By Drake Skleba

 

SPRINGFIELD ? The Coonrod family in Carrollton, Illinois (pop. 2,436) has a couple of quality right-handed pitchers in the house. Sammy, a 6-foot-3 SIU-bound senior right-hander, is 11-0 with a 1.05 ERA with over 100 Ks on the season.  Joey, a 5-foot-11 junior, improved to 11-0 as well with a Class 1A Lincoln Land Community College Supersectional 10-0 white-wash of Hartsburg-Emden on Tuesday.

 

Joey allowed just two hits and struck out nine Staggs in the five-inning contest. Joey lowered his ERA to 1.19 and passed the century mark in strikeouts as well.

 

?Sammy throws harder than I do but my curve ball is better than his,? said the younger Coonrod shortly after he picked up eight of his nine strikeouts with his sharp breaking ball.

 

The future Saluki, Sammy, put the Hawks on the board first with a clutch two-out RBI single in the bottom of the first. Carrollton (29-1-1) would pick up another tally in the bottom of the second when Hartsburg-Emden starting junior pitcher Cody Bolen (5-4) uncorked a wild pitch.

 

Carrollton put up a four spot in the fourth, highlighted by a leadoff double from Hawk senior CF Ryan Palan, who had tripled and scored on the wild pitch in the second.

 

Sophomore RF Dan Williams (2-for-3, RBI, R) singled home Palan. Hawk leadoff man senior C Curtis Weber doubled home Williams, and would do his job as leadoff man by walking three times to be on base in all four plate appearances.

 

?I did a good job getting on base today,? said Weber. ?I got on base and my teammates drove me home.?

 

Joey Coonrod followed with a two-run single and the Hawks led 6-0 after four.

 

Coonrod picked up strikeouts No. 8 and 9 in a 1-2-3 fifth. The Hawks

then put up a game-ending four spot up for a 10-0 win.

 

?We played real good baseball today and beat a very good team,? added Coonrod. ?I was pitching on two days rest so I tried to minimize the number of pitches I would make, in hopes that we could win this game and I could pitch again in Peoria.?

 

The final four-run inning was highlighted by a two-run double from junior 3B Cody Kraut.

 

The Supersectional win is the first in Carrollton baseball history. The Hawks will meet Tremont (21-8) in the first Class 1A semifinal on Friday at 10 a.m. at O?Brien Field in Peoria. Tremont defeated Macon-Meridian 6-5 to win the Class 1A University of Illinois Supersectional.

 

?We are just so excited about going to Peoria,? said Carrollton head coach Greg Pohlman. ?It?s the first time in school history that we are going to state. Having never been there we don?t know what to expect. I told the kids since we are going, we might as well win it all.?

 

Hartsburg Emden (14-11) closes out the most successful season in its schools history.

?I am so proud of the tremendous run we made this year in the tournament,? said Hartsburg-Emden head coach Ryan Snow. ?I wouldn?t trade my kids for anyone.?