The Collinsville High senior right-hander knocked off Belleville West and previously unbeaten ace Otto Roberts on Tuesday, twirling a five-hitter in a 4-0 victory.
Boehne (6-2) has now beaten Belleville West and Edwardsville in his last two starts, mixing pitches well and making hitters uncomfortable by consistently getting ahead in the count.
He handed West its first shutout loss this season.
"It's been a big lift to see him do what he's been able to do," Kahoks coach Pete Trapp said after his team improved to 16-9 overall and 7-5 in league play. "Those are two names that Southern Illinois baseball's been about for the past 30-something years, it's been Edwardsville and Belleville West.
"We're pretty impressed with what he's done."
Boehne made good use of his defense and had a lot of the Maroons hitters off-balance. The ones who hit the ball hard usually found a Collinsville fielder's glove.
"A win's a win, they all feel the same," he said when asked about handing Roberts his first loss. "It's good coming out knowing they have their No. 1 pitcher pitching against you. But there's no better feeling than a win.
"It's a little comfort zone with some runs on the board and I can go out there and do my thing."
Belleville West (15-8), fourth in the News-Democrat Large-School rankings, dropped to 8-3 in league play. The loss allowed O'Fallon (22-6 overall, 9-3 in league play) to get back into first place, while Edwardsville (19-7, 8-3) is tied with West for second.
"We struggled a little bit today, and the conference is wide open now," West coach Lee Meyer said.
The Kahoks not only handed Roberts his first loss, they did much of the damage in the first inning.
V.J. Furfaro reached on a leadoff walk, stole second and scored on an RBI single to center by Erik Shannahan.
A diving stop by West second baseman Mark Bauer robbed Brett Erlinger of a hit, but Kevin Hodge poked a two-run double into the left-field corner to make it 2-0.
Derek Mattea added a two-out RBI single to give Boehne more than enough support. The Kahoks -- who started the season 7-0 -- added another run in the second on Kyle Armour's RBI double.
Roberts (6-1), a Creighton recruit and potential major-league draft pick, was coming off a 15-strikeout performance against Belleville East in his previous start.
The Kahoks seemed up for the challenge.
"This is a guy that already has a Division I scholarship and has a chance to possibly even get drafted. We could possibly even see him play on TV," Trapp said. "They were excited about that opportunity and stepping up and getting after it. They wanted a chance to see what they were made of, and I think they did a pretty good job."
Meyer said Roberts must stay focused and avoid the hype that comes with being a must-see part of the major-league scouting tour.
"He did seem a little bit different," Meyer said. "He's really got to work hard on focusing. He's an intelligent kid and a competitive kid. When he steps on the mound, you want him to be zoned in."
Roberts settled down after the rocky first inning and Collinsville had just five hits, only one more than the Maroons.
West left the bases loaded in the fourth when Rob Beatty's hard ground ball up the middle deflected off Boehne and went to Armour at second for a groundout.
Hard-hitting catcher Tyler Burk was up with two on and two out in the fifth, but Boehne retired him on a fly ball to right. Only one West baserunner got past second base.
"I thought he was outstanding," Meyer said. "He threw strikes and got fly balls and ground balls. He did a fantastic job against us."
Contact reporter Norm Sanders at nsanders@bnd.com or 239-2454.
