South Central Competes At Class 1A State Baseball Tourney Today

Print

Published on June 17 2021 6:51 am
Last Updated on June 17 2021 6:51 am
Written by Millie Lange

South Central High School will be competing at the Class 1A State Baseball Tournament today at Illinois State University in Normal.

The Cougars, with a 25-3 record, will square off against Mount Pulaski (21-1) In the opening contest at 10 a.m., Newark (26-1) takes on Glen Carbon Father McGivney (30-6) at 1 p.m. The winners advance to the championship contest scheduled for 7 pm.. while the losers will play for third place at 4 p.m.

Coach Curt Jones' squad includes freshman Max Magnus; sophomores Chase Thompson, Aidan Dodson, Andrew Magnus, Ethan Dunn and Mitchell Brauer; juniors Spencer Johannes, Brandt Hiestand and Beau Jolliff and seniors Sam Rubin, Sebastian Cowger, Amos Blomberg, Hunter Cripe, Chase Dodson and Cameron Brandt.

Leading the Cougars in hitting has been Chase Dodson with a .476 average. He's had 40 hits in 84 at-bats, scored 51 runs and has 30 RBI. Sebastian Cowger had a .374 average with 34 hits, 29 RBI and 21 runs scored. Sam Rubin is hitting .329 with 24 hits, 16 RBI and scored 22 runs. Beau Jolliff has a .318 average with 27 hits, 34 RBI and scored 17 runs. Aidan Dodson had a .298 average with 25 runs scored, 25 hits and 28 RBI.

On the mound, Aidan Dodson and Chase Dodson have a 6-1 record each. C. Dodson has an ERA of 0.89 while A. Dodson is at 1.29. Beau Jolliff is 5-0 with a 3.11 ERA while Spencer Johannes is 3-1 with a 2.97 ERA.

The Cougars opened the season with five straight victories before suffering their first loss. After picking up their third loss, the Cougars went on a nine-game winning streak to end regular season play. South Cenral then defeated Red Hill (Bridgeport), 5-4 and Altamont 10-5 to win the regional title. In sectional play, South Central defeated Bethany Okaw Valley 7-2 and North Clay (Louisville) 1-0.

At the Carbondale Super-Sectional, South Central defeated Goreville 15-14 in a wild contest to advance to State.

The squad, along with going to the State Tournament, has had quite a season. Jones picked up his 800th career victory as a coach May 20 with a wn over Neoga while the team racked up the 1,000th win in school history. The first season of the South Central consolidation was in 1989-90 and Jones took over as head coach during the 1996-97 season.