EAST PEORIA – Hardin-Calhoun's softball program has been on an amazing run the past three years.
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The Warriors had managed to put together a 20-game postseason winning streak heading into Saturday afternoon's IHSA Class 1A final against Goreville at East Peoria's EastSide Centre.
“Winning 21 postseason games in a row is tough to do,” said Warrior coach Matt Baalman following Saturday's championship game.
The Warriors battled. They scrapped. They fought. But in the end, it wasn't meant to be as the Blackcats scored twice in the top of the ninth to end the Warriors' reign as 1A state champions 2-0.
Calhoun ended the season at 31-9, while Goreville completed the year with a 26-8 mark.
“You always want to get first,” Baalman said. “I thought they fought hard; you can't fight any harder than what they did, going nine innings in the championship game, winning 20 in a row in the postseason – they earned every bit of it. They (Goreville) caught all the breaks today and we didn't. Everything they hit were in gaps and everything we hit was right at them; that's just part of softball. With any luck at all, we could have won that game.
“We've been on a good run for a long time. That was a great team there, a very, very good team, a fundamental team, a young team. They play a lot of ball and I feel like we hit the ball probably better than they did; all of our balls went right to them and they were just finding the gaps.”
The game stayed pretty tight all day; both teams came up with big defensive plays to keep the game scoreless until the ninth, most notably a fifth-inning double play triggered by Autumn Brannan, who speared a Payton Sopczak liner and throwing to first to double off Adrianna Licka, who had singled to open the inning.
“We both did (make big defensive plays),” Baalman said. “They had some plays that kept them going and we did the same thing; we made some good plays. Autumn stepped up – she's been a good third baseman.”
The Warriors had a chance to take the lead in the fifth when Kyleigh Presley walked and Junie Zirkelbach singled to put runners at first and second. Not long afterwards, Summer Albright tried to pick Zirkelbach at first, but the throw bounced off Zirkelbach and headed towards the Goreville dugout, allowing both Zirkelbach and Presley to advance. Grace Baalman then hit a grounder to Samantha Licka at short, with Presley breaking for the plate. Licka fired the ball to Albright, who blocked the plate and tagged Presley for the out to keep the game scoreless.
The Warriors then had a chance to win it in regulation when Grace Baalman drew a seventh-inning walk off Blackcat pitcher Lexi King and went to third on an Abby Baalman single and error that put her at second. King then got Emily Baalman to fly out to center to end the threat and send the game to extra innings.
Then came the fateful ninth, which began when Katie Schuetz struck out; King then struck a Grace Baalman offering that found the gap in right-center for a double. Camren Anderson then struck out to bring up Albright, who singled to bring home King and give Goreville the lead, which Macy Goins increased with a RBI double; Kelsey Ray then popped to Grace Baalman to end the inning.
Calhoun battled back in their half of the ninth, starting when Sydney Baalman worked a walk from King, but a Jessica Oswald hit struck Baalman on the basepath for an automatic out, Ray getting credit for the putout and Oswald credit for a single. Zirkelbach struck out and Grace Baalman drew a walk to keep the rally going, but King dismissed Abby Baalman by strikeout to give the Blackcats the title.
Grace Baalman went 1-for-3 for the Warriors, with Abby Baalman 1-for-5, Macy Margherio 1-for-3, Holly Baalman 1-for-3 and Zirkelbach 1-for-3 for the Warriors on the day. King was 2-for-4 with two doubles and a run scored for Goreville, with Albright 2-for-4 with a double, RBI and run scored, Goins 1-for-4 with a double and RBI and Samantha and Adrianna Licka each 1-for-3 on the day.
Grace Baalman took the loss, striking out 18 while conceding two earned runs on seven hits; King got the win, fanning 13 and walking five while giving up five hits.
“We rode a heck of a ride for three years,” Matt Baalman said. “Hats off to Goreville; that's a very good team – they scored 60-something runs in the postseason this year and we shut them down. We took them to nine innings and Grace did a wonderful job pitching. We just could not get that timely hit.
“We put more pressure on them than they did on us; sometimes that's sports, that's the way it falls.”
Baalman was very proud of what the Warriors have accomplished. “If someone would have told me 10 games (into the season) we were going to be back here, I'd had thought 'no way'; as we got closer to the end, we started pulling together as a team, working as a team and here we are, in the championship game again."
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