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BASEBALL: 10-run inning gives Indians 10th straight win

After four innings, Thursday's Class 2A Baseball Regional semifinal between Du Quoin and West Frankfort was knotted at 2-2 and appeared to be on its' way towards a dramatic finish. The Indians had other plans.

Sending fourteen batters to the plate, Du Quoin hammered Redbirds ace Hunter Hancock in the top of the fifth on their way to a ten-run inning, helping the Indians get past West Frankfort 12-2 in five frames to advance to Saturday's championship game at The Ballpark at DHS in search of their eleventh straight win.

Indians slugger Levi Brening absolutely crushed a pitch from Hancock to start the big rally, homering to deep center for one of four Du Quoin hits to start the inning.

"I think when Levi hit that ball, we saw there was a little chink in the armor," said DHS head coach Tim Craft. "The second that ball came off his bat, it felt like the air was taken out of their dugout. We had good base running, they made a couple mistakes, and we took advantage of them."

The Indians put up two runs in the top of the first to grab the lead when Brock Bullar drove in Jacob Valier (double) and Brening (walk).

"Being the visiting team we wanted to set the tone," Craft said. "(Hancock) is one of the best pitchers down here. To come out and score some runs on him early, it let them know that we're here to play."

The Redbirds got a run back an inning later against Valier on a sacrifice fly by Jacob Bartoni to score Hancock's courtesy runner Brandon Glass, then tied it up at 2-2 in the third when Tyson Smith walked and later scored on a wild pitch.

Neither team scored in the fourth, then Brening led off Du Quoin's fifth with his monster home run that landed well beyond the fence in center, approximately 415 feet from home plate. The blast seemed to ignite the Indians, as Bullar, Braden Lee and Ryne O'Rourke all followed with singles. Ashton Smith then reached on an error to bring in Hank Stewart, running for Bullar, giving the Indians a 4-2 edge.

Things only got better for Du Quoin, and much, much worse for West Frankfort. Cole Hopkins singled, plating Lee and chasing Hancock from the mound in favor of Bartoni. Ethan Keller then drew a bases-loaded walk, scoring Luke Metten, running for O'Rourke. After Smith was tagged out in a rundown between third and home, Valier grounded to first where Hancock made a mental mistake, going home to try and get Hopkins, who easily beat the throw to make it 7-2.

Five batters later, after two walks, a hit-by-pitch and a fielder's choice, O'Rourke delivered a three-run double for the knockout blow off of the third Redbird pitcher of the inning, Chase Mclaren.

Valier pitched around a two-out single by Kyle Sailliez in the bottom of the inning to complete the short-game victory for Du Quoin. He finished with two earned runs allowed on five hits and two walks with four strikeouts.

"He did exactly what we asked," Craft said of his starter. "He pitched against them two weeks ago, so they're seeing the same pitcher, and he pretty much threw the same game. They're going to hit the ball, they've got kids that can swing the bat, Jacob just minimized the damage and kept us in the game. I told him before the game if we stayed close, I felt our bats would come through when we needed them."

Valier (2-3, R, RBI, 2B, BB), Brening (1-2, 3 R, RBI, HR, 2 BB), Bullar (2-3, 3 RBI, 2B, HBP), Lee (2-3, 2 R, HBP), O'Rourke (2-4, R, 3 RBI, 2B) and Hopkins (1-3, R, RBI) had the Indians ten hits against the Redbirds.

Sailliez (2-3), Mclaren (1-3), Hancock (1-2, 2B) and Hunter Pulley (1-2) had West Frankfort's hits.

Up next for the Indians will be a third meeting with the Benton Rangers in Saturday's championship at 11:00 a.m. in Du Quoin. Mistakes kept DHS from staying in either of the two previous ball games.

On opening day, March 17, Du Quoin made seven errors in a 13-5 home loss. On April 29 at Benton, the Indians handed out seven walks and stranded ten base runners, falling 12-4. They'll have to avoid those kinds of mistakes on Saturday if they hope to advance to next week's Sectional in Nashville.

"We've got some momentum going right now," said Craft. "We just want the kids to keep playing with confidence. Even if we give up a couple runs early, I think the way they're swinging it and the way they're playing, they're not going to be out of the game until it's over."

Brening, who did not throw in either Benton game earlier this season, is scheduled to take the mound for the Indians. The Rangers' starter is undetermined - Dakota Head is dealing with a rib injury, and Gus Gibbs was ineffective in a two-inning stint against Z-R-C on Wednesday. Those two have carried the load for Benton's staff this season.