By Sean Duncan

JOLIET – Sure, Derek Thompson was ranked in the Prep Baseball Report’s top 25 junior prospects before the season, but for the most part, the athletically built 6-foot-3, 170-pound left-hander has flown under the radar. Much like his high school team, Teutopolis.

Not anymore.

Thompson made his formal introduction to the state of Illinois on Saturday, when he did what no other pitcher could do this season: stop the No. 1-ranked Harrisburg machine. On the biggest stage against the best team in the state, Thompson led a severely overlooked Teutopolis team to a shocking 5-1 victory over the previously unbeaten Bulldogs in the Class 2A state championship game at Silver Cross Field.

Thompson limited a Harrisburg squad (40-1) that had averaged more than 10 runs a game to only six hits. In his 86-pitch, complete-game masterpiece, Thompson struck out eight with no walks in leading the Wooden Shoes (31-4) to their first state championship.

Thompson, who also had two hits and scored two runs as the team’s leadoff hitter, said he was well aware of Harrisburg’s reputation for ruining pitchers’ ERAs.

“Yeah, it gave me the jitters before the game, but I just tried to keep my composure,” said Thompson, who improved to 9-1. “It feels great. It’s a dream come true for everybody.”

Thompson entered the game with a brilliant 0.47 ERA, having struck out 93 in 59 innings behind a three-pitch repertoire of an 84-88 mph fastball, curve and change. Harrisburg, though, had conquered its fair share of aces with a loaded offense that hit .389 for the season.

“The fact of the matter is, [Thompson] came out and stuck it in our ear,” said Harrisburg coach Jay Thompson. “I’d never guess we’d be held to one run in a game, and I’ll tip my cap to him. … I don’t think it had anything to do with us. I thought we had good, aggressive at-bats. He just pitched a heck of a game.”

The Wooden Shoes jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Thompson led off the game with a single, and eventually scored on first baseman Bo Blievernicht’s RBI single. Harrisburg responded in the top of the third on Dawson Montfort’s single that scored Reid Roper. But that was as close as the Bulldogs would get.

Again, Thompson was the catalyst offensively in the third, as his one-out single ignited a two-run inning. Junior catcher Derek Repking hit his first of two doubles of the game before Blievernicht knocked in Thompson with another hit. DH Garrett Overbeck also had a run-scoring single in the inning. The Wooden Shoes tacked on another run in the fourth to make it 4-1 before a rain delay halted the game.

“They made us chase them today,” said Jay Thompson. “Usually, it’s the other way around.”

When play resumed, Thompson didn’t miss a beat. Harrisburg only got one hit in the final three innings.

“[Thompson] shocked everybody,” said senior RHP/3B Luke Bushur, an Eastern Illinois recruit who earned the win in the semifinals. “He always steps up - the better the team, the better performance.”

Said Harrisburg University of Illinois-bound shortstop Reid Roper: “We faced a lot of lefties this year. I don’t know, he just threw strikes and kept battling us.”

Teutopolis finished with 11 hits against three Harrisburg pitchers. Repking had with two doubles and two RBI, and Overbeck went 2-for-3 with two RBI for the Wooden Shoes, who took third place in 2005.

“It’s hard to put into words,” said Wooden Shoes coach Justin Fleener. “This is just a fun group of young men to be around.”

Montfort paced Harrisburg’s offense with two hits, and Reid Roper had a hit and a run scored. The Bulldogs fell just short of becoming the most successful state-championship team in IHSA history.

“What a heck of a run,” said Jay Thompson. “These guys have played incredible baseball since we began in March. … I can’t say enough superlatives about this team.” 

In the third-place game, No. 8 Illinois Valley Central defeated Immaculate Conception 6-4 in a five-inning game. Brock Adcock hit a home run and had two RBI, and Derek Sprout went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Jose Godinez led Immaculate Conception with a home run and two RBI.