Players piled on the field.

Water was flung in the air and poured over heads.

The Putnam County baseball team had plenty to celebrate.

Playing as the visitors on their home field, the Panthers jumped ahead in the top of the first inning and led the whole way in an 11-2 victory over Fulton to win the Class 1A Putnam County Sectional championship.

“It feels great,” said Putnam County senior Johnathon Stunkel, who had four hits, including a two-run home run, and pitched a complete game. “It’s awesome. Ain’t nothing better.”

It’s the first sectional title for Putnam County since the 2013 squad finished as state runner-up and it’s the Panthers’ first sectional plaque in coach Chris Newsome’s 11 seasons.

“It’s amazing. It really is,” Newsome said. “You don’t know how it’s going to feel until it happens.

“The boys played an amazing game. All credit goes to them. I told them (Friday) we’re just riding their backs, but I asked them to keep the journey going because it’s getting really fun. The boys are having a good time, they’re playing loose and they’re hitting well. Hopefully, it continues, but the feeling is great.”

The Panthers (24-11) take the next step in their journey Monday when they play Galena in the Northern Illinois University Supersectional in DeKalb. The Pirates advanced with a 5-4 victory over Dakota in the Forreston Sectional.

With the Galena-Dakota game starting at 3:30 p.m., Newsome planned to cut out of the post-game celebration to scout PC’s next opponent.

“I’m going to boogie up there and catch the game,” Newsome said. “I think it’s important. We don’t see those schools very often. They’re so far away, so getting a set of eyes on them I think is huge.

“Obviously, at this stage in the game, every team is going to be good. You earned your way to be there, so you expect a dogfight.”

Saturday wasn’t much of a fight as the Panthers jumped ahead with three runs in the first inning.

Traxton Mattingly drew a walk to start the game and Stunkel hit a single to deep right-center field before Kade Zimmerlein ripped a two-run triple to right.

Zimmerlein scored when Peyton Barto put down a bunt and the Steamers couldn’t make the play at the plate.

“That set the tone for us, for sure, and we just kept it going,” Zimmerlein said. “It was an awesome feeling.”

Stunkel came out and threw a perfect bottom of the first.

“That’s huge,” Stunkel said about the early lead. “It definitely eases things for me.”

The Panthers scored on RBI doubles by Stunkel in the second and Mattingly in the fourth to go up 5-0 before Fulton showed a spark in the bottom half of the fourth.

After a two-out dropped third strike, Evan Folk hit a two-run single to center to pull Fulton within 5-2.

Fulton’s momentum was short-lived, however, as the Panthers scored two runs on a two-out error in the fifth to push the lead back to five at 7-2.

“The timing of our errors hurt,” Fulton coach Brent Dykstra said. “That third run (in the first) with the bunt and B (Braedon Meyers) rolling it to home (and not making the out) hurt us and created a little additional momentum for them. That ball at second base (in the fifth) after we scored those two runs would have shut the door (on the inning) but unfortunately added two more runs. After being on your heels so long, that kind of compounds each other.”

Stunkel launched a two-run home run in the sixth and Wyatt Zellers and Jacob Furar hit RBI singles in the seventh.

“We kept our energy high, kept focused and just stayed with it,” Stunkel said about how the Panthers kept adding runs.

Stunkel was strong on the mound once again as he gave up two runs on four hits with four strikeouts and two walks in winning his third straight postseason game.

“The defense backed me up,” Stunkel said. “I knew today I wouldn’t have many punch outs, so I just consistently threw strikes and let my defense work. They did a good job today and the bats came around.”

Folk had two of Fulton’s four hits, while Meyers took the loss on the mound.

The Steamers, who have won five consecutive regional titles and won a sectional crown last spring, finish 18-9.

“I’m proud of them,” Dykstra said. “We had a successful season. We’ve won five straight regionals. Most of these guys have been part of two or three, so we’ve had a lot of success. These players have the experience of making it to the supersectional last year and now being back here (in a sectional final) again this year. That takes a lot of dedication and a lot of hard work to get to this point.”