One scenario had as many as four Little Illini Conference baseball teams tied for the championship. But, when the dust had finally settled on Monday afternoon, the Olney Tigers stood alone atop the field, thus beginning their reign as outright LIC champions.
The Tigers began the day tied with Casey-Westfield, both with 5-1 league records. But, defending champion Newton and Mt. Carmel were both lurking just one game back, at 4-2. The way the schedule worked out, there could have been a four-way tie for first in the final standings. Instead, Olney took care of business, routing Paris 10-0 to finish 6-1. Then, Newton’s 3-0 win over Casey-Westfield gave Olney the solo title, the first for the school since 2019.
Mt. Carmel, which walked off Marshall, 5-4, at home on Monday, ended up part of a three-way tie for second place in the final standings, along with Casey-Westfield and Newton. Each finished with a 5-2 mark.
Olney left little doubt in its’ game against Paris, scoring three runs in the first and two more in the second for a quick 5-0 lead in a game shortened to five innings. Sophomore starter Brody Redman was dominant on the hill, allowing just three hits while striking out nine batters. He did walk four batters, but still walked away with a complete game shutout win.
Casey-Westfield ran into a buzzsaw on Monday, losing 3-0 to Newton. Eagles senior starter Carson Barthelme was on the mark, with a seven-inning complete game shutout. Barthelme allowed five hits while fanning six and walking two. Newton finally broke open a scoreless game in the top of the sixth on an RBI single by Dominic Baltzell which scored David Ferguson with what turned into the game-winner. Gavin Meinhart then added a punctuation mark with a two-run blast to center that made it 3-0.
Mt. Carmel’s win came in the bottom of the seventh on a line drive to right by Ryder Sloss, scoring River Deisher with the winning run. Deisher had reached on an error to open the inning.
Robinson pitcher Graysen Brown has his own unique story to tell. The senior right hander no-hit Lawrenceville in a 12-0 Maroon win on Monday. He struck out 10 and did not issue a walk, facing just one batter over the minimum due to an error. But, here’s where the story gets even better. Brown also tossed a no-hitter in the first conference game of the year against Marshall. So, he now lays claim to bookend conference no-hitters, a feat of the rarest kind.
