News-Review Playoff Baseball Update

Round 1:

Keota Eagles:7 Pekin Panthers:1

On the first day of July, the Keota Eagles and Pekin Panthers traveled to Hillcrest Academy high school for the first round matchup of the Class 1A-Region 5 bracket. The Eagles advanced past the Panthers by a final score of 7-1.

The Eagles started the game with four runs in the bottom of the first inning. They went on to add one in each of the third, fourth and fifth innings en route to the 7-1 victory. 

The Eagles had five players tally an RBI on the day: Dalton Dodd, Cole Kindred, Aiden McGuire, Evan Vittetoe and Caleb Waterhouse. Aidan Anderson led the offense with two runners knocked in.

Anderson also got the start from the bump, and finished his day with seven innings pitched, only one unearned run on one hit and 10 strikeouts. Anderson held the Panther lineup to a batting average of 0.043.

The sole Panther run came from the bat of Joseph Coates in the third inning.

The Eagles advance to the second round of the Class 1A-Region 5 bracket, where they will visit the Hillcrest Academy Ravens. 

The Panthers wrap up their season with a final record of 7-15. 

Don Bosco Dons:13 English Valleys Bears:0

On July 1, the English Valleys Bears visited the Don Bosco Dons for the first round of the Class 1A-Region 4 bracket. The Dons downed the Bears by a final score of 13-0.

The Bears wrap up their season with a record of 0-19.

Round 2:

Hillcrest Academy:4 Keota:3

The Keota Eagles visited the Hillcrest Academy Ravens on July 5 for the second round of the Class 1A-Region 5 bracket. The Ravens snuck past the Eagles in extra innings by a final score of 4-3.

The Eagles notched the first run in the top of the third, and the Ravens responded with three runs in the bottom of the fourth. In the top of the fifth, the Eagles tied the game up with two runs of their own. The game pushed into extra innings until the Ravens tallied the winning run in the bottom of the eight. 

The Eagles offense had three players secure an RBI on the day: Aidan Anderson, Chase Sieren and Caleb Waterhouse.

Aidan Anderson got the start from the bump, and finished his day with seven and one-thirds innings pitched, three earned runs on four hits and two strikeouts. 

The Eagles wrap up their season with a final record of 11-12.