Routt Catholic baseball falls in 1A state semis, plays for 3rd place Saturday morning

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WAND) - A rocky day on the diamond for the Routt Catholic baseball team resulted in a 10-3 defeat to Tremont in the IHSA 1A state semifinals. The team will meet North Clay in the 3rd place game on Saturday in hopes of claiming it's second 3rd place trophy in three seasons.

"We've just got to put it together," said senior Talon Thompson after the game. "It's a baseball game so sometimes you have bad games, sometimes you have good games. We know what we can do, so we're hoping to take that into tomorrow."

The Rockets threatened in their first plate appearance by loading the bases, but left the runners stranded. In the home half of the 1st, Tremont plated 3 runs to take an early advantage.

Routt responded in the 2nd by working runners into scoring position. A long fly ball to the right-center gap by Thompson allowed 2 Rocket baserunners to score, making it a 3-2 ballgame.

Issues in the field cost Routt defensively when Tremont returned to the plate. A bases loaded walk and an error led the Turks to a 5-2 cushion. The Turks added another pair in the 4th frame to extend their lead.

The Rockets showed fight in the 5th inning. Anson Butcher hit a short single to shallow center allowing a runner in scoring position to come home and make it a 7-3 contest. Despite their efforts to score more, Routt's effort was cut short.

Tremont would continue to add offense in the closing stages, ultimately winning the contest 10-3.

"We never quit," said coach Ryan Turner. "The guys never quit, never got quiet in there, nobody ever pouted or had to be reprimanded for an attitude. They're baseball players and they did a good job today. Just came up short."

First pitch for the 3rd place contest against North Clay is 10am on Saturday.