NORMAL - Father McGivney Catholic High School advanced to a first-ever IHSA Class 1A State Baseball Championship game with a thrilling 5-1 win over a top-notch Newark team in the semifinals Thursday morning at Normal.
McGivney now plays the winner of the 1 p.m. Mt. Pulaski-Farina (South Central) game at 7 Thursday night for the championship. McGivney improves to 31-6 overall on the season. Farina has a 24-3 mark and Mount Pulaski 21-1. Newark fell to 26-2 with the defeat to McGivney.
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Griffins' starting pitcher Jack Rodgers was once again magnificent as he has been all season and was a huge McGivney key. Rodgers, 9-0, allowed just one run and scatted five hits, and fanned six batters. Freshman Nathan Terhaar, substituting for Jacob McKee, who was injured in the game, played a key role with his two hits in three at-bats, driving in runs. The Griffins' Matthew Gierer also was 2-4 with an RBI and a double, another key at the plate. Gabe Smith and Austin Callovini also had RBIs for the Griffins.
Newark scored a run in the first and McGivney didn't score until the fifth when the Griffins broke the game open with three runs. The Griffins added insurance runs in the sixth and seventh inning.
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