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The Times Baseball Notebook: Ottawa’s Adam Swanson riding hot streak

Pitching leading the way for Streator and Serena; Marquette to face tough tests

Ottawa's Adam Swanson lets go of a throw to L-P on Thursday, April 30, 2026 at Huby Sarver Field in the L-P Athletic Complex in La Salle.

Ottawa's Adam Swanson lets go of a pitch to a La Salle-Peru earlier this season at Huby Sarver Field in the L-P Athletic Complex in La Salle. (Scott Anderson)

By Brian Hoxsey and J.T. Pedelty

Ottawa’s Swanson continues to surge at the plate, on the mound

Pirates senior catcher/pitcher Adam Swanson has been solid with the bat and with his right arm throughout this season but has really picked things up over his team’s last 10 games. Ottawa is 10-11-1 on the campaign but has won five of its last seven.

Swanson, as of Wednesday, was hitting .468 with an on-base percentage of .585 and 15 stolen bases on the year. Within his current 10-game hitting streak he’s 20 for 33 (.606) to go along with five walks.

Swanson has also been strong on the mound, currently owning a 4-1 record in eight appearances (seven starts) with a 1.78 ERA. He allowed 36 hits and just nine walks in 39⅓ innings of work while striking out 52.

Streator's Clay Christoff lets go of a pitch to a Hall batter earlier this season at Streator High School.

Streator's Clay Christoff lets go of a pitch to a Hall batter earlier this season at Streator High School. (Scott Anderson)

Christoff, Byers a potent 1-2 punch for Bulldogs

The Streator Bulldogs certainly didn’t want to be sitting at 8-13-1 with postseason seeding deadlines rapidly approaching and a tough final stretch of season ahead.

While the Bulldogs’ recent-year bugaboos of inconsistency with the gloves and the bats have weighed heavily into that sub-.500 record, Streator’s starting pitching has been nothing short of spectacular against a tough schedule.

To this point, right-handed senior ace Clay Christoff has worked 41 innings, struck out 60 would-be hitters and carries a sparkling 2.73 earned-run average. The Bulldogs’ No. 2 starter, left-handed junior Colin Byers, lowered his ERA to 3.85 with 47 strikeouts over 36.1 innings with Tuesday’s win over Reed-Custer.

Tuesday’s outing was an unusual one. Through three innings, Byers had a no-hit shutout going with six walks and six strikeouts, finishing with six walks, 10 Ks and one earned run allowed in his five innings.

“There was one point where Coach [”Bubs"] Hoffman and I were sitting there going, ‘Well, he’s walked six and struck out six and gave up no hits, so it’s either one or the other,’ " Streator coach Beau Albert said.

One silver lining as the postseason approaches? The Bulldogs offense – led by senior first baseman Cole Winterrowd’s .377 batting average and Christoff’s .361 – appears to be heating up at the right time.

Streator has scored five or more runs in five of its last seven games after a cold stretch that saw the Bulldogs manage to get to five in just three of their preceding dozen ballgames.

Pitching, defense has been solid for Serena

The Serena Huskers, as of Wednesday, have posted an 11-6 record, and with Tuesday’s win over Hinckley-Big Rock, clinched the co-Little Ten Conference championship with Somonauk. Of Serena’s six losses, five have been by a total of 10 runs.

Huskers coach Jeremy Foreman says the key for his team being competitive in every game has been pitching and defense. He added he is hoping for the bats to become a little more consistent, especially with runners in scoring position.

“Our team earned-run average is 2.18 on the year and sophomore Nate Kelley is 6-0 on the season and has an ERA of 0.58. He has been huge for us this year,” Foreman said. “Each guy that has taken the mound this year has done a nice job throwing strikes and giving us a chance. We have done a nice job of keeping runners off base via the walk and errors.

“One area that we need to clean up a bit is our hitting. We have done well enough to this point to get to an 11-6 record, but we have a tough nonconference schedule leading up to regionals where we will certainly see good pitching. If we are able to get guys on base, we have to be able to get those runs in to stay competitive. Nolan Muffler is leading our team with a .318 average and 20 stolen bases.”

Serena's Nolan Muffler makes contact with the ball against St. Bede in a game earlier this season at St. Bede Academy.

Serena's Nolan Muffler makes contact with the ball against St. Bede in a game earlier this season at St. Bede Academy. (Scott Anderson)

A pair of nice tests this Saturday for Marquette

The Crusaders, as of Wednesday with a 22-1 record and outscoring their opponents 264-62, will make a trip south this Saturday to participate in round-robin games against Casey-Westfield at 11:30 a.m. and then with host Tolono Unity at 1 p.m.

Casey-Westfield is currently 15-9 and tied for first place in the Little Illini Conference. The Warriors have won nine of their last 11 games.

Tolono Unity has won five straight outings and is 19-3 on the season. The Rockets have outscored their opponents 162-52.

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Brian Hoxsey

Brian Hoxsey

I worked for 25 years as a CNC operator and in 2005 answered an ad in The Times for a freelance sports writer position. I became a full-time sports writer/columnist for The Times in February of 2016. I enjoy researching high school athletics history, and in my spare time like to do the same, but also play video games and watch Twitch.

J.T. Pedelty

J.T. Pedelty

J.T. is a graduate of Streator High School, Illinois Valley Community College and Southern Illinois University-Carbondale who is some 27 years into an award-winning sports journalism career and serves as a regional sports editor for Shaw Local Media and Friday Night Drive.