Baseball: Cole Martin’s walk-off sac fly lifts Streator to 3A regional title

GENESEO – In the bottom of the seventh inning with the bases loaded in a tied game, Streator’s Cole Martin quickly found himself behind in the count.

However, the senior worked the count even, then fouled off three tough pitches before taking a ball to push the count full.

On the next pitch, Martin smacked the ball in the air to right-center field and deep enough to score Adam Williamson from third to give the subsectional No. 3-seeded Bulldogs a thrilling 7-6 victory over No. 7 Galesburg in the championship game of the Class 3A Geneseo Regional at Richmond Hill Park’s Stone Field.

It is the program’s second regional championship in the past three years.

Williamson started the final inning by being hit by a pitch, with Christian Benning lining a one-out double – his third hit of the game – to the fence in left before Landon Muntz was walked intentionally to set up a force at any base.

“When the count got to 2-2, I knew [Galesburg relief pitcher Tyree Taylor] was really going to try and be around the zone and even more so when the count went full,” Martin said. “I just choked up little and was looking to put the ball in play any way I could or foul off a pitch that was close. The last pitch was right down the middle, and I was able to put a pretty good swing on it and get in the air.

“Give credit to Adam, Christian and Landon for getting on in front of me and making the situation possible. I was just glad I was able to help the team win, be able to hold that plaque, and be able to play again [Wednesday].”

“Cole had a great at-bat and came through like we all knew he would.”

—  Parker Phillis, Streator senior

Streator (21-11-1) will play in the Metamora Sectional semifinal at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday against Peoria Richwoods, which defeated Bartonville Limestone 5-4 in the Washington Regional final.

Streator held a 6-3 lead in the top of the seventh, but a two-out, three-run double by Colton Allen off Phillis, in relief of sophomore starting pitcher Jake Hagie (5 1/3 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 3 K), tied the game.

“We know Jake is going to show up, keep us in the game and be lights out,” said Phillis, who came on in the sixth with Silver Streaks on every base and recorded a strikeout to end the threat. “I mean we have even asked ourselves the question, ‘What makes this kid so tough to hit.’ We are all starting to think it’s the (long) hair. He just kept doing his thing, and that’s getting batters out.

“Cole had a great at-bat and came through like we all knew he would. Credit those guys in front of him for getting on base, putting the pressure on and giving us a chance to win the game. It was another down-to-the-wire win, but we’re good at it.”

Galesburg (18-18) grabbed a 1-0 lead in the third on an RBI single by Easton Steck, but Streator responded with four runs in the bottom half of the frame.

Williamson gave the Bulldogs the lead with a two-run base hit, which was followed by an RBI double by Benning and an RBI single to center by Muntz to make it 4-1.

Streator added two more runs in the fourth as Aukland and Phillis reached on hits, then scored on an error on Williamson’s fly ball down the right field line.

Galesburg used a solo homer in the fifth by Steck and a sixth-inning RBI hit by Jameson Dickerson to close the margin to 6-3.

“The top the seventh was déjà vu all over again,” said Streator coach Beau Albert, whose team allowed three runs in the seventh against Dunlap in Wednesday’s semifinal. “We were able to get the first two outs, but again just struggled to get the last one. That said, Parker bounced back, kept the game tied and allowed us to only need one run to win it.

“Jake stepped up as a sophomore in a regional championship game and did a great job. We couldn’t have asked any more from him today. He’s going to pitch to contact, mix in some strikeouts, but really just let his defense work for him.

“This was a great team win.”