SJ-O baseball defeats Monticello for Regional Championship
By FRED KRONER
fred@sjodaily.com
Sophomore Crayton Burnett registered his seventh win on Saturday as SJ-O defeated Monticello 3-1 in the championship game of the Tolono Class 2A baseball regional.
Burnett, who had a no-hitter through four innings, scattered three hits, walked one and struck out 11.
“He’s doing a nice job,” SJ-O coach Josh Haley said. “He’s throwing a lot of strikes and getting ahead of hitters.
“We have a couple kids who are throwing well.”
The regional title was the seventh in a row for SJ-O under Haley, who is in his eighth year as head coach.
SJ-O provided Burnett all of the offensive support he needed, scoring runs on a sacrifice fly by Nicholas Boggs, a groundout by Zach Martinie and a groundout by Burnett.
The Spartans (26-8-2) play Bloomington Central Catholic at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday on the Saints’ field in a sectional semifinal game. When the teams met in the regular season, SJ-O prevailed, 6-0.
Postseason success, Haley said, “is our expectation every year. They are doing what they should be doing.”
SJ-O has a nine-game winning streak.
