Pinckneyville scored four runs in the top of the first inning, and that was more than enough runs for pitcher C.J. Opp as he tossed a complete game to lead the Panthers to a 7-1 win over Du Quoin in the Nashville 2A baseball regional final.
“C.J. was brilliant on the mound today, hitting spots and changing speeds,” said Pinckneyville coach Alan Engelhardt. “Our defense did a nice job of stepping up and playing behind him again. It was great to see all our kids, young and old, come ready to play and believe they could win a championship despite having a little different lineup out there. We need to keep sustaining our defensive effort and get another good outing on the hill to keep moving on.”
The Panthers added a run in the second inning and two in the fourth for a 7-0 lead before Du Quoin scored its lone run of the game in the bottom of the sixth.
Dylan Hardin was 2-for-3 with two runs batted in to lead Pinckneyville, while Adam Barczewski went 1-for-4 with two RBI.
With the win, Pinckneyville improved to 18-14 on the season and advanced to the Alton Marquette Sectional where they will face the winner of the Red Bud Regional.
Pinckneyville 7
Nashville 4
Pinckneyville rallied from an early 2-0 deficit by scoring six runs in the sixth inning to top Nashville 7-4 in the Nashville 2A baseball regional last Wednesday.
“We got a very efficient performance from Drew Dudek on the mound, and we had some nice, long at-bats to get Heggemeier’s pitch count up,” said Pinckneyville coach Alan Engelhardt. “Our defense was very good tonight, and we need to keep playing at that level defensively if we are going to have a shot at advancing.”
Dudek tossed six innings, allowing four runs on nine hits while striking out four to get the win. He also went 2-for-3 from the plate with an RBI to pace the Panther attack. Landon Chandler drove in two runs for Pinckneyville, while Michael Rakers, Adam Barczewski and Maria Brammeier all finished with one RBI in the win.
The Panthers improved to 17-14 overall and advanced to the regional final against top-seeded Du Quoin Saturday.
In other 2A regional baseball action, Freeburg scored nine runs on nine hits to defeat Red Bud 9-2 Saturday in the semifinals. Du Quoin defeated Sparta 7-6 Wednesday in the Nashville Regional semifinals.