High School Boys Baseball Regionals
Champaign Central crushes Lincoln’s heart 2-1 in championship

 

[May 28, 2024] 

The Railsplitters suffered a heartbreaking end to their terrific season on Saturday at Mike Curry Field, as the Champaign Central Maroons edged Lincoln 2-1. The Maroons scored the winning run in the seventh inning to claim the Class 3A Regional Championship over the hosts.

Lincoln sent their ace to the mound for Saturday’s regional championship against Champaign Central.

Wyatt Mammen pitched six and two-thirds innings of great baseball, allowing just two runs on eight hits. He walked four and struck out five.

Colbie Glenn, who was hot at the plate with two hits and an RBI, threw one pitch in relief, retiring the last Champaign batter on a fly ball to left.

The Maroons took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fifth inning after consecutive singles started the inning and then after two quick outs, a single to right by T. J. Pipkins drove in the first run of the game.

Karson Komnick singled to lead off the bottom of the fifth inning for Lincoln and he advanced to second on the perfect sacrifice bunt by Wes Tedrick. After a strikeout of Tate Johnston, Colbie Glenn connected on a 2-2 count and he sent a laser shot to the fence in center field that fell in for a triple. Komnick scored the tying run and Glenn dove head first into third base. Glenn was stranded at third when Michael Lucas popped out to the shortstop but the Railsplitters were all tied up 1-1 with the Maroons.

In the top of the sixth inning, a strikeout, a single and a double play erased the Maroons opportunity to score.

Lincoln wasted a lead off single by Jarrett Evers in the bottom of the sixth inning.

In the top of the seventh inning the Maroons were able to put together a triple and a single to score the go-ahead run off Mammen.

Lincoln’s bottom of the seventh inning was a real heartbreaker. Tedrick drew a one-walk and he was sacrificed over to second by Parker Graue and with two outs it was Glenn’s turn in the batter’s box.

Glenn hit another line drive, this time between short and third and the shortstop made a terrific play to snag the ball from the air and rob the Railplitters of a scoring opportunity.

Game over.

Champaign Central wins 2-1 over Lincoln.

“We had a very good season,” said Coach August Casson. “We had hoped to go a little farther. But we played awesome against Champaign. We didn’t give them anything and they didn’t give us anything. It was a really good game.”

About the heartbreaking ending in the bottom of the seventh inning, Casson said, “We had our best hitter on the team in Colbie Glenn up to bat with a runner on second. Colbie hit a line drive that looked like it could go between the shortstop and the third baseman but the shortstop jumped to his right and made a great play. If that hit goes through, we score the tying run.”

“This team had dreams and aspirations for this season,” Casson continued. “Wyatt threw a phenomenal game. He was great in just allowing two runs.”

Baseball is just one of those games where anything can happen to any team on any given day, as Casson alluded to after the loss and on this day it was the Maroons who also got solid pitching and timely hitting and that one great play to end Lincoln’s season.

Luke McClure was the winning pitcher for Champaign Central. He also hit the go-ahead single in the seventh inning for the Maroons. McClure allowed one hit and one walk while working two innings.

Chase Bartlett started the game for Champaign Central. He worked five innings, allowing four hits and one earned run. He walked two and struck out three.

Lincoln graduated eight great baseball players from this team that finished the season with a 23-11-1 record.

[Teena Lowery]