State Tournament preview: Eureka, Lexington, LeRoy, Notre Dame seek titles
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD/WYZZ) — Four area high schools could be celebrating state championships this weekend.
Eureka and Lexington are heading to the state baseball finals in Champaign. Leroy is headed to Peoria for state softball and Notre Dame to Naperville for the girls soccer state tournament.
Eureka is at the state baseball tournament for the first time since 2013 when it finished fourth. The Hornets face Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin in the class 2A semifinals at 4 p.m. Friday at Illinois Field on the campus of the University of Illinois.
In their last 11 games, the Hornets (34-4) have posted three shutouts and have only allowed 20 total runs. Pitching and defense have been their calling card, but having the big bat of Mason Stoller in the middle of the lineup doesn't hurt either.
'He's a big dude for us,' said senior Ben Lapp. 'He gets clutch hits in big spots, big hits. And he's good at base running too.'
Stoller has 49 hits and 49 RBI in 38 games.
'Every time I go up to bat, it's see ball, hit ball,' Stoller said. 'When you get up to bat, you just can't think. You just have to go.'
Lexington is at the state baseball finals for the first time in 35 years. Lexington won state in 1990, its only other trip to state.
'It's been crazy but we're going to win it all,' said senior Jaxson Goodrich. 'The last team that won the sectional championship (won state). That's what we're competing with, they won it all. We've got to do it.'
Lexington (19-11) plays defending state champ Ottawa Marquette in the class 1A semifinals Friday at 10 a.m.
'The baseball fields have been dead for a while (in Lexington),' coach Tanner Schieber after his team beat Salt Fork, 5-3, in the super-sectional Monday to earn a trip to state. 'To get a crowd out like this. Hope to see them all again Friday morning at 10 A.M. Bringing Lexington baseball back is huge.'
Leroy is headed to the state softball tournament for the second time in three years. The Panthers (34-5) will face Dakota in Friday's 12:30 p.m. class 1A state semifinal at the Louisville Slugger Complex in Peoria.
'I feel a lot more comfortable going over (to Peoria) this year. Last time there were a lot of unknowns,' said LeRoy coach Doug Hageman.
LeRoy finished third at state in 2023, the only previous trip to state for the program.
'Now we kind of have an idea of what to expect,' Hageman said. 'I don't know if that'll make a difference or not but we are so excited to be going back.'
The Notre Dame girls soccer team is headed to state for the 12th time in school history but the Irish are still looking for their first championship. And although the team is 25-1-1, coach Ben Ralph thinks his squad still hasn't played its soccer of the season.
'We've been phenomenal defensively. We just need to figure it out offensively a little bit,' Ralph said. 'We haven't played a full 80 (minutes). Hopefully that's this weekend.'
Notre Dame plays Springfield in the 2A state semifinals Friday at 2:30 at North Central College in Naperville. Junior Ava Lafollette scored three times in the second half as PND beat previously undefeated New Lenox Providence Catholic, 3-0, in the super-sectional Monday.
'There's a lot of mental toughness to stay locked in for 80 minutes. We focus on that. Especially (in the super-sectional),' said junior Abigail Chaddock. 'The first half didn't go the way we wanted. But we stayed locked in for the whole game and got three goals in the second half.'
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