No. 19 Champaign Central rolls rival Centennial

April 25, 2014

By Sean Duncan
Executive Director

CHAMPAIGN, IL – Hard to believe that three short years ago Champaign Central endured a 6-31 season. Hard to believe because, well, the No. 19-ranked Maroons are presently steamrolling through the 2014 season – and with four sophomores and four juniors in the lineup, they likely will be doing much of the same in the foreseeable future.

And while on the topic of steamrolling, Champaign Central did just that to its crosstown rival Centennial Thursday night, as the Maroons pounded out 15 hits en route to an 8-4 victory at Centennial.

Central, which improved to 20-1 and 3-1 in the Big 12, is no fluke, either. Coach John Staab has high-end talent up and down the lineup. Against Centennial (8-7), six of the nine starters had multi-hit games – and all but one had at least one hit.

Central actually trailed 1-0 after three innings before it figured out Centennial junior right-hander Jeff Lindgren (3-1). In the fourth, the Maroons pushed across three runs on five singles, and they added two more in fifth to make it 5-1.

Junior SS Nick Brunson led the hit parade by going 4-for-4 with two runs and an RBI. Junior RF Connor Mapes, junior 1B Luke Beesley, sophomore 3B Joe Aeilts, sophomore DH Matt Brown, and senior catcher Jake Cribbett all had two hits apiece. Sophomore CF Alec Barger had the Maroons’ only extra-base hit, a double in the fifth inning. Brown also finished with three RBI and two runs scored.

The offense was more than enough for senior right-hander Alec Altmyer (6-1), who allowed four hits in 6.2 innings work. The Illinois State recruit struck out six, walked four and hit one batter. After Centennial rallied for three runs in the seventh to close the gap to 8-4, junior right-hander Zach Dorner struck out the final batter of the game.

More in-depth scouting notes will be posted in the Illinois Scout Blog later.

No. 19 Champaign Central rolls rival Centennial

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