Clutch Hits in the Sixth Propel Mahomet-Seymour to Fourth Straight Regional Baseball Title
By Fred Kroner
Raymond Long and Nolan Johnson drove in runs in the bottom of the sixth inning on Saturday (May 25), helping Mahomet-Seymour’s baseball team rally and secure their fourth consecutive regional championship in the sport.
Cleanup hitter Long laced a one-out single to left field, knocking in Finn Randolph, who had walked.
Johnson followed Long and put down a squeeze bunt, which plated Gavin Bailey, who had been hit by a pitch.
Johnson has a seven-game hitting streak and has been the Bulldogs’ hottest hitter during that stretch. With 11 hits in his last 22 at-bats, he is batting .500 during the streak.
Johnson and Matthew Orr scored runs in the second inning when the Bulldogs built a 2-0 lead. Butler drove in Johnson with the game’s first run and Heinold followed with an RBI-double, knocking in Orr.
Mason Orton pitched the first 5 2/3 innings in the regional finals and was removed after hitting his IHSA mandated pitch limit (105).
Starrick was summoned and got out of the inning unscathed. He picked up the win.
Bergman threw a scoreless and hitless seventh inning, collecting a save.
In his stint, Orton yielded four hits and three walks while matching his season’s high with 10 strikeouts.
Johnson finished the game by going 2-for-4. Teammates with one hit apiece were: Heinold, Bailey, Long, Orr and Butler.
Heinold’s double was the team’s only extra-base hit. Butler stole one base.
M-S is 26-8 overall and has won 18 of its last 21 games.
The Bulldogs return to action on Wednesday (May 29) at 2 p.m. in the Rochester Class 3A Sectional against Chatham Glenwood (30-5), which shut out M-S last Monday (May 20).
The winner of that game will face the winner between Champaign Central and Jacksonville in the 11 a.m. Saturday (June 1) championship game.
The regional title was the ninth over for M-S in baseball and the fourth in the past four seasons under coach Nic DiFilippo.
The Bulldogs will be chasing their third sectional crown in baseball and their first since 2000.
