Blakeley, Hornets move step closer to championship dreams with sectional semifinal victory

JACKSONVILLE, Ill. — Gabe Blakeley merely said out loud what the rest of the Brown County players were thinking to themselves.

When the time arrives for the Hornets to leave the baseball field for the final time this spring, they want to be carrying one thing with them.

“The state championship trophy,” Blakeley said.

Thanks in large part to Blakeley, Brown County moved one step closer to that goal Thursday afternoon.

The Hornets staved off upstart Lewistown 5-4 on the artificial turf at the Future Champions Complex in a Class 1A sectional semifinal played beneath threatening skies and a smattering of rain drops.

Brown County entered the game a heavy favorite, but Lewistown proved to be a worthy opponent — and then some. Brown County’s victory improved its record to 25-4, while Lewiston finishes 6-14. Three of Lewistown’s wins came in the postseason.

Brown County advances to the sectional finals at 11 a.m. Saturday against Triopia (21-9-1), which ousted Monmouth United 5-3 in the other sectional semifinal that was played on Wednesday. Brown County won two of three games against Triopia during the regular season.

Blakeley pitched the first six innings against Lewistown, plus collecting two hits and a pair of RBIs. Blakely has a team-leading 43 RBIs.

“This year has been everything,” Blakeley said. “We help each other and feed off each other.”

Fittingly, Mason Henry pitched the seventh inning and earned the save for the Hornets. Blakely and Henry are who Brown County coach Jared Hoots refers to as the team’s co-aces of the pitching staff.

“They’re 1-a and 1-b,” said Hoots, echoing his comments from last week’s regional championship win over Winchester when Henry tossed a 6-0 shutout.

Hoots said Blakeley, who had thrown 110 pitches, was near his 115-pitch IHSA postseason tournament limit following the sixth inning. Hoots said he wanted to provide Henry the opportunity to start the seventh inning clean.

Henry, who entered with a 5-3 lead, survived an inning-opening double from Lewiston pitcher and lead-off hitter Trevor Goforth, who scored one out later on a run-scoring bloop single from Conner Smith. Smith, however, was thrown out at second trying to stretch his base hit into a double, erasing the potential tying run from the bases.

Henry struck out the other two batters he faced to slam the door on the upset-minded Indians. 

Henry (6-0) will start Saturday against Triopia.

Blakely felt it was fitting that Henry saved the victory that boosted his record to 8-2.

“We know each other very well,” Blakely said of Henry. “We’ve been playing ball together since we were 6 or 7 years old.”

Last week, Hoots extolled the virtues of Henry following the win over Winchester. This time, it was Blakely who earned his praise.

“Gabe is one of those great baseball kids, and he’s also a leader,” Hoots said. “And he does it all the right way.”

Blakely, who was hitting .448 coming into the sectional, laced a run-scoring double in a two-run top of the fifth inning that gave Brown County a 4-1 advantage. He singled and later scored in the top of the seventh for the Hornets’ fifth run, the one that wound up being the difference following Lewistown’s attempt at a comeback in the bottom of the inning.

Pitching-wise, Blakely allowed just three hits in his six frames while striking out 11 and walking two.

“I was seeing the ball well at the plate,” he said. “(When pitching), I knew I just had to be patient and rely on our defense.”

As strong as Blakely looked both at the plate and on the mound, the star of the game may have actually been Goforth, the senior lefty for Lewistown. Goforth worked 6 2/3 innings, allowed just one earned run, struck out six and issued two walks. At the plate as the Indians’ lead-off hitter, Goforth garnered three hits — a home run, triple and double.

Ironically, Blakely and Goforth will be baseball teammates next spring at Spoon River Community College in Canton, Ill.

“I knew that kid was good,” Hoots said of Goforth. “He could play for me any day.”

Goforth, a lefty hitter, blasted his home run to right-center to lead off the bottom of the first inning for Lewistown. The homer was his fourth of the season.

“When he made contact, I knew it was gone,” Blakeley said.

Lewistown coach Scott Hammond said Goforth’s addition to the Indians roster came as a surprise. He said Goforth’s family moved into the Lewistown School District from North Fulton.

Goforth and his new teammates ultimately jelled at the right time of the year.

“We’ve been playing our best ball at the end of the season,” Hammond said. “I’m really looking forward to next year. We have a lot of (underclassmen coming back) and a lot of good young kids (at the lower levels).”

Hammond offered one other observation after the game.

“Brown County was the best team we have faced all year,” he said.