Whips, WC win regional crowns
The baseball teams from Hampshire and Westminster Christian are moving on in postseason play.
Westminster won its second straight regional title Saturday, beating Alden-Hebron 6-1 in the championship game at the Class 1A Ashton-Franklin Center regional, while Hampshire stunned host and top seed Stillman Valley 7-3 to win a Class 2A crown, the Whip-Purs' second straight piece of regional hardware as well.
Westminster Christian will host its own sectional and play Dakota at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, while Hampshire will travel to Byron and meet Milledgeville at the same time Wednesday.
Hampshire 7, Stillman Valley 3: Hampshire (16-13) earned a spot in the Byron sectional semifinal after upsetting the No. 1 seed to become the Class 2A Stillman Valley regional champions.
A Joel Moore solo home run to open up the second inning started a 5-run rally that would hold up for the Whips.
"That home run by Joel was a huge hit," said Hampshire coach Steve Ream.
Zach Crinigan (2-for-4, HR, 2b, RBI) followed suit in the fourth inning with a solo shot of his own, and Matt Kuefner added a 2-run single.
"The boys came out hitting today," said Ream.
On the mound, Ryan Burke (5-2) got the win holding Stillman to just 2 hits through the first five innings of action. In the end, Burke allowed 3 runs on 9 hits while fanning four.
Westminster Christian 6, Alden-Hebron 1: Westminster Christian (24-9) showed why it was deserving of the No. 1 seed of the sectional it will host, earning a regional championship win in Class 1A action at Ashton-Franklin Center.
Despite a slow offensive start, Tyler Beachler (2-for-4, 2 RBI), Chad Schroy (2-for-3, RBI), Cory Hodge (RBI) and Casey Schuring (RBI) came around to lead the Warriors to victory.
"Alden kept us in check pretty well," said Warriors coach Jeff Moeller. "The guys were a bit passive at the plate, but they eventually broke it open."
On the mound, Ben Palmer got the win striking out 10 while walking just one.
"Our main goal today was to get the games back to our home field, and we did that. We want to take care of business at home," Moeller said.