Baseball: Harvest Christian takes 4th at Class 1A state tournament

PEORIA - The ultimate ending was not what the Harvest Christian baseball team was hoping for on Saturday. But there was little doubt on what the Lions accomplished over the course of the 2019 season.

Harvest Christian left Peoria's Dozer Park with the Class 1A state fourth-place trophy after a 12-6 defeat to Steeleville.

But the program now hopes to return in part to the foundation left by three seniors - Grant Young, Jack Nohava and Brock Wilken - who started all four years.

"I really couldn't be prouder of these three. They talked about a legacy early in the year, and they had T-shirts with Seniors 2019 and Legacy," HCA coach Matt Ellett said. "Legacy is a broad term, but they were able to do what they do and put on the map. I don't know that they even realize what they've done in the program."

For the second-straight day, the Lions (24-5) found themselves down big through three innings.

"I feel like yesterday's loss took the wind out of our sails a little bit and we came out flat as a result," Ellett said. "We didn't have the same energy and made some mistakes, but like always we were going to battle back."

On Saturday HCA trailed 6-0, a deficit helped by the fact that Steeleville ran itself out of a potential big inning in the second when it made a pair of outs on the bases and was held scoreless.

"That's what I want to do every game. The games we've won we've been aggressive and run the bases and swung the bats," Steeleville coach John Sutton said. "We probably should have scored four runs and not had an out but that comes down to being aggressive."

Steelville batted around in the bottom of the third and fourth innings to lead 12-1 and threaten to invoke the 10-run mercy rule.

But in the top of the fifth, Harvest Christian extended the game with Wilken's two-run double. The Lions scored three more in the inning.

"For me it was just doing my job and putting the ball in play," Wilken said. "Everybody fell in line and stayed within themselves."

Wilken finished 2-for-3 with a walk and a pair of runs scored.

The inning was continued by the bulk of a lineup which will return seven starters and two younger Nohava brothers, Alex and George, who will have learned from their older brother and his classmates.

"It's been fun to play with my brothers and see the impact I've had on them and the other kids," Jack Nohava said.

The goal for Harvest Christian now becomes to make the same jump Ottawa Marquette made this weekend, in going from fourth a year ago to beating Waterloo Gibault 14-5 for the 1A state title.

"We've got a great group coming back and the fact that those guys have been down here is a little bit of fire for them," Ellett said. "I feel really strongly we'll be here again."