How Richwoods became Peoria baseball's unlikely Cinderella

WASHINGTON — Cinderella has found her Knight in shining armor.

Upstart Richwoods has taken the Peoria baseball community by storm. As the seventh seed, the Knights upset top seed Washington to open the posteason, then rallied to beat No. 4 Limestone 5-4 on Saturday for the program’s first regional title since 2018.

Now, Richwoods (8-23) faces Streator (21-11-1) at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday in a Class 3A Metamora Sectional semifinal. Morton (24-11) takes on Rock Island (29-8) in the 7 p.m. nightcap, and the winners meet Friday for the sectional championship.

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“What changed?” Richwoods coach Patrick Hogan said, repeating the question asked about when Richwoods started its season winless through the first dozen games. “The results changed, but the process didn’t really change.”

But it’s not like Richwoods hasn’t been knocking on the postseason door. The past two seasons saw Hogan lead his team to regional semifinal victories over Mid-Illini Conference teams — Metamora and Limestone — before ultimately falling in the title games.

The third time’s a charm in 2023.

“We’ve been putting in the work all year,” Richwoods senior Chase Klausing said. “I think coming into this week people thought we didn’t have a chance (in regionals) … the boys have been working all year and all week. We just came and showed out this week.”

However, it’s been Klausing that’s been producing big in the second half of the season. He was the winning pitcher in knocking off Washington, tossing a four-hit shutout with three strikeouts.

The right-hander will likely get the ball against Streator.

“He’s just pitched well,” Hogan said, noting Klausing’s pitching outings against Metamora and Brimfield/Elmwood from earlier in the season. “When you throw strikes, you have a chance.”

Getting run support can also be a huge relief for an ace.

Those crooked numbers, especially in the regional title win over Limestone, came from the bottom of the lineup. The 6-7-8 hitting trio of Ryne Waller, Ben Waller and Zach Gilbert went a combined 6-for-9 with three RBIs and four doubles.

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Plus, Klausing got two hits from the lead-off spot along with Alex Kilgore driving in the game-tying run to finish 2-for-3 versus Limestone.

“Everybody’s stepping up,” Klausing said. “There’s really not anybody who is carrying the team themselves. It’s a team game. Everybody’s doing their part.

“It’s translating to good wins.”

Now, the sectional semifinals await Richwoods.

“We’re going to prepare as best as we can for the next couple of days,” Hogan said, “and then give (Streator) our best shot on Wednesday.

“These guys play a lot of baseball and hopefully what we as a staff try to do is just put them in a position to succeed, and we’re not going to get mad at them if they don’t succeed. I hope they play nice and loose because that’s what we try to promote.”

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