West Central stuns Bushnell, full story with photos

West Central will take on WIVC rival Routt for the sectional championship on Saturday in a re-match of the WIVC Tournament title game. First pitch is at 11 a.m.

Bushnell came into the game with a record of 32-5, with losses to Father McGivney, Abingdon-Avon, Chicago Leo, Macomb and Peoria Christian. West Central, which hasn’t enjoyed much success in baseball over the years, was not intimidated.

“Like I’ve stressed to our kids all week, it don’t matter at this point,” DeWitt said. “All you’ve got to do is win today, and we got that done, so we get a chance to play Saturday.”

“We went into it, just wanted to play our game and compete, and we knew that we could play with anyone,” West Central senior Tyson Brown said. “And we did what we needed to.”

Hutton matched Bushnell-Prairie City starter Ben Powell pitch-for-pitch early in the game. The Spartans broke on top with a run in the bottom of the third inning on a one-out walk, a wild pitch and a double to the fence in right field. Hutton got out of the inning with a strikeout and a fly ball to center.

Powell had given up only one hit over the first four innings. All that changed in the top of the fifth. “We hit the curveball,” Brown said. “They were throwin’ it, we were hittin’ it.”

It started with the bottom third of the Cougars’ batting order. Caden Meyer led off with a walk on four pitches. Then Owen Barber hit a sinking line drive to right. The right fielder came in and tried to make a sliding catch, but the ball popped out of his glove. Ryker Ford followed with a walk to load the bases with nobody out as the Cougars’ “Bo-nana” chant from the dugout reached a whole new level.

“Great at-bats,” Brown said. “We got walks, and then we got a big hit and scored two and grinded away a couple more.”

It was Brown who got the big hit, whacking the ball into center field to drive in two runs and give the Cougars their first lead. “I knew he was probably going to throw me a curveball, so I was sittin’ curveball from the first pitch,” Brown said. “First pitch was a ball. Second one was outside. And the third one, he just left it over the plate. I wasn’t tryin’ to do too much – just tryin’ to hit a line drive and score it, and that’s what happened.”

Cameron Sievers followed with a sacrifice bunt to move the runners to second and third. Mason Berry dumped a single into center to chase both baserunners home to make it 4-1. Carson Brown followed with a walk, then after a wild pitch, Landyn Woods beat out a slow roller to short to drive in another run to increase the lead to 5-1. Woods stole second without a throw. Then Hutton smacked a single up the middle just past the diving shortstop’s glove, and suddenly, it was 7-1.

“Really proud of how the guys decided to string together hits and come to the plate ready to attack,” Hutton said.

Hutton retired the side in order in the bottom of the fifth. West Central added a run in the sixth. Ford singled, went to second on an error by the shortstop on a grounder by Sievers and scored on a ground out to second by Berry.

Hutton said West Central has outgrown being nervous in big games. “I think all of our guys are at a point now where we’re playing … we really have nothing to lose,” he said. “We’re the underdogs every game. And I’m proud of how they played.”

Sievers, at second base, made a nice play going to his left in the sixth as Hutton got through the frame allowing only one baserunner. Bushnell scored twice in the seventh. Hutton, who threw 119 pitches, left the game with two out. Brown came on in relief and retired the only batter he faced on a fly ball to center field.

Hutton, who gave up three runs (two earned) on six hits in West Central’s win over Brown County for the regional championship last Saturday, struck out eight batters and walked only two.

“Another bulldog performance,” DeWitt said. “I mean, he’s incredible out there. And when he gets going in a groove, he’s hard to stop. To hold them to three runs in seven innings … he was on today. It’s awesome watching him pitch, and I’m very excited that I get him for at least two more years.”

“He’s great. He’s a stud,” Brown said. “The regional championship, now … he’s a stud. I can’t – I don’t know. I wish I could pitch like him.”

Hutton had a plan going into the game, and it worked.

“I wanted to try and throw mostly fastballs first time through the lineup, and then see how the hitters would respond to that,” he said. “And then second, third time through the lineup, throw more breaking balls, mix up the timing and throw more off-speed pitches.”

West Central finished with seven hits, all singles. Berry went 2-for-3 and drove in three runs for the Cougars.

West Central, now 20-9, has never played for a sectional championship in the co-op’s history. Bluffs advanced as far as the sectional championship game only once, in 1995, under longtime coach Brian Bettis.

“We’re just gonna show up and compete,” DeWitt said. “I mean, that’s all you can do. And the way it looks, it’s going to be another re-match between Brown and (Conrad) Charpentier – a re-match of the conference championship game. And we all saw how that ended – bottom of the seventh walk-off by Routt, and it was an exciting game. All I ask is that we come and compete and fight till the end, and whatever happens, happens. But I’ve got a good group of kids who are really enjoying the game right now, and they’re playing loose. And I’m anxious to see how they play on Saturday.”

CHRIST OUR ROCK LUTHERAN 8, GREENFIELD-NORTHWESTERN 5

Chances for an all-Western Illinois Valley Conference super-sectional disappeared as Greenfield-Northwestern lost to Christ Our Rock Lutheran in the semifinals of the Greenville Sectional on Thursday.

CORL took an early 4-0 lead, scoring three runs in the first inning and one in the second. The Tigers came back to tie the score with four runs in the third. Kohen Vetter doubled in the first run. Brett Bilbruck followed with a two-run single, then later scored on a single by Brody Reif.

But the Stallions answered with three runs in the top of the fourth and never trailed again. Each team scored a run in the sixth.

Greenfield-Northwestern finished with 11 hits. Albrecht went 3-for-4, and Vetter, Reif and Kayden Roberts had two apiece. Vetter, Roberts and Talon Albrecht each hit a double.

Albrecht took the loss, giving up seven runs (six earned) on nine hits in three-and-two-thirds innings pitched. He struck out three and walked four. Wyatt Stuart and Roberts also pitched for the Tigers.

CORL will play Waterloo Gibault Catholic for the sectional championship on Saturday.