Putnam County freshman catcher Callen Wiesbrock knows all about the Panthers’ baseball tradition.

His father, Tom, was a starter on Putnam County’s 1998 team that placed fourth in Class A.

“He’s told me about the home run he hit and the competition they faced to get there,” Callen Wiesbrock said.

Tom Wiesbrock belted a two-run walk-off home run to lift the Panthers to victory in the 1998 quarterfinals.

Now, Callen Wiesbrock is making plays for the Panthers in their run to state.

In Tuesday’s 7-4 victory over Galena in the Class 1A NIU Supersectional in DeKalb, Wiesbrock tagged a runner out at home plate, caught a pop-up along the fence deep in foul territory and picked a runner off first base.

“It feels great keeping the tradition going,” Wiesbrock said. “It means a lot [to my dad]. It takes him back to when they went to state and how much effort he’s put into me.”

This year’s Panthers have added another chapter to Putnam County’s rich tradition. Putnam County (25-11) will play North Clay (35-4) in a state semifinal at 1 p.m. Friday at Illinois Field in Champaign.

Putnam County opened for the 1966-67 school year as a consolidation of Hennepin, Hopkins and Magnolia-Swaney high schools.

The Panthers have qualified for state in baseball in every full decade since the school opened. Putnam County qualified for state in 1972, 1979, 1982, 1998, 2008, 2013 and 2026. The Panthers placed fourth in 1998, third in 2008 and second in 2013.

“I think all the success we had in the past influences the future,” said Putnam County freshman second baseman Eli King, who was 2 for 2 with two RBIs in the supersectional. “It just creates a new level of play for future athletes.”

Junior pitcher/third baseman Maddox Poole credits the community support.

“I think just the culture and the community,” said Poole, who went 2 for 4 with a run and an RBI and was the winning pitcher in relief in the supersectional. “When we were playing the sectional [at home], there were tons of people there. Everybody came out to support. I think that’s probably what it is.”

Putnam County has had four coaches who have led the program for 55 of its 59 seasons, and current coach Chris Newsome now joins the other three as a state qualifier.

Joe Massino was the consolidated school’s first coach, going 191-42 with one state berth from 1967-75 after previously coaching Hennepin. Ken Jenkins guided the Panthers to a 517-336 record and three state appearances from 1979 to 2008. Dave Garcia coached the Panthers to a 124-51 mark and a runner-up finish from 2009-2013. Mike Kilmartin led PC to state in his lone season in 1978.

Newsome is 213-124 in his 11th season.

“All the coaches and all the players who came before us just set the bar that we constantly strive to hit,” Newsome said. “I’ve told them before, if you’re here for a .500 season, I’m not your guy. Early on, a talk we had was what do we want out of this year. They all fill out anonymous this is where we see ourselves [forms]. We had a couple state tournaments. You usually get that every year, but most of them were like, ‘I’d like to advance to the sectional.’ Without the last couple weeks of us clicking a little bit more offensively, I’d say that’s probably pretty true to where we should have ended up.

“But now that we’re clicking a little bit and are a little bit more dangerous, we earned that trip and beat a good ball club [in the supersectional].”

Newsome knows the Panthers have a tough matchup in the semifinals against North Clay, which doesn’t have as much historical success as Putnam County, but has a strong program in recent years.

The Cardinals are 326-123 with eight regional titles, two sectional titles and the 2022 Class 1A state championship in 15 seasons under current coach John Frech.

This spring, the Cardinals are averaging 9.8 runs per game while allowing 2.1. North Clay has scored double-digit runs in 18 games this season, including five games scoring 20 or more, and has shut out 16 opponents.

The Cardinals have outscored postseason opponents 49-5, including an 8-0 win over Goreville in the supersectional.

Jack Compton (.462, 11 doubles, 52 runs, 40 RBIs), Ian Jones (.441, 10 2B, 30 R, 45 RBIs), Carder Walden (.429, 10 2B, 4 HR, 34 R, 39 RBIs), Cooper Lewis (.386, 10 2B, 3 HR, 42 R, 29 RBIs) and Cayden Craig (.364, 7 HR, 37 R, 48 RBIs) are the Cardinals top hitters.

North Clay has three strong pitchers. Compton and Jones are each 9-1, and Trevan Sidwell is 7-1. Compton has a 0.69 ERA with 77 strikeouts, Jones has a 1.92 ERA with 66 strikeouts and Sidwell has a 2.04 ERA with 46 strikeouts. Also for the Cardinals, Zimdars is 4-0 with a 0.56 ERA.

“They’re good,” Newsome said. “I know that. It’s a team I’m somewhat familiar with from when we had fall ball. They’re a good offensive club. They’re doing damage, too. They’ve got several guys who can throw it upper 80s. Hopefully, we can get some more information on them moving forward to help aid us and help develop a game plan. It’s going to be a tough one.”

Newsome said he thinks most people are expecting a North Clay vs. Tremont (36-2) matchup in the state title game at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Tremont will play Routt Catholic (24-12) in Friday’s first semifinal.

“If you ask anybody across the state, they’re looking at Tremont vs. North Clay [for the title],” Newsome said. “They want to see that. Hopefully, we can play spoiler and end up there instead of them.”

Putnam County is averaging 7.3 runs per game, including 9.3 during its current eight-game winning streak, and allowing 3.3 runs per game.

Senior Johnathon Stunkel has led the Panthers as he’s hitting .440 with seven home runs, five triples, 12 doubles, 48 runs and 39 RBIs while going 9-3 on the mound with a 1.46 ERA and 92 strikeouts to 15 walks in 72 innings.

Stunkel was the winning pitcher in the regional final, sectional semifinal and sectional championship and is expected to start Friday’s state semifinal.

During five postseason games, Stunkel is 9 for 18 with two home runs, a triple, three doubles, seven RBIs and seven runs.

“I knew I had to step up this year,” Stunkel said after the sectional final. “Last year I was kind of that guy, then this year I knew for sure I had to step up, take that role and get the job done.”

Also for PC, Traxton Mattingly is hitting .426 with 17 doubles, four triples, 49 runs and 24 RBIs. Kade Zimmerlein is hitting .426 with nine doubles, 32 runs and 30 RBIs. Poole is hitting .333 with nine doubles, 26 runs and 24 RBIs.

Zimmerlein is 7-2 with a 2.14 ERA. Poole (3-1, 2.33 ERA) and Rudy Villagomez (3-0, 2.00 ERA) have also logged innings for PC.