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Huskies run halted by defending champions
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ELGIN — One bad inning separated the Elgin baseball team from the defending state champions. The Huskies fell to Portland Christian 7-3 in the Class 2A/1A State semifinal game Tuesday. “It stinks to end the season this way,” senior Jake Kennedy said. “But we still had a great season. We lost to the best.” The Royals (18-5) set the tone from the opening inning, opening pitch. Eric Tolleson drilled the first pitch he saw to straight away centerfield. The ball barely cleared the fence for a solo home run. “If (G.D.) Clark could’ve made it to the fence, he would’ve got it. But that’s a lot of would’ve, should’ve, could’ve, Elgin head coach Greg Luse said. “We just made too many mistakes in the field and didn’t hit the ball well.” Vance Downey kept Elgin at bay until the fourth inning. Travis Ludwig, Dillan Moore and Kennedy recorded hits in the inning, and the Huskies grabbed a 3-1 lead. Portland Christian evened the game in the fifth, keyed by another Tolleson home run — a two-run shot. “We knew he was going to be a tough out,” Luse said. A throwing error with two outs in the sixth extended a two-run inning for the Royals. That opened the door for two more hits, and two more runs. “You can’t make mistakes at this level,” Luse said. “We didn’t help ourselves out at all.” The Huskies (21-3) will lose key players to this season’s playoff run. Elgin will lose four players to graduation Ludwig, Kennedy, Moore and Clark.
Elgin 000 300 0 — 3 5 5 W — Downey. L — Ludwig. 2B— Elgin, Ludwig. HR— PC, Tolleson. |
