LDN - Sports

Mount Pulaski Bruins headed to State

[September 28, 2021] The Mount Pulaski Bruins Baseball Team punched
their ticket to the Class 1A State Tournament on Saturday with a 5-0 win over Springfield Christ the King in the Sectional Championship.

Luke Martin took the mound for the Bruins versus the Cougars on Saturday and with five strikeouts through the first three innings, Martin was mowing
them down faster than a John Deere CX 20 Batwing Mower.

In the bottom of the third inning with two outs, the Bruins got back-to-back line drives to centerfield from Luke Martin and Tyler Cross. Martin advanced to third on the hit by Cross. Itching to score the first run, Martin stole home for the Bruins. Meanwhile, Cross got caught in the crossfires and he was out on the base path to end the inning. But it was Mount Pulaski with an exciting 1-0 lead early on.

Martin quickly retired the side in the fourth inning, with two more strikeouts recorded nonetheless.

Moving to the Bruins half of the fourth inning, Beau Tschantz stepped in the batter’s box for Mount Pulaski. Tschantz slugged a 2-2 count to left field for a leadoff triple. One out later, Carter Clark hit a perfect bunt single to the third base side and Tschantz came racing home to give the Bruins a 2-0 lead.

Martin continued his domination of the Cougars on the mound in the fifth inning, adding one more strikeout to his resume.

The bottom of the fifth inning would prove to be a huge inning for the Bruins. Franklin Wade started things off by reaching base on an error by the
Cougars third baseman. After a walk to Luke Martin, Cross singled to load the bases. With the bases full of Bruins, Tschantz stepped to the plate. No pressure. Tschantz recorded his biggest hit of the Bruins postseason so far. His single to centerfield scored both Wade and Martin, giving Mount Pulaski a 4-0
lead. Two outs later, Cross would score on a wild pitch and the extra insurance run was welcomed by the Bruin fans. Mount Pulaski carried a 5-0 lead into
the sixth inning.

Eric Cooper came in to pitch for the Bruins in the top of the sixth inning. With Cooper on the mound for the final two innings, he struck out one batter and induced a combination of groundouts and pop outs to record the rest of the outs. The game ended on a pop out to Martin at short and that is when the celebration
began.

The Bruins won by a final of 5-0 and after being robbed of an opportunity to play in a state tournament last season due to Covid-19, the Bruins are bound for East Peoria.

Bruins coach Troy Burgard was ecstatic, to say the least after the win, and he praised his team, deservedly so.

“It was a total team effort yesterday,” said Burgard. “Luke Martin was great on the mound again. He had a really tight zone to deal with, which ran his pitch
count up, but Eric Cooper did a great job of getting the last six outs. To put it simply, they are the best 1-2 punch on the mound that I’ve ever seen in 1A
Junior High baseball.”

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Martin finished with 91 pitches thrown in five innings. Cooper threw 39 pitches in his two innings of work. Martin was the winning pitcher, recording eight strikeouts and five walks, while allowing just two hits. Cooper recorded one strikeout and allowed two hits during his outing.

“The defense was phenomenal,” continued Burgard. “Aaron Volle threw a kid out at first from right field. Tyler Cross made a ton of really tough plays at first. Clay Leonard made some incredible plays at third base. The biggest play of the game came in the top of the fifth inning. Luke was on his last hitter, as he surpassed the pitch count limit. They had the bases loaded with two outs and we were up 2-0 at that
point. They hit a hard ground ball to Clay’s left, and he snared it and fired across to get us out of the inning. If that ball gets through, it’s a tie game. We
fed off that momentum and put a few more runs across in the bottom of the fifth inning to give us some breathing room. That play won us the game.”

The Mount Pulaski offense was outstanding when it needed to be on Saturday as well. And since the Cougars really didn’t want to pitch to Martin, (he was walked three times after he recorded his first hit) the Bruins adjusted and made things happen in a big
way. “We got contributions from everyone,” said Burgard of the offense. “Carter Clark executed a perfect
squeeze bunt to get our second run. Aaron Kuznik had a base knock and a great sac bunt. They made it clear that they weren’t going to let Luke beat them at the plate, as they intentionally walked him twice and pitched around him once. Tyler Cross and Beau Tschantz came up huge behind him, going a combined 4 for 7 at the plate.”

Beau Tschantz had a 2-for-4 performance at the plate, which included a triple and a clutch single. Tschantz
drove in two runs and scored a run. Tyler Cross was 2-for-3 at the plate with a run scored. Eric Cooper, Luke Martin, Aaron Kuznik and Carter Clark also
added hits for the Bruins, who finished with eight team hits on the day.

This team has just been consistent in the field and at the plate all season long, as shown by their 17-1 record that easily should be 18-0. An earlier game
had the Bruins winning but when it started raining the game was called and the score reverted back to the
last inning. The season has still been a special one in MPGS Bruin baseball history and it’s not over yet.

“I’m very proud of all 16 players,” said Burgard. “They are tight-knit group and are so fun to be around. No moment is too big for them, and they have a competitiveness that can not be taught. I can’t wait to see what they can do in the state tournament!” Mount Pulaski (17-1) will play Monmouth ICS (15-5) on Friday at 11:30 a.m. at Eastside Centre in East Peoria.

Go Bruins and good luck at State!

[Teena Lowery]

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