Top-ranked Central baseball would like to follow basketball team to state tourney

Fresh off a third-place finish at the Class 2A state basketball tournament, the Central Cougars wouldn’t mind another trip to Peoria.

The state baseball tournament is also held there, just a few blocks away from the Civic Center and Carver Arena at Dozer Park.

“Look at what just happened in basketball,” said Central coach Kevin Crask, whose 3-1 club was ranked first in the News-Democrat Preseason Small-School Baseball Rankings by area coaches. “They got a taste of what it’s like going to state and getting through (the playoffs). Now they get to bring that over to baseball and hopefully we can follow suit a little bit.”

Central Cougars finish third at Class 2A state basketball tournament.

As Crask was quick to remind them, state baseball trips are about as tough as they come. Not only has Central never made one, the Cougars have never won a sectional either.

They won the regional and reached the Class 2A Vandalia Sectional last spring before losing to Althoff and finishing 17-14.

“It’s a goal, everybody wants to get there,” Crask said of the state tournament. “But you’ve got to have everything in place to make sure it works. I think we have a lot of the positions set and we’ve got a lot of the tools. It’s just if everything clicks at the right time.

“There’s an expectation and a work ethic you’re going to have to put in to get there. It doesn’t happen naturally.”

Season outlook

The Cougars are blessed with a solid mix of returning experience, pitching depth and at least the potential of a high-octane offense. They scored 26 runs during a 3-0 start before losing their next game 11-3 to Salem.

“When you’ve got the recognition, the bad part is everybody’s got a target out for you,” Crask said. “That means we’re more likely to see No. 1 (pitchers) during the season instead of your 2’s and 3’s. But if people are going to show you that respect, you’re going to have to earn it. I told the kids we’re going to have to play good, solid ball every day.

“This is definitely the most experience I’ve ever had back.”

Senior pitcher-infielder Mitchel Rule and senior outfielder Brent Timmons are among the top returning players, but the Cougars still figure to be as good or even better in 2017 with a lot of sophomores and juniors in key roles.

“We’re just hoping that the upperclassmen can pass down the knowledge and the experience to the younger kids,” Crask said.

Deep lineup and pitching staff

Timmons (.225, three homers, 17 RBIs) has signed with Kaskaskia College while Rule (.261, 13 RBIs; 3-4, 2.25 ERA) has interest from several schools.

Rule is one of at least five different starters on the deep Central pitching staff. The others are junior left-hander Jack Strieker (4-2, 3.74 ERA), junior Trevor Kohrmann (3-2, 2.92 ERA), junior Carter Truong (3-2, 4.73 ERA) and sophomore Dylan Wilson.

Strieker and Wilson both were pitching on the varsity as freshmen.

“You’d think you can rotate them through, use them in relief some days, some days as starters,” Crask said. They should be able to at least keep us in games.”

Left fielder Dalton Wise is off to a strong start, hitting .400 through four games with two doubles, a triple and three RBIs.

Jayce Timmermann (.241, seven RBIs) and Matt Walters are handling catching duties with Strieker (.293, 16 RBIs) at first along with Rule and Walters.

Jenson Lake, hitting .385 this season with four RBIs) is at second base with junior Kolby Schulte (.326, 11 RBIs) back at shortstop and Tyler Malone at third.

The outfield is set with Wise, Truong (currently at .500 with three RBIs) in center and Timmons in right.

Crask said the Cahokia Conference-Mississipi Division is loaded once again with Freeburg (4-0), Wesclin (1-1), Carlyle (6-0)and Columbia (3-2) ready to challenge for the league title.

“I still say the Cahokia Conference is one of the toughest conferences in the state,” Crask said. “You’ve got Freeburg that’s going to come at you every year, even in a down year Freeburg is a hard team to beat. Carlyle is off to a 6-0 start.

“A lot of it comes down to coaching, but a lot of it comes down to the kids in the programs knowing what’s expected of them.”

This story was originally published March 25, 2016 at 5:07 PM with the headline "Top-ranked Central baseball would like to follow basketball team to state tourney."