Highland baseball team’s season comes to a close in IHSA regional championship

In six of its last seven games, the Highland baseball team’s offense produced five or more runs.

The Bulldogs bats, however, went silent Monday, June 7, in the IHSA postseason. The Charleston Trojans combined strong pitching, timely hitting and solid defense in defeating HHS 7-2 in a Class 3A regional championship game at Charleston High School.

“I thought the Charleston team played very well, and we played about as poorly as we could. And that combination brought it all to an end (for our season),” Highland coach Joel Hawkins said. “There were some defensive miscues, we missed some pitches and they made some really good defensive plays.”

HHS struggled out of the gate as the Trojans grabbed a 4-0 lead after the second inning. Highland scored its only runs of the day in the top of the third when junior infielder Blaine Kapp blasted a two-run homer to cut the deficit to 4-2. Charleston, however, put the game away in the bottom of the fifth with a three-run homer.

Overall, the Bulldogs offense sputtered, managing just three hits while their No. 4-9 hitters went hitless.

“We been swinging the bats a little bit (of late),” Hawkins said. “There were four balls that were well hit that could have been fruitful, but it didn’t happen. It was tough trip and a long trip.”

Kapp, senior catcher John Walker, and Luke Darling represented the few offensive bright spots for HHS.

Kapp went for 1-for-3 with a home run and a walk. Walker, the Bulldogs hard-nosed backstop who started every game this spring, walked twice, reached on a fielder’s choice, and had a hit. Darling also singled.

The Bulldogs advanced to the regional title game by overcoming a 6-3 deficit to defeat Mississippi Valley Conference rival Civic Memorial 8-7 in a regional semifinal game Friday, June 4, at Glik Park in Highland.

Hawkins pleased with Highland’s finish

Highland ended at 23-14, but Hawkins said he felt his junior-laden roster made major strides this spring, specifically after being 13-11 near midseason. Furthermore, Hawkins saw HHS grow into a potent unit that should be even better in 2022.

“What we realized going in this season, let’s see what we have and we tried to use 20 kids per game with the idea of where these kids can help us. The kids were really kind of scratching around at 13-11, and I’m really pleased with the way they finished (the season),” Hawkins said,