High School Boys Baseball
No-hitter and 17 strikeouts for Chance Payne highlight the Hilltoppers week on the diamond
Mount Pulaski improves to 20-2 on the season

 

[May 01, 2023] 

The Hilltoppers week on the baseball field started with a 9-6 loss at home to state-ranked St. Joseph-Ogden but then the team bounced back and won four straight to end the week on a good note.

Monday, April 24, 2023

The St. Joseph-Ogden Spartans jumped on the Hilltoppers early in this game and built an 8-0 lead after the fourth inning of play.

Mount Pulaski rallied in the bottom of the fifth inning for five runs. Clay Aylesworth’s leadoff walk followed by a single by Liam Smith started the inning. A bunt single by A.J. Bailey loaded the bases. Evan Cooper’s single brought home the first Hilltoppers run and then Landon Smith and Jackson Fricke each drew bases loaded walks to plate runs for Mount Pulaski. Chance Payne then lifted a sacrifice fly to center to score Cooper. Luke Martin’s RBI double drove in a run to make the score 8-5 before the inning came to end with the Hilltoppers having batted around in the lineup.

Evan Cooper added an RBI double in the bottom of the sixth inning that made the score 8-6. That was as close as the Hilltoppers would come to the Spartans.

St. Joseph-Ogden plated a run in the top of the seventh inning and set the final score at 9-6.

Evan Cooper and Liam Smith each had two hits for Mount Pulaski.

Gavin Smith took the loss for Mount Pulaski. He worked three and two-thirds innings, allowing six runs on four hits. He walked three and struck out four batters.

A.J. Bailey pitched two and one-third innings, allowing two runs on one hit. He struck out three batters and walked two.

Chance Payne worked the final inning, allowing one hit on one run. He struck out one batter.

Tuesday, April 25, 2023

The Hilltoppers were credited with a win via a forfeit over Hartsburg-Emden.

Thursday, April 27, 2023

The Hilltoppers picked up an 8-3 win over the LeRoy Panthers on Thursday. Mount Pulaski led 2-0 after the first inning. Landon Smith doubled to give Mount Pulaski a 1-0 lead while Chance Payne’s RBI single increased the lead to 2-0.

In the bottom of the second inning, Clay Aylesworth tallied a leadoff double to get things going for Mount Pulaski. Liam Smith added a line drive to right field to score Aylesworth and the game was quickly 3-0. Following a walk to A.J. Bailey and an error by the shortstop on Cooper’s ground ball, the Hilltoppers commanded a 5-0 lead.

In the bottom of the fifth inning the Hilltoppers added to that lead, plating three more runs. After Landon Smith singled and Jackson Fricke doubled, Payne lifted a fly ball to right that the fielder couldn’t handle and Smith and Fricke raced home. Payne advanced to third on a single by Luke Martin and he would come around to score on a sacrifice fly by Aylesworth. Mount Pulaski’s lead was now 8-0.

In the final two innings, the Panthers plated three runs that set the final score at 8-3.

Landon Smith pitched the Hilltoppers to victory. He worked five and two-thirds innings and allowed one run on one hit. He struck out nine batters.

Luke Martin tossed one and one-third of an inning in relief, allowing two runs on three hits. He struck out two batters.

Friday, April 28, 2023

Chance Payne pitched a gem on Friday for the Hilltoppers. The sophomore tossed his first career no-hitter for Mount Pulaski, as he led the Hilltoppers on the mound to a 10-0 win over Cornerstone Christian Academy. Payne struck out 17 Cyclones and walked just two batters on the day. Payne threw 93 pitches in six innings, facing 21 batters. He also hit a batter. It was a great day on the mound for the Hilltoppers regular first baseman.

At the plate, Payne helped himself to a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning with an RBI double. Following a single by Luke Martin, Clay Aylesworth doubled in Payne for another Hilltoppers run. A fielder’s choice by Liam Smith landed another runner at home for the Hilltoppers. A sacrifice fly by A.J. Bailey allowed Mount Pulaski a 4-0 lead as Colt Selinger crossed the plate.

Six runs scored in the bottom of the sixth inning allowed the Hilltoppers to send the Cyclones home early via the ten-run rule. Luke Martin, Liam Smith, A.J. Bailey, Evan Cooper and Landon Smith all singled in the inning to lead the offense. A walk and an error also helped the Mount Pulaski offense and with Selinger scoring the tenth run on a wild pitch, the Hilltoppers walked off the field with a 10-0 victory.

Luke Martin led the Hilltoppers with a 2-for-3 performance at the plate. Martin also scored twice.

Fricke, Aylesworth and Payne each had doubles in the Hilltoppers win.

Meanwhile Chance Payne’s outstanding outing has undoubtedly earned him more opportunities on the mound.

Coach Joel Washko offered these comments about the solid left-hander.

“Our program has seen some outstanding performances on the mound over the past several years. We’ve had a couple perfect games and just some really great outings that stand out. Chance on Friday was near the top of that list. He had great command of all his pitches and their hitters had a very hard time making any sort of contact. To strike out 17 out of 21 batters faced is a really remarkable feat. What’s even more remarkable is he had only thrown a few innings this season before that. So needless to say we’ll be seeing him out there much more from here on out.”

Saturday, April 29, 2023

Mount Pulaski hosted Illini Bluffs on Saturday and with Evan Cooper pitching a complete game the Hilltoppers picked up win no. 20 on the season over the Tigers. The final score was 6-1.

Evan Cooper worked seven innings, allowing one run on four hits. Cooper struck out five batters and did not walk a single batter.

The Hilltoppers took a 3-0 lead in the first inning. A.J. Bailey and Jackson Fricke both doubled in the inning for the Hilltoppers hits. Evan Cooper and Luke Martin had RBI’s in the inning.

Fricke added an RBI double in the bottom of the third inning as Mount Pulaski added to the lead.

An RBI single by Bailey in the fourth inning increased the lead to 5-1.

With two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning Chance Payne homered over the right field fence and the final score was set at 6-1.

A.J. Bailey and Jackson Fricke each had multi-hits for Mount Pulaski.

This week the Hilltoppers will play New Berlin, Argenta-Oreana, Athens and Fisher.

Today’s home game versus New Berlin will be Senior Night for Mount Pulaski.

[Teena Lowery]