Sleepless Night

By Ben Diggle — Peoria Journal Star
 

Chillicothe is a town of about 6,000, and like many towns its size, it's rather quiet after midnight, no matter the day of the week.

But not Saturday night.

After winning the Class A baseball state championship in Joliet, the Illinois Valley Central baseball team and its supporters made the trek back home to Chillicothe and arrived there about midnight. On the outskirts of town, the Grey Ghosts' charter bus was greeted by the Chillicothe Fire Department and the Rescue 33 ambulance service. An impromptu parade ensued that wound all through the downtown area and out to the high school, which is located on the west side of the city.

"As we got closer to town, I got a little emotional," IVC coach Jerry Rashid said. "But then we got into town and as we went through the neighborhoods, I saw people standing out on the curb in their underwear.

"Then we went down Main Street and the people all came out of the bars and were outside toasting us. After I saw all that, I just started to enjoy it."

After seeing the players back to the high school, the parade made its way downtown to Bailey's Pub, where owner Ted Bailey received permission from the City of Chillicothe to stay open into the wee hours of the morning.

"I told them that if they wanted to come in and kick everyone out, they could," Bailey said of city officials. "But I told them I wasn't going to do it."

Bailey stayed open until 5 a.m. and made sure the Grey Ghosts and their fans got a little late-night snack.

"This city is ignited," Bailey said. "I've lived here a long time and have never seen anything like it, not even after the basketball team finished second in March."

TWO-FER: Today, the Mid-Illini Conference could accomplish something it never has done in baseball. Should Limestone win today's Class AA Champaign Supersectional at Illinois Field, the conference will have sent two teams to the state finals.

"We hope we're the next ones," Limestone coach Tim Farquer said. "That's the plan, anyway."

But in order to get there, the Rockets (30-7) will have to beat Bradley-Bourbonnais (28-9), and Limestone has a history with that program. The last time the schools met in a supersectional was 2002. Limestone won that game 5-4, thanks to a walk-off RBI single by Ryan Schmidgall.

A pair of things buoy Limestone's chances for a return trip to the state finals and a chance to improve upon last year's fourth-place finish.

First, Limestone ace Brandon Wikoff is scheduled to pitch in the super. Wikoff is 10-1 with a 2.60 earned-run average. In a sectional-semifinal victory over Rock Island, Wikoff allowed three hits, struck out nine and walked none.

"Everybody feels good when Brandon is on the mound," Farquer said. "He's not very big, but he's got broad shoulders when it comes to games like this."

Second, Jesse Burns, has resumed pitching after he suffered a tear in his right shoulder. The two innings Burns pitched Saturday in relief in a sectional-title victory over Galesburg were the first he'd thrown since an 8-4 loss April 17 to Morton.

"It felt all right," Burns said. "The control wasn't there, but it was my first time."

Farquer agreed with Burns.

"A lot of rust," Farquer said. "The type of pitcher he is, he's a control-spot pitcher, so if we can a get a few innings under his belt ...

"We're going to need him to get where we want to go, so those two innings were huge for us."

ALL-STATE HONORS: The first of four all-state teams has been released, and IVC and Limestone each have a representative. IVC senior pitcher Zach McAllister and Wikoff were selected first-team all-state by the Illinois Prep Baseball Report.

HOME SWEET HOME: One of the biggest advantages IVC had this season was its home field.

Thanks to an aggressive marketing and promotional campaign, IVC attracted a total of almost 8,000 fans to its final five home games, all played at night.

So when it came time to travel during the postseason, IVC assistant coach Tim Cranford had an idea.

"Baseball is a sport full of superstitions," he said. "So before every road trip, I would go out to our diamond and take a scoop of dirt from the both batter's boxes.

"Then we ran out to take infield before the game, I'd throw a handful of that dirt on home plate to make it our home field."

SHUTOUT OF SHUTOUTS: With 16 shutouts, IVC entered the state finals just one short of the state record for a season. The record is 17, held by the 1992 Illini Bluffs team that was coached by current IVC assistant Clay Cantrell.

"In 1992, I didn't have to do much but get out of those kids way," Cantrell said. "And it was pretty much the same this year."

IVC is tied for second with the 2000 Teutopolis team. McAllister and freshman Chris Razo combined to pitch 13 of those 16 IVC shutouts. McAllister finished the year 12-1 with a 1.04 earned-run average, and Razo was 13-1 with a 0.99 ERA.

WINS RECORD: The state record for victories in a season is held by the 1982 Joliet Catholic team that won 53 games. With a 35-game limit now in place for the regular season, that record is unbreakable.

But IVC's 40-2 mark is fifth in the state-record books and is a Journal Star-area record.

Ghost Boosters © 2006