Senior Nicole Koch tossed a three-hitter and the Morton softball team collected 14 hits en route to a 12-0, five-inning victory over the Canton Little Giants Wednesday afternoon in the IHSA Class 3A Morton Regional semifinal. The Lady Potters (24-8) advance to play East Peoria (22-3) in the Mid-Illini Conference showdown at 11 a.m. Saturday. Morton plated five runs each in the first innings. The first seven hitters in the Potters’ lineup all had two hits led by Taylor Namanny, who went 2-for-2 with a double, home run and five RBIs. Koch (15-7) struck out five, walked none, scattering three hits in five innings. She went 2-for-4 with an RBI.
-Bob
East Peoria (21-3, 14-0) scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to beat the Morton Potters 3-2 Thursday evening at Eastside Centre. Bridget Bankes knocked in Sarah Finck and Taylor Kellum for the walk off victory on senior night for the lady Red Raiders. Finck the junior pitcher for East Peoria tossed a two-hitter and struck out 15 to finish the Mid-Illini Conference unbeaten.
-Bob
Senior third baseman Spencer Gaa homered and drove in three runs and Geremy Guerrero and Trent Johnson combined to allow six hits for Metamora in a 5-2 win over the host Limestone Wednesday night that earned both a title share in the Mid-Illini Conference. Gaa, headed to Bradley University, had a two-run double to highlight a four-run second inning off Rockets left-hander Dylan Weaver. Metamora (26-5, 13-1) last won the M-I title in baseball in 1996. Limestone (22-6, 13-1), also co-champion last season, was bidding to become the first team in the 31-year history of the M-I to go unbeaten in league play. Limestone in the second got an RBI single from Dominic Johnson and Adam Schmitt scored on Josh Wormer’s sacrifice fly to make the score 4-2. Redbirds freshman lefty Geremy Guerrero used the defensive support to face the minimum from the third through fifth innings and allowed five hits, struck out two and walked one. Sophomore Trent Johnson came on in the sixth. In the seventh he got Sean Green to ground into a force for the final out with two runners on.
-Bob
Tremont pitcher Jaycee Craver tossed a no-hitter and the hosts opened the IHSA Class 2A Tremont Regional play with a 12-0, five-inning victory over Deer Creek-Mackinaw on Tuesday afternoon. Craver (17-0) allowed just two baserunners — a walk and an error — in striking out six. The sophomore needed just 63 pitches, and a ball never left the infield. Rachel Patterson (3-for-3, double, three RBIs) gave Craver some run support with a first-inning, two-run homer. Jill Runyon’s two-RBI single highlighted the three-run second. In the third, Kali Sanders hit a three-run homer as a part of the six-run third. That frame also saw Tanner Garey (3-for-3) drive home Kennedy Runyon (3-for-3, RBI), who along with her sister, Jill (3-for-4, three RBIs), had back-to-back RBI singles. The top-seed Turks (24-0) face either Havana or Midwest Central in the 11 a.m. Saturday final.
-Bob
The Tremont Turks (21-0) defense made all the big plays in the final two innings — stranding six Metamora runners on base to hold on to beat the Metamora Redbirds (15-9) Monday afternoon 6-4. Metamora, which got a second-inning solo homer from Kathyrn Curtis, plated a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh thanks to RBI singles by Heather Morris and Mckinzie Meagher. But the Redbirds left the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh. Tremont’s Briley Spencer broke a 2-2 tie when she took a 2-1 pitch over the centerfield fence. The senior catcher drove in three runs for the game. Kennedy Runyon put the Turks up 2-0 in the first with a two-run single to center, scoring Spencer and Kali Sanders, who led the game off with a double. Sophomore pitcher Jaycee Craver (13-0) pitched a complete game for the Turks.
-Bob
