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The last pitch has been thrown in the Bureau Valley and Princeton rivalries on the softball and baseball diamonds.
The Bureau County rivals met for the last scheduled time on the diamonds at Bureau Valley on Thursday with the Princeton softball and Bureau Valley baseball teams winning. The Storm will be leaving the Three Rivers Conference this fall for the Lincoln Trail Conference and are not scheduled to play the Tigers in any sport for the foreseeable future.
Here’s a summary of the series for each sport based on the scores over the years that were available in yearbooks and BCR files.
In softball, Princeton owns a series edge of 22-12, winning five straight and 15 of the last 16 games. This includes a 16-2 mark in Three Rivers play since Princeton joined the conference for the 2015 season. BV won the first three meetings and 10 of the first 15.
The softball teams first met in 1996 with the Storm winning the first three meetings and eight of the first 11.
Princeton holds an even more commanding 33-12 series edge in baseball. The Storm swept last week’s series and have won three of the last four and four of the last six to make the series a little closer than it was. Princeton stands 13-5 in Three Rivers contests.
The Storm and Tiger baseball teams met in Bureau Valley’s first year of existence in 1996 with the Tigers winning 7-3.
Hot bats
The Princeton softball team has come alive at the plate, scoring 42 runs in their last three games and 73 runs in their last six games. They had highs of 21 against Mendota, 18 against Bureau Valley and 14 against Fieldcrest.
Early in April, they racked up 32 runs in a doubleheader sweep over Hall.
PHS coach Jhavon Hayes is pleased to see her team put everything together.
“The key is trust and confidence. We put a lot of work into our hitting and constantly look for ways to be better. The girls have trusted the process so far and I have trust that they’ll execute in games,” she said.
No one’s been hotter than Keely Lawson. The sophomore transfer from Bureau Valley hit her first homer of the season on April 13 at Geneseo. She has hit four round-trippers in a seven-game stretch, including a grand slam at Mendota on April 19.
Hayes said that Lawson, who has an area-best 33 RBIs, “is just getting started.”
Sophomore catcher Izzy Gibson popped two homers on April 20 against Fieldcrest, and now has three overall, while Ellie Harp and Avah Oertel have also homered in the last week.
As a result of their hot streak, the Tigresses (12-5) have climbed to the top of the Three Rivers East with a 6-2 record.
The Tigresses will put their hot bats up against three-time defending state champ Rockridge and ace pitcher Kendra Lewis at Little Siberia on Tuesday. Hayes said the Tigresses are looking forward to the challenge.
“We’re a new team this year and want to play the best competition,” she said.
Making up for lost time
Princeton junior Kelsea Klingenberg sustained a broken finger in practice right before the start of the season and missed the Tigresses’ first nine games.
It’s safe to say she’s been making up for lost time.
The slap-hitter has gone 12 for 22, batting .480 since returning to the lineup on April 11 and ranks among the area leaders in steals with nine in her first eight games back.
Hayes said Klingenberg became a student of the game when she was unable to play, taking on first base coaching duties.
“While she was hurt, she was seeing things from a coaching perspective and now that she’s back, she’s taking everything she’s learned and applying it. Proud of her,” Hayes said.
Change up
Today’s St. Bede at Bureau Valley softball game was cancelled so the Bruins could make up Friday’s rained out Tri-County Conference game with Woodland/Flanagan-Cornell at St. Bede.
The St. Bede and Bureau Valley JV teams will now play in Manlius.
Today’s Hall vs. Kewanee baseball and softball games have been postponed to Wednesday.
On deck
Postseason assignments should come out at the end of this week.
The Bureau Valley and Princeton softball teams could meet again out of the Class 2A Marengo subsectional with regionals held at Oregon and Rock Falls.
St. Bede is hosting a softball regional out of the Class 2A Peoria Notre Dame Sectional with a probable showdown with Rockridge.
In baseball, Hall and Princeton are hosting regionals in the Class 2A IVC subsectional A, including Bureau Valley.
St. Bede is hosting a regional in the Class 1A Bloomington Sectional, which includes Putnam County.
Softball stats tracking
* Princeton (6-2) leads the Three Rivers East, Rockridge (6-0) leads the Three Rivers West and Seneca (11-0) leads the Tri-County Conference
* Princeton sophomore Makayla Hecht tops the area with a .490 average and 22 stolen bases.
* St. Bede senior ace Ella Hermes sports a 9-0 record, 1.35 ERA and 124 strikeouts, tops among area pitchers.
* St. Bede senior slugger Reagan Stoudt has belted an area-best five home runs.
* As a team, St. Bede has hit 16 home runs and scored 157 runs per game.