Mount Pulaski brings home 4th place in State

[October 05, 2021] The Mount Pulaski Bruins placed 4th in the IESA Class 1A State Baseball Tournament in East Peoria on Monday afternoon after losing 7-2 to the Roanoke Benson Rockets.

Mount Pulaski ends their spectacular season with an 18-3 record.

Luke Martin got the Bruins on the board in a big way in the bottom of the first inning against the Rockets. Martin crushed a line drive over the left field fence for a home run to ignite the crowd and give the Bruins a 1-0 lead early on.

The Rockets would score five runs in the top of the third inning off starter Aaron Volle.

Mount Pulaski scored one run in the bottom of the fourth inning on an RBI single by Clay Leonard.

The Rockets added two more runs in the top of the fifth inning to take a 7-2 lead.

Mount Pulaski Coach Troy Burgard daughters, Nora and Morgan, hold the Bruins official team poster. Photo by Teena Lowery

Mount Pulaski had one more opportunity in the bottom of the fifth inning, but the Rockets retired the Bruins side 1-2-3.

The game ended after five innings of play.

Luke Martin led the Mount Pulaski offense with a 1-for-2 performance at the plate. He reached base both at-bats and scored two runs. He recorded one RBI.

Eric Cooper had a double for Mount Pulaski and Clay Leonard contributed an RBI single for the Bruins.

Aaron Volle was the losing pitcher. Volle tossed three innings, allowing five hits and five runs. He struck out two batters and walked two.

Beau Tschantz pitched one and one-third innings, allowing three hits and two runs. Tschantz walked one.

Clay Leonard tossed two-thirds innings and recorded one strikeout.

Once again, Mount Pulaski coach Troy Burgard offered some terrific post-game comments and expressed his pride in this team.

“I was pleased with how our pitchers battled on the mound today,” began Burgard. “None of the guys that pitched had thrown more than five innings all year, as we had our top three pitchers all unavailable. To come into a state tournament without pitching in any game action in weeks is a really tough thing to do. I was proud of how Aaron Volle, Beau Tschantz, and Clay Leonard accepted the challenge and gave us everything they had. We just made a few mistakes in the field, and couldn’t string much offense together to back them up.”

Mount Pulaski did commit three errors in the field.

“It wasn’t the outcome we hoped for at the state tournament, but these boys have nothing to hang their heads about,” continued Burgard. “This is just the third state appearance in our Jr. High School’s history, and the second time bringing home a trophy. To play on the last day of the season is such a great accomplishment, and is something that these kids will never forget.”

The Bruins last state appearance in baseball was in 1999. That team placed third in the state.

Burgard continued to talk about this 2021 team and their many accomplishments during the season.

       Photo by Teena Lowery

“We knew this group had a lot of talent coming into the season, but they exceeded our expectations,” said Burgard. “They accomplished so many great feats. They beat Williamsville 9-0, who ended up with a 19-2 record and made a 3A state appearance. They beat Maroa-Forsyth, who lost the 2A state championship game by one run. They had to go through one of the toughest regionals and sectionals in the entire postseason bracket. Every bit of what they accomplished was earned.”

Burgard also credited his tremendous coaching staff that helped guide these boys.

“My assistant coaches can’t go unmentioned,” said Burgard. “Gale Clark is a strategic mastermind and has so much knowledge in all aspects of the game. Evan Cooper volunteers his time to work with these kids, and is such a great role model for them. He is wise beyond his years and he does a great job of communicating his knowledge to the team. I truly have the best assistant coaches in the state.”

As he has noted many times this season, this team is a special group that Burgard has really enjoyed coaching.

“This is such a special group of kids, and I can’t say enough about how proud I am of them,” said Burgard. “The chemistry with this team was unbelievable. There was never an ounce of negativity in our dugout. They were a joy to coach, and I can’t wait to see what they accomplish in the future.”

Upon leaving East Peoria on Monday afternoon, the boys made a stop at Country Place in Mount Pulaski to transfer from the Countryside party bus to a school bus. Waving from the bus windows while making a trip around the town square, the Bruins were greeted with lots of enthusiastic fans. The party then continued inside Pizza Man of Mount Pulaski, where the entire building was packed with fans decked out in blue and white.

Congratulations, Bruins, on bringing home that trophy!

Members of the 2021 Bruins state team are:

Preston Cowan
Tucker Fitzpatrick
Keoni Charron
Aaron Kuznik
Austin Kretzinger
Carter Clark
Tyler Cross
Kai Selinger
Franklin Wade
Beau Tschantz
Luke Martin
Eric Cooper
Aaron Volle
Braden Olson
Caden Wyler
Clay Leonard
Coach Troy Burgard
Assistant Coach Gale Clark
Assistant Coach Evan Cooper

In other state tournament news:

Lexington defeated Royal Prairieview Ogden 6-3 in the state championship game.

[Teena Lowery]

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