Raiders realize shot at state championship not part of their destiny after semifinal loss

Quincy Notre Dame's Jake Schisler, left, and Nolan Robb collaborate during a seventh-inning pitching change in the Class 2A state semifinal against Joliet Catholic on Friday at Dozer Park. | Matt Schuckman photo

PEORIA, Ill. — The fifth inning provided the Quincy Notre Dame baseball players with hope. The sixth inning gave them angst. The seventh inning brought the stark realization a state championship wasn’t part of their destiny. Trailing defending Class 2A state champion Joliet Catholic by five runs in the fifth inning of Friday’s state semifinal…

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Hilltoppers’ Schlageter best arm Raiders faced this season ‘by far’

Joliet Catholic left-hander T.J. Schlageter delivers a pitch during Friday's Class 2A state tournament semifinal against Quincy Notre Dame at Dozer Park in Peoria, Ill. | Matt Schuckman photo

PEORIA, Ill. — For one inning, T.J. Schlageter was immaculate. Five other innings, he was unhittable. That’s a scenario the Quincy Notre Dame baseball team hadn’t faced this season. Schlageter, the Joliet Catholic left-hander who has signed with the University of Louisville, handcuffed the Raiders for seven innings Friday night, allowing just three hits in…

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Photo gallery: QND baseball team makes first state final four appearance in nearly two decades

Delaney Beard holds a fathead of Quincy Notre Dame senior outfielder Colin Kurk prior to Friday's Class 2A state semifinal against Joliet Catholic at Dozer Park in Peoria, Ill. | Matt Schuckman photo

PEORIA, Ill. — Playing in the Class 2A state final four for the first time since 2004, the Quincy Notre Dame baseball team enjoyed the support of a large, vocal crowd Friday night at Dozer Park. It sparked a fifth-inning rally that pulled the Raiders within two runs of defending state champion Joliet Catholic. However,…

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