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No. 50 Mahomet-Seymour upsets No. 7 Champaign Central 15-13

April 5, 2015

By Ryan Quigley
Illinois Scouting Director

MAHOMET, IL – In a battle of downstate powerhouses, No. 50 Mahomet-Seymour upset No. 7 Champaign Central in dramatic fashion thanks to a two-out, two-strike three-run home run by senior Nick Bohlen to win a 15-13 slugfest.

The back-and-forth slugfest was the third contest in a triple-header round-robin also featuring Rochester. Mahomet-Seymour trailed 13-12 entering the bottom of the seventh inning in a game that featured 25 total hits and six total home runs: three by each team.

 Champaign Central ace Phillip Swartz entered in relief after recording a win earlier in the day in his start against Rochester. After a strikeout, an infield error and walk set the stage for Bohlen’s heroics. The senior third baseman said, “I was just looking to put the ball in play. I’d been struggling today and I was looking to hit something hard toward the right side of the field.” Bohlen did just that taking a two-strike pitch deep to right centerfield giving the Bulldogs a huge early season win that may eventually have regional playoff seeding implications.

Early on, the Bulldogs trailed a hot hitting Maroon’s squad 8-2 entering the bottom of the third. Champaign Central plated three in the second thanks to homers by senior catcher Luke Beesley and senior shortstop Nick Brunson. The Maroons put up five runs in the top of the third inning as five consecutive hitters at the top of the lineup reached base and eventually scored thanks to five hits and three Bulldog errors chasing Mahomet-Seymour ace lefthander Jack Rettig (1-for-3, 2 runs, BB, HBP).

Mahomet-Seymour answered with six of their own in the third, capped by a three-run homer with two outs by left fielder Scott Metzger to tie the score at eight. Bulldog head Coach Nic DiFillipo said, “It was good to see our young guys respond, especially Metzger with the two-out homer and Hamilton keeping us in the ball game in relief in his first varsity outing.”

 Champaign Central put up two in the fourth, and three in the fifth, thanks to three-run homer to center field by junior outfielder Alec Barger (his first of the game, and third on the day) to take a 13-8 advantage.

As they had done all day, the Bulldogs battled back in the bottom of the fifth with four runs. Junior center fielder Tom Kenney led the way with a no doubt three-run homer to right, making it 13-12 Champaign Central and setting the stage for Bohlen’s heroics. Junior lefthander Alex Jackson earned the win for Mahomet-Seymour with 1.1 innings of scoreless relief. Senior shortstop Joe Kenney went 2-for-3 with two walks, an RBI and two runs.

Champaign Central was led offensively by Barger (2-for-5, single, three-run homer, two runs), Beesely (2-for-4, 2-run HR, single, sac fly, four RBI), Connor Mapes (2-for-4, double, HBP, 2 runs), and Joe Aeilts (1-for-2, 3 runs, BB, HBP).

DiFillipo added, “I couldn’t be happier for Mike Bohlen. He’s a senior that worked really hard this offseason; was at every open gym at 6 a.m. I’m proud of him and he took out two strike approach of staying back, trying to go oppo”. Mahomet-Seymour improves to 6-1 on the season handing Champaign Central their first loss of the year, dropping the Maroons to 9-1.

No. 50 Mahomet-Seymour 8, Rochester 4

MAHOMET, IL – In the first game of the day, the host Bulldogs defeated Rochester 8-4 behind freshman outfielder Brooks Coetzee, who finished 2-for-4 with three RBI including a two-run homer to center in  the bottom of the sixth that helped put the game away.

Senior shortstop Joe Kenney moved to the mound in relief of his brother Tom in the sixth and earned the win in two scoreless innings with three strikeouts. Tom Kenney went 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Senior catcher Andy Livingston went 2-for-4 with a double, two RBI and a stolen base. Kyle Schum added two hits.

Rochester senior second baseman Howard Fisher went 3-for-4 with three singles and a run scored. Junior Adam Bunch added a 2-RBI single in the third, and junior shortstop Tyler Fitzgerald walked twice, stole two bases and scored two runs for the Rockets.

No. 7 Champaign Central 12, Rochester 1

MAHOMET, IL – No. 7 Champaign Central struck early and often in the second game of the day winning 12-1 over Rochester at Mahomet-Seymour on Saturday afternoon.

The Maroons put up five runs in the first, as the first five hitters in the lineup all reached base safely and scored. Senior right fielder Connor Mapes was the offensive star of the day, homering in his first three at-bats. Mapes finished 3-for-3 with four RBI, three runs, and a walk.

Junior center fielder Alec Barger followed up Mapes’ homers with two of his own, as the Maroon teammates went back-to-back in the second and third frames. Barger finished two-for-three in this contest, and homered later against Mahomet-Seymour. Junior second baseman Jake Snider also scored three runs for Central, going 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.

The first five hitters in Central’s lineup did a majority of the damage, combining for ten hits, five homers, and all twelve runs scored. Junior ace Phillip Swartz earned the win on the mound for the Maroons firing three scoreless innings with one hit and six strikeouts.

Rochester (1-6) was led by Louisville commit Tyler Fitzgerald, who belted a two-run homer to centerfield to put the Rockets on the board in the bottom of the fifth.

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