Freeburg ends Harrisburg’s season again

Russell Conwell/Student Correspondent
Darren Kinnard
Section618.com

BENTON — The Freeburg Midgets and the Harrisburg Bulldogs are becoming familiar foes in the 2A baseball postseason. The Midgets knocked the Bulldogs out in the SIU Supersectional last season. This year, Eli Hill, Eli Hoerner and Austin York all homered to lead Freeburg to a 12-2, rain-shortened win in the Benton 2A Sectional semifinals.

Freeburg got the bats swinging early. Top of the first, Luke Isaacs singled, and Landon Funderburg drew a walk. Hoerner singled to score Isaacs with Funderburg moving to third. Hill grounded out, scoring Funderburg for a 2-0 Midgets’ lead.

Harrisburg answered in the bottom of the second. After the first two Bulldogs reached, Luke Miller advanced both runners with a sacrifice bunt. Brendan Bergan and Grant Wilson each hit run-scoring singles to tie the game at 2-2. Harrisburg then loaded the bases with one out, but Midgets’ starter Lane Otten got Ethan Golish to ground out to third for a force out at home and then struck out Cameron Ande to end the threat.

The Midgets blew it open in the third. Hoerner led off with a single, then Hill was hit by a pitch, and Otten walked to load the bases. Kamden Casey drew another walk to score Hoerner for a 3-2 Freeburg lead. York added a two-run single to make it 5-2.

Freeburg’s Luke Isaacs hits a two-run single, part of the Midgets’ nine-run third inning.

Harrisburg got the next two batters out, but the Bulldogs could not get out of the inning. Isaacs hit a two-run single to score Casey and York to make it 7-2. Then Funderburg hit a linedrive into the outfield to score Isaacs for an 8-2 lead. With the Midgets batting around, Hoerner was back up and blasted a two-run home run to left field to make it 10-2. Hill followed with another homer to right-center field, capping a nine-run inning for an 11-2 Freeburg lead.

York added a no-doubt home run to left field in the fourth to make it 12-2.

With two outs in the top of the fifth, the game went into a rain delay. The two teams met with the umpires and decided to go ahead and call the game.

With the win, Freeburg is now 23-12. The Midgets will play for the sectional championship Saturday morning at 11:00 against the winner of the Anna-Jonesboro/Du Quoin game.

The Bulldogs finish their season 29-7.