Belleville West, Gibault seniors cherish final chance to play ball at Sandlot Series
With the heartbreak of a lost season still fresh in their minds, a group of players from Belleville West managed one last hurrah Monday at the Sandlot Series Baseball Games.
Joey Kossina broke a 6-all tie with a two-run single in the sixth inning and Belleville West went on for a 12-6 win against players from Waterloo Gibault at GCS Ballpark in Sauget.
A non-sanctioned IHSA event hosted by the Gateway Grizzlies of the independent Frontier League, the eight-team, four-game event provides seniors as well as other team members the opportunity to play one game after having their entire high school seasons wiped out by the coronavirus pandemic.
And while play was sloppy after a spring of inactivity, the opening game of the two-day event provided a chance for players to do what they love: Play baseball.
“It was great to be able to be back on the field with these guys one last time,” said Belleville West’s Colin Shea. “With the group we had coming back this year we felt like this was a year that we could really do something, make a long postseason run. Not getting the chance to do that was very disappointing.”
A perennial Class 1A state power during the IHSA season, Waterloo Gibault broke out in front with an unearned run off West starting pitcher Josh Dima in the first inning.
It was Dima’s first and only time on the mound in a Belleville West uniform. Ranked as the No. 1 left-handed pitcher in the state for the class of 2020 by Prep Baseball Report, Dima attended Althoff his first three years before transferring to West for his senior year.
After struggling with his control against the first three hitters Monday, Dima struck out the last five batters he faced. He also threw out a runner at the plate while playing right field later in the game.
Headed to Illinois State University later this summer, Dima was impressive as a Maroon. He just wished it could have been for an entire season.
“It’s unfortunate because I really feel like we could have made a great postseason run,” Dima said. “I felt really good about this team. I grew up playing with these guys.”
After Kossina’s two-run single gave West the lead, Payton Whitehead followed with a two-run triple as the West advantage grew to 10-6.
Headed to Southeast Missouri State where he will play college baseball, Kossina also struck out five Gibault hitters in two innings.
“There’s nothing like it. It was awesome being out on the mound one last time. I have a lot of buddies on the other side (Gibault). I was just having a lot of fun taking the field today,” Kossina said. “Not being able to play this year was a tough pill to swallow because we thought we had a good chance to maybe win the state title. We couldn’t do anything about it though.
“But it was tremendous to be on the field with these guys one last time.”
The Sandlot Series continues Tuesday at GCS Ballpark. Highland will play Mascoutah beginning at 4:35 p.m. and players from Belleville East will play Freeburg at 7:35 p.m
Ticket info, COVID-19 precautions
Tickets are priced at $8 and will be available at the gate. Concessions will be available.
To help with social distancing, every other row of seats will be roped off at GCS Ballpark.
