No Doubleheader Regional Finals for Blue Ridge: Knights Baseball Loses to LeRoy in Semifinal

Score by innings
Blue Ridge  000 00 -- 0
LeRoy        420 5x -- 11

ARGENTA, Ill. -- In any single-game elimination playoff system, anything can happen.

This concept coined the term March Madness for college basketball.

However, anyone who thought Blue Ridge could pull off a Cinderella-like upset of LeRoy in the May Mayhem that is the IHSA baseball playoffs got smacked hard and quickly by the stroke of midnight.

The Panthers scored four runs in the first inning and five in the fourth en route to beating the Knights 11-0 in the Argenta Regional semifinals.

With the loss, Blue Ridge ends its season with a record of 9-17. LeRoy, meanwhile, will play Argenta-Oreana in the regional championship game on Saturday.

"This is a good group of kids," Blue Ridge coach Eric Decker said. "They played hard. It just wasn't our day."

Blue Ridge had a chance to avoid the mercy rule in the fifth inning with runners on second and third base and one out. Cody Warren walked to lead off the inning and Nick Builta hit a ball to center field that bounced over the fence for a ground-rule double.

Neither runner scored, however, as Jack Plunk flied out to center field and Conner Builta struck out.

Nick Builta finished the game hitting 2-for-3. Warren took the loss on the mound, striking out three batters and giving up 11 runs on 10 hits, three walks and one hit batter.

LeRoy led off the game with an infield single. After a sacrifice bunt and a walk, the leadoff runner scored on an RBI single down the third-base line.

Following an RBI double that hit the right-field fence and put runners on second and third base, the Panthers scored two more runs on a sacrifice ground ball. After the forceout at first base and one run scored, Conner Builta committed an error on the throw to third base, resulting in another runner crossing home plate.

LeRoy scored two runs in the second inning after having nobody on base with two outs. After a ground ball that took a bad hop on Nick Builta gave the Panthers their first runner on base in that inning, they scored on two RBI singles.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, two doubles resulted in three runs for LeRoy. The Panthers got their last two runs on an RBI single and another error on Nick Builta.