Hononegah days away from start of Class 4A Tournament

By Chris Johnson

Reporter

ROCKTON – The Hononegah Indians Boys’ Baseball team is nearing the kick-off point for the Class 4A State Tournament and they are finding themselves still playing at a high level.

Over the past week of play, the Indians were challenged, but came out victorious in each attempt.

The playoffs begin on Monday, May 23.

Hononegah, as the two-seed, was issued a free pass into the Regional Semi-Final, which means they won’t see their first action until Wednesday, May 25.

The Indians will wait for the winner from the Regional Quarterfinal, between eight-seed Rockford Guilford and nine-seed Rockford Auburn, two teams Hononegah has worked past this season.

Guilford will host the opening round games.

Based on Selection Committee rankings, the Indians are the highest-seed in the Guilford-Huntley, Regional-Sectional Complex, as they received the number-two designation.

Huntley was issued the three-seed and they will face Rockford East in their post-season opener on Thursday May 26.

In a recent game against the Red Raiders, Kyle Blunt dominated, as the allowed just one hit in a 1-0 decision, helping the Indians improve to 23-8 on the season.

Blunt also was credited with the only run driven in in the game, as he doubled in the second inning.

Hononegah held on to take the game 1-0 and now could be looking at a possible additional shot at the Red Raiders, if seeds play through, as statistics indicate should occur.

The Guilford Regional Champion will be crowned on Saturday, May 28 in a 1 p.m. game.

The survivor, representing the Guilford Regional will take on the winner from the Barrington Regional, with game play beginning the week of June 1.

The overall number one seed in the Barrington-Huntley Regional Complex is Crystal Lake-Prairie Ridge.

Hononegah, in a game played on Wednesday, May 11, had no problem getting past one of the teams they could potentially face in their Wednesday match, Auburn.

Hononegah jumped out to a 2-0 advantage in the opening period and added four additional runs innings later.

In the seventh inning, the Indians added six additional runs and took the game, 12-0.

Brad Parsons was 3-5 for the game. He scored three runs.

Blunt was 2-3. Zach Smith ended his day, batting at a .500 clip.

Auburn was held to one hit in the game. Hononegah connected on 11 hits in the double-digit win. Alex Larson picked up the win.

The streak began on Monday, May 9, as the J-Hawks realized, they couldn’t compete, falling 10-0, in a rules-shortened contest.

Hononegah scored its first run in the bottom of the first inning and blew the game wide open in the bottom of the second, where they scored seven runs.

Heading into the top of the third, Jefferson was down 8-0.

Hononegah added an additional run in the bottom of the fourth and closed the game out in the bottom of the sixth, as the ten-run rule went into effect, following the 10-0 win.

Blunt claimed another win from the mound.

Kyle Hamilton was 2-3 in the game and scored two runs.

Kyle Damon, Brad Henderson and Collin Lee all tallied two hits in the game.