By Sean Duncan

BLOOMINGTON ? Normal West sophomore Matthew James has been nothing short of remarkable this season ? and especially in the playoffs. On Thursday against No. 11 Moline, the gifted right-hander once again proved why he?s one of the premier Class of 2013 prospects in the state.

James threw a four-hit shutout at the Maroons to lead No. 13 Normal West to a crisp 2-0 victory in the Illinois Wesleyan Sectional semifinals. The 6-foot,160-pound right-hander struck out nine and walked one to stretch his postseason scoreless streak to 18 innings.

On Saturday, James threw a two-hit shutout and accounted for the game?s only run with a solo homer to beat Normal Community 1-0 in the regional final.

?He?s obviously got something that?s very good,? said Normal West coach Chris Hawkins, whose Wildcats (31-7) advance to play Edwardsville on Saturday at Illinois Wesleyan University at noon. ?He never gets rattled out there. He does the same thing, regardless.?

James? postseason streak is no fluke, either. He improved his record to 9-1 this season, which includes six complete-game shutouts, one of which was a perfect game. In 67.1 innings, he?s recorded 107 strikeouts to only eight walks and has yielded only six runs all season.

?I felt good today,? said James, who also went 2-for-3 with a double at the plate. ?Every game I come out excited. I just love to pitch.?

Making James? performance that much more impressive was he outdueled Moline senior right-handed ace Seth Fuller (10-2), a Western Illinois recruit who allowed five hits, struck out three and walked one for the Maroons (31-5). Using a confident three-pitch repertoire of a remarkably easy 83-85 mph fastball, curveball and changeup, James had Moline off balance the entire game. He struck out five in the first three innings and set the side down in order in three innings.

James ran into some trouble in the seventh when he allowed singles to Drew Osborne and Kyle Lewis with one out. But James bore down and retired the next two hitters, the final out fittingly on strikes with a curveball.

?I was really impressed with their sophomore kid,? said Moline coach Derek Lindauer. ?He was throwing three pitches any time for strikes. Our bats looked really slow, and that was all his doing. That was a really solid performance.?

As well as James pitched, the game was locked in a scoreless tie through four innings. Normal West had a scoring opportunity in the second inning when James laced a one-out double and advanced to third on a passed ball. The Wildcats went for a suicide squeeze, but Fuller made an athletic play in which he scooped up the ball and flipped it from his mitt to get James at the plate.

Normal West finally broke the tie in the bottom of the fifth when James led off with a single, and his pinch-runner was sacrificed over to second. Then Moline committed the game?s only error on an infield grounder, putting runners on first and third. Senior shortstop Kyle Vaughn then delivered the game?s biggest hit, a run-scoring double to right-center field. Sophomore right fielder Alex Jefferson followed with a sacrifice fly to score Garrett Cook, giving the Wildcats a 2-0 advantage.

Which was plenty for the seemingly unflappable James.

Lewis paced Moline?s offense with two singles. Unsigned senior centerfielder Eric Ashcraft led off the game with a single and was robbed of another hit when he smashed a shot up the middle, but James ? who plays shortstop when he doesn?t pitch ? snatched it. (NOTE: Any college who is still looking for an outfielder should call Lindauer about Ashcraft. Seriously.)