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How Peoria-area baseball teams fared in the small-school sectional finals

The Henry and Hall baseball teams advanced to the Elite Eight of the Illinois High School Association state payoffs with sectional championship victories on Saturday.

Hall advanced in Class 2A, while Eureka (30-3) saw its 27-game win streak end with a loss to Bloomington Central Catholic. Henry advanced in Class 1A.

Here's what is ahead in Monday's supersectionals and how they won their sectional championships.

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CLASS 1A

Henry (22-6) vs. Milford (17-11-1)

  • What's next: Henry takes on Milford in an 11 a.m. Monday supersectional at Jack Horenberger Field on the Illinois Wesleyan University campus for a trip to the state finals. The Mallards are playing for their first super since a 1993 Class A Elite Eight appearance. Milford is in its first supersectional.

  • How they won: Henry beat Heyworth 6-1 to win the Bloomington Sectional, getting seven strong innings from Mason Johnson. He allowed one unearned run on seven hits and added three RBIs at the plate, including two sacrifice flies. Outfielder Mason Guarnieri added four hits and catcher Colton Williams two hits and two RBIs.

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CLASS 2A

Hall (23-8) vs. Joliet Catholic (23-8-1)

  • What's next: Hall faces reigning state champion Joliet Catholic at 11 a.m. Monday in the Geneseo Supersectional for a trip to the state finals. The Red Devils won the just the program's second sectional title and first title since taking home the 2018 2A state title.

  • How they won: Hall beat Sherrard 12-7 to win the Knoxville Sectional for its first sectional title since the 2018 Class 2A state championship. Sherrard had built a 7-3 lead before the Red Devils rallied, scoring seven runs on four hits in the top of the sixth. Kyler Lapp and Joel Koch put an exclamation point on the victory with back-to-back, seventh-inning home runs. Ashton Pecher picked up the pitching win with 10 strikeouts over five innings.

Adam Duvall is a Journal Star sports reporter. Email him at aduvall@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @AdamDuvall.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: IHSA baseball: Henry, Hall win sectionals, advance to supersectionals