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BCR postseason baseball update, May 24

The St. Bede Bruins will return to Jack Horenberger Field in Bloomington to face Annawan/Wethersfield in Saturday's 1A sectional finals at 11 a.m.

Here’s a look at Bureau County area postseason tournaments:

Bloomington 1A Sectional

Tuesday’s semifinals: St. Bede 7, Heyworth 0; Annawan/Wethersfield 8, Dwight 4

Saturday’s championship: St. Bede (21-14-1) vs. A/W (19-16-1), 11 a.m. at Jack Horenberger Field at Illinois Wesleyan University.

Note worthy: St. Bede and A/W both had convincing wins in Wednesday’s semifinals. The Bruins rode a three-hit shutout by Alex Ankiewicz and Gus Burr’s three-run triple to a 7-0 win over Heyworth, while the Titans downed Dwight 8-4. Koeyn DeClercq went the distance for the Titans while Brody Childs went 3 for 3 with two triples and three RBIs. ... While they have not played this year, St. Bede beat A/W 8-6 in the second game of the 2023 season. The Bruins also beat the Titans in their last postseason meeting, 5-4 in the 2019 regional semifinals. ... St. Bede split its Tri-County Conference series with Dwight, winning the opener 9-6 and falling 7-2 in nine innings in Game 2. ... The Bruins seek their first sectional championship since placing fourth at state in 2015. ... A/W won its third regional in four years, seeking its first sectional title since 2021.

Next: Advance to Bloomington Supersectional at 11 a.m. Monday vs. the Arcola Sectional winner at Horenberger Field. Top seeds Mt. Pulaski (26-3) vs. Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley (20-7-1) are playing for the title at Arcola.

Others

Elgin 1A Sectional: Ottawa Marquette (27-2) meets host Elgin Harvest Academy at 11 a.m. Monday for the right to advance to the Elite Eight. The Crusaders blasted Winnetka North Shore Country Day 10-0 while Harvest Academy defeated Elgin St. Edward 6-4 in Wednesday’s semifinals. Saturday’s appearance will mark Marquette’s fifth Sweet 16 appearance in six years. The winner advances to the Rockford Supersectional at 1 p.m. Monday to play the sectional winner from Forreston.

Byron 2A Sectional: Sterling Newman (23-4-1) meets North Boone (26-8) at 11 a.m. Saturday. The Comets seek to make a return trip to state having finished third in Class 1A last year. Newman beat Stillman Valley 7-2 and North Boone defeated Riverdale 8-3 in Wednesday’s semifinals. The winner advances to the Rockford Supersectional at 4 p.m. Monday to play the winner from Chicago Holy Trinity Sectional.

L-P 3A Regional: Morris (25-3) and Ottawa (16-9) will square off for the regional title at 11 a.m. Saturday. Morris knocked out the host Cavs 10-7 and Ottawa topped Plano 7-3 in Wednesday’s semifinals. The winner advances to the Washington Sectional at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 29.

Dixon 3A Regional: The host Dukes (18-11) will play for their own regional title at 2 p.m. Saturday against Sycamore (21-7). Dixon beat Freeport 9-7 while Sycamore blanked Geneseo 4-0 in the semifinals. The winner advances to the Sycamore Sectional at 4 p.m. Wednesday, May 29

Kevin Hieronymus

Kevin Hieronymus

Kevin has been sports editor of the BCR since 1986 and is Sports Editor of Putnam County Record. Was previously sports editor of the St. Louis Daily News and a regular contributor for the St. Louis Cardinals Magazine. He is a member of the IBCA and Illinois Valley Hall of Fames. He is one of 4 sportswriters from his tiny hometown Atlanta, IL