April 23, 2024
Shaw Local
NewsSubscribePrep SportsFriday Night DriveObituarieseNewspaperStarved Rock CountryLocal EventsGames and Puzzles

Rain hits pause on area’s baseball/softball regionals, boys tennis sectional

By Brian Hoxsey

Umpires confer in the bottom of the third inning before suspending Saturday’s Class 1A regional championship game between Marquette and Newark at Masinelli Field. The game is scheduled to resume at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. (Tom Sistak)

Rainy weather early Saturday afternoon forced the Class 1A regional baseball championship game at Masinelli Field between Newark and Marquette Academy to be suspended in the bottom of the third inning.

The contest, in which the Norsemen lead 2-0 with the Crusaders batting with one out and a runner on first, is scheduled to resume at 4:30 p.m. Monday.

Prior to the stoppage, Newark plated a pair of unearned runs in the first inning. Tegan Kruser worked a one-out walk from MA starter Carson Zellers and Mitchell Kruser reached an out later on an infield throwing error. Both runners moved up 90 feet via stolen bases before Norsemen starting pitcher Joe Martin bounced a two-run double over the third-base bag. Newark also left runners in scoring position in both the second and third frames. The Crusaders have produced just walks from Brady Ewers and Zellers off Martin, who has struck out three.

The Class 1A Somonauk Regional championship contest between Putnam County and Yorkville Christian also was halted in progress Saturday and will be resumed Monday.

Putnam County led 6-1 and had the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the fourth inning at the time action was halted.

The Class 1A St. Bede Regional softball contest between the host Bruins and Putnam County did not begin Saturday and will instead be played at 4 p.m. Monday.

The finals of the Class 1A Ottawa Boys Tennis Sectional, too, were postponed before beginning Saturday and are scheduled to resume at 3 p.m. Monday.

The four singles players and four doubles teams who will qualify for the IHSA State Finals already were determined after Friday’s opening day of the two-day sectional, with the final four in singles and doubles playing for places and better seeding in the state tournament.

The singles final four includes top-seeded Streator ace Davey Rashid, Princeton’s Tyson Phillips and Metamora’s Alexander Schroff and Hudson Shaw.

In doubles, the teams of Nate Geurink and Griffin Hammond (Metamora), Joe Pohar and Andrew Bollis (La Salle-Peru), Mason Walker and Cole Morris (Metamora) and Logan Brandner and Andrew Stamberger (Mendota) have qualified for state and will close out play Monday.