Who is the best baseball team this year in southwestern Illinois? Vote here to decide
Vote for the Belleville News-Democrat’s High School Baseball Team of the Year. The poll closes at 11:59 p.m. Thursday, June 16. To vote again, hit refresh.
The BND Baseball Team of the Year poll highlights high school varsity softball teams who enjoyed outstanding seasons.
To be clear, this poll is not scientific. In fact, we invite you to vote as many times as you want. It’s all for fun, BND readers. We are planning to post the results later this week after the poll closes.
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Here are the team of the year nominees:
- Belleville East High School: The Lancers went 27-9 this spring while winning a regional crown and advancing to sectional competition where they lost to Edwardsville. Belleville East finished second in the Southwestern Conference standings with a 7-3 mark. In addition, according to coach Ryan Wiggs, the Lancers were ranked in the Prep Baseball Report’s top-25 all season while spending most of the season in the top-10. Wiggs also noted the team had 8 all-conference players this season.
- Breese Central High School: The Cougars started the season 18-0 and ultimately finished 29-5, losing to Mater Dei Catholic High School in the regional championship game. Breese Central tied Columbia for the Cahokia Conference Mississippi Division championship with a 9-1 record and, according to coach Ryan Meyer, placed 6 players on the all-conference team.
- Columbia High School: The Eagles finished 27-8-1 this season while winning a regional title, a sectional title and the super-sectional round before placing third at the state tournament. Columbia tied Breese Central for the Cahokia Conference Mississippi Division championship with a 9-1 ledger.
- Edwardsville High School: The Tigers went 36-4 this season and captured a regional championship, a sectional championship, won the super-sectional game and then brought home the state crown with a 4-3 win against Mundelein. Edwardsville also won the Southwestern Conference title with an 8-2 mark.
- Freeburg High School: The Midgets finished 24-14 this season while winning a regional title and a sectional title before losing in the super-sectional round to Columbia. Freeburg also went 6-4 in Cahokia Conference action, good for second place in the Mississippi Division.
- Mascoutah High School: The Indians finished 29-7 this spring while winning a regional title and reaching the sectional championship before losing to Triad. Mascoutah also finished second in the Mississippi Valley Conference with a 7-3 record.
- O’Fallon High School: The Panthers finished at one point were 25-5 this season before finishing at 25-8. OTHS also went 6-3 in Southwestern Conference action.
- Triad High School: The Knights finished 33-6 this spring while winning a regional title and a sectional title before losing to Chatham Glenwood in the super-sectional. The Knights also captured the Mississippi Valley Conference championship with a 9-1 mark.
This story was originally published June 14, 2022 at 5:00 AM.