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The Mount Pulaski Bruins won the Regional
Championship on Saturday with a 6-3 win over Springfield Christ
the King at Veteran’s Park in Mount Pulaski.
Kolin Gibbs led the Bruins with a 3-for-3 performance at the
plate that included a triple, a walk, two runs scored and a run
batted in.
Luke Martin was 2-for-4 for Mount Pulaski with an RBI and a run
scored.
Eric Cooper had one hit and one run batted in.
Chance Payne also had a hit for the Bruins. Liam Smith and
Preston Cowan each scored runs for Mount Pulaski.
Liam Smith was the winning pitcher for Mount Pulaski. Smith
pitched five and two-thirds innings, allowing two runs on three
hits. Smith struck out seven batters.
Chance Payne pitched an inning and one-third in relief, striking
out three batters and allowing an unearned run.
Mount Pulaski trailed 2-0 going into the bottom of the third
inning. The Bruins took the lead by putting up four runs in
their half of the third inning.
Mount Pulaski would add two more runs in the bottom of the
fourth inning to go ahead 6-2.
A run in the seventh inning by Christ the King would settle the
final score at 6-3.
The Bruins finish the season with a 10-1 record.
As per the Covid-19 IESA ruling, regional's is where the season
ends for junior high boys baseball this season.
Mount Pulaski head coach Troy Burgard was proud of his team’s
performance all season long and from day one he said it was
awesome to be playing again.
“I’m extremely thankful that these boys had the opportunity to
play their junior high season this year,” said Burgard. “It’s
unfortunate that we could not see how far we could advance past
regional's, but up until three days before practice started
there was no indication that we’d get to play at all. After
seeing the high school team lose their chance to play this past
spring, I am so glad we got this opportunity.
“I can’t say enough about this team,” Burgard continued. “The
10-1 record with a regional title over a very good Springfield
Christ the King team speaks for itself. The pitching and defense
was unbelievable all year. At the plate, these boys were
relentless. One thru nine, they made pitchers work and refused
to give in with two strikes. We work a lot on base running in
practice and they really bought into it, which was evident
throughout the season. They took advantage of every defensive
mistake and put a ton of pressure on our opponents. They have a
competitiveness that can’t be taught. I can’t wait to see what
they do next year and beyond. I am very proud of this group.
Burgard concluded by adding, “This eighth grade group showed
amazing leadership all season. I appreciate all their hard work
and look forward to seeing them develop through the next four
years.”
Congratulations to the 2020 Mount Pulaski Bruins for adding some
hardware to the trophy case!
[Teena Lowery]
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