By Sean Duncan

O’FALLON – No. 1 Harrisburg has Division I talent up and down its lineup. Senior second baseman Cain Sheldon isn’t one of them, yet when the Bulldogs need a big hit, coach Jay Thompson said he wants Sheldon at the plate.

Sheldon showed exactly why Saturday, as he broke a tie game with a home run and then sealed the 4-2 victory over No. 15 Normal West with a run-scoring single in the semifinals of the O’Fallon/Triad Baseball Classic at Blazier Field.

“Sheldon just gets big hits,” said Thompson. “There’s no question he’s our best clutch hitter.”

Sheldon’s solo home run in the sixth broke a 2-2 deadlock, and in the seventh he cemented the game with a two-out RBI single, scoring freshman Ryne Roper. Sheldon’s late-inning heroics helped snap Normal West’s (20-6) 16-game winning streak and keep Harrisburg (31-0) unbeaten. Harrisburg advanced to the championship game, where it faced Holt (Mo.).

“I don’t do anything flashy, I just do what it takes for the team,” said Sheldon, who’s a standout guard on the basketball team. “I just try to stay consistent and do what the team needs.”

Normal West threatened in the bottom of the seventh, putting runners on second and third with one out after Illinois State-bound shortstop Brock Stewart (2-for-4) laced a double against Harrisburg starter Reid Roper. With Normal West’s No. 4 and 5 hitters due up, Roper bore down and dialed up his fastball, which climbed to 90 on two occasions. Roper, who’s signed at the University of Illinois as a shortstop, struck out the last two batters to keep the Bulldogs perfect.

“I tried to think about this as a postseason situation,” said Roper, who walked three times at the plate. “The adrenaline was going. I just wanted to close it out.”

Roper (8-0) threw a complete-game five hitter, recording six strikeouts, two walks and hit four batters. Roper plunked two batters in the first inning, the second coming with the bases loaded to force in a run. Normal West mounted a 2-0 lead when starting pitcher Tyler Emmerson led off the second inning with a single and eventually came around to score.

Harrisburg, which only had six hits against three Normal West pitchers, scored two unearned runs in the fourth inning to tie the game. Southern Illinois-bound center fielder Kollin Dowdy (2-for-3) led off the inning with a double, and Dawson Montfort followed with a walk. Catcher Noah King, a SIU-Edwardsville recruit, then dropped down a sac-bunt, but the throw to first found its way deep in the right-field corner, allowing both runners to score.

Harrisburg had several opportunities to break the game open, but left the bases loaded in both the fifth and sixth innings. The Bulldogs stranded 10 runners for the game.

“We missed so many chances to score,” said Thompson. “I thought that might be our downfall today.”

While Sheldon was the offensive star and Roper pitched a solid game, perhaps the most valuable contributor to Harrisburg’s victory was junior Keelin Rasch, who is arguably the best defensive third baseman in the state. (Editorial note: he’s easily the best I’ve seen this year) Rasch made nine putouts at third base, several in key situations, without making an error.

“He’s an exceptional third baseman,” Thompson said. “We swing the bats, pitch pretty well, but what’s overlooked is how good defensively we are.”

Not far behind Rasch was Normal West’s sophomore third baseman Wes Sery, who also had an outstanding performance in the field. The 6-foot-1, 180-pound left-handed hitter had six putouts, and started two double-play turns in the second and third innings.

“Their third baseman was nails,” said Normal West coach Chris Hawkins. “Our third baseman showed pretty well too. There were big plays all around. … This was a real tournament atmosphere.”

In the second semifinal game, Wentzville Holt edged host O’Fallon 8-7 in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Trailing 6-3, Holt (17-6) scored four runs in the sixth to take a 7-6 lead heading into the seventh. O’Fallon 15-10) came right back to tie it, 7-7, when Matt Meadows led off the inning with a home run to right-center field.

Holt, however, responded in the bottom half of the seventh. Brennan Nabholz opened with a double, and Nolan Fisher followed with a single to end the game. The Indians’ biggest hit of the game came from the bat of 6-foot-3, 240-pound senior third baseman Justin Hellman, who delivered a three-run homer to give Holt the lead in the sixth. Mason Queen went 3-for-3 with a double and an RBI for Holt as well.

O’Fallon erupted for five runs behind four hits in the fourth to mount a 6-2 lead. Shortstop Sam Summerlin had an RBI double in the inning, followed by a run-scoring single by left fielder Rob Bohnenstiehl (2-for-3). Junior catcher Austin Bossart added a hit in the inning and had two for the game.