is, win or go home."