BASEBALL

POSTSEASON ROUNDUP Rivals SHG, Glenwood set up title game

Staff reports
High School baseball.

Max Powers and Jake Kepler each had RBI singles in the bottom of the third inning to give Sacred Heart-Griffin a two-run lead en route to a 3-0 win over Jacksonville in the Class 3A Sacred Heart-Griffin Regional semifinals at Comstock Field on Wednesday.  

No. 4 SHG will face top-seeded Chatham Glenwood in the regional championship game on Saturday at 11 a.m. Glenwood defeated Southeast 7-1 in the other semifinal on Wednesday.  

Gage Luttrell threw a complete-game shutout for the Cyclones (22-9). He was brilliant with six strikeouts and allowed just one hit and one walk.  

Kepler led SHG’s offense with two hits off No. 6 Jacksonville pitcher Quin Saxer. Saxer struck out seven, allowed eight hits, two walks and two earned runs in the complete-game loss.  

Hayden Hicks had the lone hit for Jacksonville, which ended its season 16-18.  

In the other semifinal, Glenwood leadoff hitter Alex Cashman was 3-for-4 and scored two runs as the Titans improved to 27-4.  

Parker Detmers tied the game 1-1 with an RBI double in the bottom of the first inning to score Krayton Reincke, who drew a two-out walk. Glenwood put the game out of reach with a five-run third inning.  

Jace Easley walked and Cashman doubled ahead of Cru Erickson’s RBI single to give Glenwood a 2-1 lead. Reincke walked again to load the bases and Detmers drew an RBI walk as the Titans went up 3-1. After Erickson scored on a wild pitch, Joe Anderson’s single scored Reincke and Colten Knoedler hit a run-scoring ground out to plate Detmers for a 6-1 lead.  

Detmers had two RBIs while Erickson and Reincke each had two hits.  

Stephen Hardwick pitched five innings for the win.  

Carter Hood was 3-for-3 and had all of Southeast’s hits.  

Glenwood swept the Central State Eight Conference series against SHG 10-4 and 4-1 in April.  

SPRINGFIELD HIGH 11, DECATUR EISENHOWER 0, 5 innings: At Rochester, Enrico Veach was 4-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs to lead the 2021 Class 3A state champion Senators into the Rochester Regional title game.  

Ryne Crum singled to score Veach in the bottom of the first to give No. 2 Springfield High (25-9) a 1-0 lead. Seth Impson followed that with an RBI double, Carter Kruse hit a run-scoring single, James Jenkins stole home and A.J. Bennett hit an RBI single as part of the Senators’ five-run first.  

Impson had two doubles and two RBIs, Damon Sturm doubled and drove in a run and Bennett stole three bases. Springfield High stole 14 total bases in the win.  

The Senators used six different pitchers. Veach was credited with the win.  

Springfield High will face either No. 3 Rochester or No. 5 Mount Zion in the regional title game on Saturday at 11 a.m.  

TROY TRIAD 10, TAYLORVILLE 0, 5 innings: At Jerseyville, Taylorville managed just two hits and Triad scored 10 runs on six hits as the Tornadoes were eliminated in the regional semifinals. Luke Ellinger and Colton Gatton had a hit apiece for No. 7 Taylorville (8-17).  

No. 1 Triad (25-11) will face No. 4 Highland (21-15) for the regional title on Saturday at 11 a.m. Highland beat host and No. 6 seed Jerseyville 6-2 in the other semifinal.