Ottawa, Adam Swanson dominant in IHSA 3A regional semifinal blanking of archrival La Salle-Peru

It’s said the playoffs are like the start of a new season.

The 2026 IHSA baseball regionals, however, started a lot like the 2026 regular season ended – with Adam Swanson and the Ottawa Pirates dominating.

Swanson, Ottawa’s right-handed ace and slugging leadoff hitter, pitched a complete game, one-hit shutout and launched a late three-run home run Wednesday night to lead the Pirates to a four-game season sweep of archrival La Salle-Peru 8-0 in the semifinals of the Class 3A Metamora Regional.

“Everyone knows what’s at stake in this rivalry, especially in the playoffs,” said Swanson, who allowed just one hit and four walks while striking out 11 in the shutout, his third win of the season against L-P. “What we said all week was it doesn’t matter if we beat them three times; it’s hard to beat a team four times. We had to come out and flush the first three games against them, act like it’s Game 1 and know what’s at stake.

“I think we had a good mentality going into it.”

The Pirates (19-12-1) – winners of nine of their last 10 and 14 of their last 17 after a 5-9-1 start – advance to Saturday morning’s regional championship game against the host and top-seeded Redbirds (25-8), who bested Kankakee 11-1 in Wednesday’s early semifinal.

“We’ve just got to compete,” said Ottawa coach Levi Ericson, who commended his team for its approach and scrappiness Wednesday. “We play clean baseball, we pound the zone, we have a good approach at the plate and we’ll put ourselves in a situation to compete for [the championship].

“That’s all you can ask for.”

The sun sets over the Cavaliers dugout during the Class 3A Regional semifinal game on Wednesday, May 27, 2026 at Metamora High School. — The sun sets over the Cavaliers dugout during the Class 3A regional semifinal game Wednesday, May 27, 2026, at Metamora's Mulberry Field. (Scott Anderson)

While the story of Wednesday’s game was undoubtedly the dominance of Swanson and the Pirates offense relentlessly taking advantage of the opportunities presented by six L-P errors over the opening four innings, it was the Cavaliers (10-23) who tried being the aggressor first.

L-P leadoff man Jett Hill opened the top of the first inning drawing his first of three walks from Swanson. Hill was running with the pitch when Cavaliers designated hitter Braylin Bond sent a two-out single into left field. A slight bobble by Ottawa left fielder Jack Carroll led to La Salle-Peru coach Matt Glupczysnki waving the speedy Hill around, but a perfect relay from Carroll to third baseman Colt Bryson to catcher Lucas Farabaugh cut down Hill to end the inning.

L-P did not threaten again – nor get another hit – for the remainder of the ballgame.

“Hats off to [Swanson] and Ottawa. They played a great game,” Glupczysnki said. “We tried to get aggressive early, got thrown out at the plate, thought it was a bang-bang play. But you know, our boys played hard and battled all the way. ...

“I thought we grew a lot this year as a team with a lot of young guys in the lineup. It’s totally different to try to win a varsity baseball game compared to a freshman or a sophomore game. I think we leanred a lot as a group, and our seniors worked hard all four years for us. It kind of stinks they went out this way, but we think the future is bright.”

L-P's Jett Hill throws to first base after forcing out Ottawa's Jake Torres during the Class 3A Regional semifinal game on Wednesday, May 27, 2026 at Metamora High School. — L-P's Jett Hill throws to first base after forcing out Ottawa's Jake Torres during the Class 3A regional semifinal game Wednesday, May 27, 2026, at Metamora's Mulberry Field. (Scott Anderson)

The Pirates offense, meanwhile, got to work in the second with two unearned runs against L-P southpaw starter Gavin Kallis (2 IP, 2 R, 0 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 1 K). Ottawa added three more, also unearned, in the fourth against reliever Geno Argubright (4 IP, 6 R, 3 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 3 K), the lone RBI coming on a Rizon Contreras sacrifice fly scoring Bryson.

Ottawa closed the scoring with a bang, Aleixo Fernandez-Jobst and Rory Moore both singled to start the home sixth ahead of Swanson’s moonshot home run well over the fence and just inside Mulberry Field’s left-field foul pole.

Swanson finished with three hits and three RBIs, while Moore from the No. 9 spot in the order added a two-hit, two-runs-scored performance.

“I’m scrappy” Moore said. “I try to set up stuff for Swanny, because I know he’ll do his job and if I get on base, something good will happen. ...

“[This end-of-season run] has been awesome. The energy we have in the dugout is awesome. We’re just having fun playing baseball, and I love it.”

First pitch Saturday is scheduled for 10 a.m.

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The sun sets over the Cavaliers dugout during the Class 3A Regional semifinal game on Wednesday, May 27, 2026 at Metamora High School. (Scott Anderson)