O’Fallon baseball team wins super-sectional, punches ticket to state tournament
The O’Fallon Township High School baseball team is headed back to the state tournament.
The Panthers defeated New Lenox Providence Catholic 9-4 on Monday, June 14, in the IHSA Class 4A Normal Super-Sectional at Duffy Bass Field to punch their first ticket to state since 2009.
OTHS now will play Rosell Lake Park in a state semifinal game at 1 p.m. Saturday, June 19, at DuPage Medical Group Field in Joliet. The winner of that game faces the winner of Rockton Hononegah vs. Plainfield East, which takes place at 10 a.m. Saturday.
The third place game then is set for 4 p.m. the same day and the championship contest is scheduled for 7 p.m. O’Fallon carries a 25-9 mark to state.
In the super-sectional game, the Panthers blitzed New Lenox with three runs in the first inning, two in the second and four more in the third for a 9-1 lead.
Garrett Meyer blasted a key two-run circuit shot, while Will Millard and Xavier Deatherage collected RBI triples, and Corey Quintal had a run-scoring double. Junior Mike Larson went five solid innings to earn the win.
Panthers defeat Joliet West in sectional championship
O’Fallon defeated Joliet West 6-3 on Friday, June 11, in the Class 4A Sectional 8 baseball championship at Blazier Field.
Junior Connor Lindsey hit a game-tying home run, and Meyer notched the go-ahead round tripper, while Brandon Haake fired a complete game in leading the Panthers to victory.
The sectional crown represented the Panthers’ third in six seasons. Joliet West finished 19-10.
Leading 3-2 into the bottom of the sixth, O’Fallon put the game away with three runs as Deatherage’s bases-loaded double keyed the uprising. The Panthers then held on in the seventh thanks to a pair of spectacular defensive plays from centerfielder Ethan Crouse.
Panthers defeat Edwardsville in sectional semis
In the sectional semifinal round, O’Fallon ended Edwardsville’s 28-game winning streak with a 4-1 win at Tom Pile Field in Edwardsville.
Larson fired a complete game while fanning 10, while Deatherage’s two-run single in the fifth game OTHS a 2-0 lead. Haidyn McGill added an RBI triple for a 3-0 lead.
The Panthers’ victory snapped the Tigers’ 28-game winning streak that began as they finished 34-4.
This story was originally published June 14, 2021 at 11:09 PM.