NORMAL, Ill. - The NJCAA Region 24 Baseball Tournament continued on Friday at the Corn Crib and will continue through Sunday with a possible champion-deciding game on Monday, if necessary. Day 2 saw both Spoon River College and Vincennes University get eliminated, and Parkland College and Lewis & Clark Community College fall to the Losers' Bracket after losses.
Game 1 | Box Score
#5 Illinois Central College (W) - 9
#8 Spoon River College (L) - 2
Spoon River's Dylan Suca took the mound for the Snappers in the first game of the second day, throwing 6.2 innings, allowing six runs on nine hits and striking out three. Jake Fosdyck, Jake Shewmake, and Colin Fenili would all be used in relief of Suca but were unable to hold off the Cougars from Illinois Central College.
After a back and forth game through the first five innings, the Snappers saw themselves with a 2-1 lead on Illinois Central College going into the top of the sixth. The sixth inning saw the Cougars break away and take the lead, scoring four to go ahead by three runs after six. Another run would score in the seventh inning for the Cougars, and three more again in the ninth to solidify the win and continue in the tournament.
Game 2 | Box Score
#3 Heartland Community College (W) - 5
#7 Vincennes University (L) - 2
Dayton University commit
Andrew Zapka threw a complete 9.0 innings for the Hawks, allowing two runs on six hits, striking out six.
After allowing four runs on five hits in 3.2 innings pitched, Vincennes' Kavan Crowell would be relieved by Walker Paris and Noah Woodward.
The first five innings of the game saw at least one run score for either team. The third inning saw the game tied at two runs a piece, and in the fourth inning the Hawks scored two to go ahead and take the lead once again. Another run would score for the Hawks in the fifth inning, which would be the final run scored in the game to bring the final score to 5-2, eliminating Vincennes University from the tournament.
Peyton Dillingham hit his second homerun in the tournament and
Shakur Jackson and
Miles Simington recorded doubles for the Hawks.
Heartland will face Parkland College Saturday morning at 10:00 AM.
Game 3 | Box Score
#1 Parkland College (L) - 0
#4 Lincoln Land Community College (W) - 2
Despite allowing two runs off the bat in the top of the first inning, Parkland's Ty Rybarczyk had an impressive outing, throwing 9.0 innings, allowing six runs and striking out 11.
Spencer Walker would do his part on the mound for the Loggers, also pitching a complete 9.0 inning game, allowing no runs on three hits, striking out four to shut down the Cobras.
The third game of the day was a textbook pitchers' duel, with nobody from either team recording more than one hit, and the combined hit total was less than 10. The only two runs of the game would be scored in the top of the first inning, giving Lincoln Land the lead early. While Parkland was making contact with the ball, the hits weren't following suit, as Lincoln Land's defense would shut down any chances for hits.
With the loss, Parkland College falls to the Losers' Bracket and faces elimination on Saturday.
Game 4 | Box Score
#2 Lewis & Clark Community College (L) - 5
#6 Danville Area Community College (W) - 8
Danville's Jason Bollman got the start for the Jaguars, throwing 6.0 innings, allowing three runs on one hit, striking out seven. Austin Gustin, Jake Hensgen, and Dylan Henning would be used as relief for Bollman to help move the Jaguars on in the tournament.
Lewis & Clark woud start Brandon Hampton on the mound for the Trailblazers. He Would pitch 6.1 inings, allowing four runs on 12 hits, recording only one strikeout.
The most back-and-forth game of the day, it was hit count that helped Danville Area Community College get past Lewis & Clark Community College in the final game of the evening Friday. After six innings of play, the score was in the Jaguars favor at 4-2. In the bottom of the seventh, Lewis & Clark would take the lead for the first time since the first inning, scoring three to go ahead by one. In the top half of the next inning, Danville would score four to grab the lead once again and bring the final score to 8-5 to advance in the Winners' Bracket and face Lincoln Land Community College on Saturday.
Lewis & Clark will face elimination on Saturday at 1:00 PM when they play Illinois Central College at the Corn Crib.
For the full tournament schedule, updated bracket, and live stream information, visit heartlandhawks.com/feature/region24tournament.
