By Sean Duncan

PEORIA, IL –  With only three seniors returning, Effingham St. Anthony coach Kenny Miller said he thought he was in for a rebuilding year. That was early in the fall, before he knew exactly how talented his sophomore and freshmen classes were.

On Saturday Miller conclusively found out after St. Anthony won its first baseball title when it defeated Tuscola 6-1 in the Class 1A state championship game at O’Brien Field.

“After the fall I realized that those freshman and sophomores could play,” said Miller. “I thought we had a chance to do some things after that.”

He was right. St. Anthony finished its dream season with a 31-8-1 record and finally reeled in the school’s first state championship after five failed attempts.

A pitchers’ duel turned into the beginning stages of a St. Anthony rout in the third inning when the Bulldogs pushed across five runs on five hits. Starting pitcher Reed Willenborg helped himself when he delivered a two-run, bases-loaded single with two outs. Willenborg had flailed and missed wildly on two pitches before he connected with the single, up the middle, staking the Bulldogs to a 2-0 advantage.

Sophomore left fielder Austin Bushur then dealt the big knockout blow when the 6-foot, 160-pounder launched a towering three-run home run to left field that hit on the concourse well beyond the fence. It was Bushur’s team-leading seventh homer of the season – and the first of the state tournament thus far. Bushur also hit a similar moonshot blast in St. Anthony’s supersectional victory.

“I could tell when it came off the bat,” said Bushur. “It was a low curveball and I just kept my weight back. … I try to swing hard every time. I guess it went pretty far.”

At that point, St. Anthony led 5-0 and was well on its way of securing the Effingham school’s first state baseball championship. Willenborg, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound senior, handled the rest for the Bulldogs. The right-hander worked a shutout through four innings, and held Tuscola (24-14) to six hits in a complete-game effort. He struck out three and walked two.

Willenborg, who finished the season at 9-5, used his 82-85 mph fastball effectively, and climbed it as high as 87 in the first inning. He will be playing basketball at Lincoln Land College next year.

“My last high school baseball game, I couldn’t ask for anything more,” said Willenborg.

Freshman second baseman Jacob Lorenz went 2-for-3 for St. Anthony and junior shortstop Ben Hecht, who pitched the Bulldogs into the championship game on Friday, went 1-for-2 with a walk, RBI and run scored.

Jacob Barr led Tuscola with a 2-for-2 day.

In the third-place game, Alton Marquette defeated Lena-Winslow 6-2. Marquette finished the year 28-9 while Lena finished 27-13-1.