Box Score NORMAL, Ill. – No. 1 seed Parkland baseball hit five home runs – including four with at least two runners on base – and cruised past No. 6 seed Danville Area, 22-4 in five innings, to set up game one of the Region 24 Championship at 4 p.m. central time. A Parkland win against Lincoln Land would force a winner-take-all game on Monday.
Parkland will face Lincoln Land for the second time this weekend and sixth time this season. The Loggers defeated the Cobras 2-0 in the quarterfinal round on Friday after the two sides split the four-game season series back on May 4-5.
Pounding out 15 hits to score the 22 runs, every Cobra batter recorded a hit including six with two-hit performances. Of the 15 hits, eight went for extra bases highlighted by the five home runs.
Trevor Burkhart,
Daniel Warkentin and
Tyler Grigalis each homered and drove in four runs, while
Trevor Minder and
Corey Price scored in each of their four plate appearances. The five runs are the second most of the season for Parkland, falling one shy of six homers in a 15-4 win over Ellsworth back on March 9. The 22 runs eclipse the 21-run output by the Cobras at the Corn Crib on April 19 against Heartland.
Sam Ballard picked up the victory for Parkland, as the sophomore lefty tossed all five innings. With the wind blowing out to left, Ballard kept the Jaguars in the ball park, allowing four runs over the five frames while striking out five.
With a strong wind out to left field giving the ball extra carry, Parkland hit four home runs in the first two innings. After
Jeremiah Lebron hit a solo jack in the first, the Cobras drove in 10 of their 12 second-inning runs via the long ball before an out was recorded in the second inning. Designated hitter
Tyler Grigalis started the scoring with an opposite-field, three-run homer to left to make it 4-0. Three batters later,
Trevor Burkhart hit his seventh homer of the season, another three-run shot to left field. With still no one out, Parkland loaded the bases for first baseman
Daniel Warkentin who promptly cleared the bases with a grand slam over the left field fence.
Danville Area cut into the lead with a run in the second and three more in the third, but a six-run fourth by the Cobras pushed the advantage back out to double digits. Right fielder
Corey Price hit an RBI double to left to plate the first run, and then
Tynan Shahidi singled through the left side to plate two more. With two on and two out,
Alex Steinbach hit the Cobras third three-run home run of the game, a towering shot down the left-field line for his team-leading 10
th of the season.
The Cobras capped off the season-high run total with three more tallies in the fifth. A lead-off triple by
Trevor Minder started the inning. Minder came around to score on an RBI single by Grigalis. A double by Price moved he and Grigalis into scoring position, and then an RBI groundout by
Robert Barnard and sacrifice fly by
Trevor Burkhart brought the Price and Grigalis home.
Region 24 Tournament Schedule
Thursday, May 16th
Game 1: 10:00 AM No. 1 Parkland 7, No. 8 Spoon River 4
Game 2: 1:00 PM No. 4 Lincoln Land 10, No. 5 Illinois Central 8
Game 3: 4:00 PM No. 2 Lewis & Clark 10, No. 7 Vincennes University 3
Game 4: 7:00 PM No. 6 Danville Area 11, No. 3 Heartland 8
Friday, May 17th
Game 5: 10:00 AM No. 5 Illinois Central 9, No. 8 Spoon River 2
Game 6: 1:00 PM No. 3 Heartland 5, No. 8 Spoon River 2
Game 7: 4:00 PM No. 4 Lincoln Land 2, No. 1 Parkland 0
Game 8: 7:00 PM No. 6 Danville Area 8, No. 2 Lewis & Clark 5
Saturday, May 18th
Game 9: 10:00 AM No. 1 Parkland 6, No. 3 Heartland 3
Game 10: 1:00 PM No. 2 Lewis & Clark 13, No. 5 Illinois Central 4
Game 11: 4:00 PM No. 4 Lincoln Land 10, No. 6 Danville Area 3
Game 12: 7:00 PM No. 1 Parkland 6, No. 2 Lewis & Clark 3
Sunday, May 19th
Game 13: 1:00 PM No. 1 Parkland 22, No. 6 Danville Area 4
Game 14: 4:00 PM No. 1 Parkland vs. No. 4 Lincoln Land
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Monday, May 20th
Game 15: TBD If Necessary
Live Stats |
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