High School Boys Baseball
Hilltoppers continuing dominating on the diamond
Mount Pulaski improves to 13-1 on the season

 

[April 17, 2023] 

Since the last update on LDN, the Mount Pulaski Hilltoppers have added seven more wins, bringing their season record to 13-1.

Tuesday, April 4, 2023

The Hilltoppers took their show on the road versus the Arthur Lovington Atwood Hammond Knights and it was Jackson Fricke with the big blow of the game as he crushed a grand slam in the seventh inning to slam the door shut on a 17-6 victory.

The Hilltoppers plated five runs in the first two innings, highlighted by RBI singles by Evan Cooper and Luke Martin.

Fricke drove in two more runs on a base hit in the fourth inning, giving Mount Pulaski a 7-1 lead.

The Hilltoppers were up 11-5 in the seventh inning when Fricke homered to center field with the bases loaded. His first grand slam of the season put the Hilltoppers on top 15-5. Mount Pulaski would score two more times in the inning and go on to win by a final score of 17-6 over the Knights.

Jackson Fricke was 3-for-4 with six RBIs and one run scored.

Luke Martin and Eric Cooper had two hits apiece for the Hilltoppers, who tallied 12 hits on the day.

A.J. Bailey picked up the win for Mount Pulaski. He tossed two and one-third innings, allowing two runs on two hits and striking out six batters.

Landon Smith earned the save. He tossed one and one-third innings, allowing one run and striking out two batters.

Eric Cooper started the game for Mount Pulaski. He lasted three and one-third innings, allowing three runs on five hits. He struck out three batters.

Thursday, April 6, 2023

Evan Cooper shut out the Delavan Panthers 7-0 to pick up a win here. Cooper allowed just three hits over seven innings of work. He walked one batter while striking out nine batters.

The Hilltoppers are known for getting on the board early and against the Panthers the guys were up 2-0 in the first inning after an RBI double by Evan Cooper and an RBI single by Jackson Fricke.

In the top of the second inning, A.J. Bailey added an RBI single to make the score 3-0.

With two runners aboard in the top of the sixth inning, Landon Smith crushed a home run to left field and this gave the Hilltoppers a comfortable 6-0 lead late in the game. With the Hilltoppers getting baserunners in scoring position again in the inning, Kolin Gibbs would steal home with the final run of the game.

Cooper was lights out on the mound, striking out the side in the bottom of the seventh inning to end the game with a 7-0 score.

A.J. Bailey led the Mount Pulaski offense with a 3-for-3 performance at the plate. He drove in one run and scored twice as the Hilltoppers lead-off hitter.

Jackson Fricke was 2-for-4 with an RBI.

Batting in the three hole was Landon Smith, who drove in three runs with his blast over the left field fence.

Saturday, April 8, 2023

The Hilltoppers wasted no time putting away the Decatur MacArthur Generals on a Saturday morning in Mount Pulaski. The bats were hot as the Hilltoppers scored 15 runs in two innings and that’s all they needed to end the game 15-0 in four innings.

While the Generals pitcher struggled with walks and errors behind him on defense in the first inning, he did give up an RBI double to Evan Cooper in the inning. The rest of the pitcher’s bad luck in the inning resulted in a Hilltoppers 8-0 lead.

Mount Pulaski added seven more runs in the second inning, with Chance Payne slugging a two-run double to add to his highlight reel. The 15-0 lead was reached rather quickly and with the Generals only managing one hit on the day, the Hilltoppers pitching staff put the team away early.

Gavin Smith was the winning pitcher for Mount Pulaski. Smith worked three scoreless innings, striking out four batters and walking one batter.

Luke Martin pitched one inning in relief for Mount Pulaski.

Chance Payne was perfect at the plate for the Hilltoppers, going 3-for-3 with three RBIs.

Monday, April 10, 2023

The Hilltoppers pitching staff continued their dominant performances against the Edinburg Wildcats.

A.J. Bailey and Liam Smith combined on the mound to help their team to a 10-0 victory.

Bailey was the winning pitcher, working four innings and allowing just two hits. He struck out eight batters and walked one batter.

Liam Smith threw an inning in relief and struck out the side to end the game. Smith threw ten pitches, nine of which were strikes.

The Hilltoppers lead was 4-0 after three innings, with the team busting the game open with six runs scored in the fourth inning.

After a double by Evan Cooper to lead off the fourth inning, Landon Smith homered to left field to give Mount Pulaski a 6-0 lead. With the bases loaded, Clay Aylesworth drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. Gavin Smith was then hit by a pitch to drive another run home. Liam Smith’s double would drive in the Hilltoppers final two runs of the game and Mount Pulaski had the 10-0 win secured.

Landon Smith was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored.

Evan Cooper was 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored.

Tuesday, April 11, 2023

The Hilltoppers carried the momentum into the next day with a 15-0 win over the Cerro Gordo/Bement Broncos.

Luke Martin earned his first win of the season on the mound. Martin pitched three innings, allowing one hit and striking out seven batters. He walked one batter.

Chance Payne pitched an inning in relief and struck out three batters.

This was another Hilltoppers win where the guys jumped on the opposing pitcher early, scoring 12 runs in the first inning. Mount Pulaski used three hits and seven walks in the inning to score. Three batters were also hit by pitches in the inning.

By the time the second inning ended, Mount Pulaski was on top 15-0.

Liam Smith led the Mount Pulaski offense by going 3-for-3 at the plate with two RBIs and two runs scored.

Evan Cooper was 2-for-2 with three runs scored and two RBIs.

Jackson Fricke was 2-for-2 with two runs scored and an RBI.

Thursday, April 13, 2023

After a streak of shutouts, the Hilltoppers allowed a few runs versus Midwest Central but still managed a 7-4 win over the Raiders.

This game was closer than the previous ones, with Mount Pulaski leading 4-0 after three innings. However, the Raiders tied the game in the middle innings and the Hilltoppers had to score late to secure a win.

A.J. Bailey drove in the go-ahead run in the top of the sixth inning on a groundout.

Liam Smith added a two-run double in the top of the seventh inning that scored Kolin Gibbs and Luke Martin.

Chance Payne was 3-for-4 for the Hilltoppers.

Liam Smith was 2-for-2 with two RBIs and two runs scored.

Evan Cooper picked up the win for Mount Pulaski. He lasted five innings and gave up six hits. He was responsible for four runs. He struck out four batters and walked two batters.

Landon Smith earned the save for his two innings of work. Smith struck out one batter.

Saturday, April 15, 2023

The Hilltoppers hosted the Minutemen of Lexington on a beautiful Saturday morning ahead of the rain and the result was a beautiful 11-1 win by Mount Pulaski.

The Minutemen scored their only run in the first inning off starter Landon Smith.

A.J. Bailey tied the game on an RBI single in the bottom of the third inning. One out later in the inning, Landon Smith homered with a man on and the Hilltoppers were in front 3-1.

Eric Cooper added an RBI single in the bottom of the fourth inning to increase the lead to 4-1.

In the bottom of the fifth inning the Hilltoppers plated six runs. Jackson Fricke, Gavin Smith and Eric Cooper each drove in runs.

Luke Martin’s RBI single in the sixth inning allowed Kolin Gibbs to score the final run of the game.

Landon Smith was the winning pitcher for Mount Pulaski. He pitched five innings, allowing one run on three hits. He struck out three batters and walked three batters.

Luke Martin pitched an inning in relief, striking out one batter.

The Hilltoppers will have games this week at Riverton, Heyworth and Springfield Southeast. The team will also host Illini Bluffs and Springfield Lanphier to fill the week with baseball.

[Teena Lowery]