‘I’ll remember that one forever’: Illini West baseball knocks off No. 1-ranked Pleasant Plains

PLEASANT PLAINS, Ill. — The Illini West baseball team was up to the challenge, helping Chargers coach Zack Burling exact 15 years worth of revenge in the process. 

In the first game of Saturday’s triangular, Illini West defeated Pleasant Plains, the No. 1-ranked team in Class 2A according to MaxPreps, 3-1.

“They emailed us Tuesday to see if we were interested, and I’ve always wanted to play against Pleasant Plains,” Burling said. “That’s one of the best wins we’ve had since I started coaching in 2022.”

That win was extra special for Burling, who played for the 2009 and 2010 Illini West teams that lost to Pleasant Plains in the sectional semifinals.

The common thread between those Pleasant Plains teams and the 2025 one is Dave Greer, the Cardinals’ Hall of Fame coach who has compiled more than 800 wins in 35 seasons, all at Pleasant Plains.

“He has built a juggernaut,” Burling said of Greer. “It’s pretty cool to say that we beat a Hall of Fame coach today.”

Illini West scratched across a run in the top of the first when Wesley Robertson scored on an error by Cardinals shortstop Grady Grisham. The Chargers tacked on another tally in the second when Ethan Carlisle scored on a wild pitch with one out.

An RBI ground out by Zach Ponce in the bottom of the second brought the Cardinals within a run. Neither team scored a run again until Robertson drew a bases-loaded walk with two outs in the sixth. 

Robertson retired the Cardinals in order in the sixth and seventh to seal the victory.

“I’ll remember that one forever,” Burling said.

In game two, the Chargers allowed seven unearned runs in a 9-6 loss to Kankakee Bishop McNamara.

“If we play clean defense, we win that game 6-2,” Burling said.

The Chargers (11-2) play host to Astoria/VIT on Monday.