Rockets’ Kessler mows down Eagles, ending Liberty’s pursuit of regional crown

WINCHESTER, Ill. — A career day dashed the Liberty baseball team’s dreams of playing for a regional title, and it came courtesy of a familiar foe.

Rushville-Industry senior right-hander Macon Kessler struck out a career-high 16 batters and tossed a complete-game shutout as the sixth-seeded Rockets ended the fourth-seeded Eagles’ season with an 8-0 victory in Thursday’s Class 1A Bluffs Regional semifinal. The Rockets will square off with No. 1 seed Winchester West Central for the regional championship Saturday afternoon.

“He was on,” Rushville-Industry coach Tyler Crum said of Kessler. “Too bad he can’t throw again on Saturday.”

It was deja vu for the Eagles because Kessler shut out the Eagles on April 23, a game the Rockets won 2-0. Kessler had 14 strikeouts in that game, giving him 30 strikeouts in 14 innings against Liberty this season.

Those 14 strikeouts were his previous career high. Kessler believed he was tied at that number before he punched out Dylan Hocking for the final out of Thursday’s game.

“I thought I was going for 15 with that last batter, so the 16 was a little extra treat,” Kessler said.

Thursday also marked the second time this season Kessler and Eagles senior Jack Sparrow went head-to-head on the mound. Like Kessler, Sparrow reached double-digit strikeouts in both games. Sparrow fanned 10 batters in six innings the first go-around, and he punched out 15 on Thursday before the wheels came off as the Rockets scored seven runs in the sixth inning.

“It’s fun seeing what the other person has and how you can match it and keep your team in the ballgame,” Sparrow said. “It was fun to watch him go at it, and it was a pleasure to go at it with him.”

The two strikeout maestros kept their opponents off the scoreboard until the Rockets broke through with a Bradley Charles Hollingsworth RBI double in the fifth.

“I was keeping them on their toes,” Sparrow said. “I was attacking them. I sort of fell off at the end. I got in a groove, and I was more lenient with some pitches I was throwing and grooved some, and that’s when they did their damage. Attacking was the best part, and I kind of lost it there after the fifth.”

The Rockets’ sixth inning started harmlessly enough with a single and a strikeout, but a walk followed by a Jordan McGinnis RBI double brought in the Rockets’ second run. Brady McGinnis was thrown out trying to score on that double for the second out, then the Eagles could not get out of their own way. A hit by pitch, a walk and two infield singles led to three more runs before catcher and leadoff hitter Rylan Reimolds strode to the plate with runners on first and third.

Reimolds woke up at 4 a.m. to participate in the IHSA bass fishing sectional at Lake Shelbyville. He made it to the ballpark about 20 minutes before the game and had gone 0 for 3 with three strikeouts until his sixth-inning at-bat.

“I showed up a little laggy,” Reimolds said. “I just wasn’t seeing the ball right. I mentally told myself that I have to go up there and do something special.”

Reimolds did the most special thing he could do in that moment. He crushed a three-run home run that hit a tree beyond the left center field fence — his fourth longball of the season — capping the Rockets’ seven-run inning and giving them an 8-0 lead.

“I kept my head on the ball and hit it pretty hard,” Reimolds said.

Crum expected nothing less from his star — albeit tired — catcher.

“I knew something big was going to happen from him,” Crum said. “It only takes one pitch, and that’s all he needed.”

The Eagles end their season with a 15-11 record, their first winning season since a shortened 2021 campaign in which they went 8-4.

“It’s nice to see our guys go out there and compete and have that ability to come out with a winning record,” Liberty coach Travis Ruppel said. “Unfortunately, it didn’t end the way we wanted, but going forward, it gives our guys something to go out and try to strive for.”

Sparrow will continue his baseball career at John Wood Community College. He expressed his gratitude for the people with whom he got to spend the last four years.

“I can name a whole bunch of things about every player and what they bring to the table. It’s been fun. I think the future is bright. I’m excited to go to John Wood and see what they have and see how they can build me up as a player.”