By FRED KRONER
Crayton Burnett and Ty Pence combined on a one-hitter – with no walks – on Friday (June 4) as St. Joseph-Ogden opened postseason play at home with a 9-1 Class 2A regional baseball semifinal triumph over Marshall.
Burnett (9-0) pitched the first four innings and struck out seven. Pence fanned six batters in three hitless innings.
Burnett also crashed a home run, his third of the spring. He drove in two runs as did Tyler Altenbaumer. Pence’s triple was the Spartans’ other extra-base hit.
Isaiah Immke was 3-for-3. Andrew Beyers contributed two hits. Immke and Coby Miller each scored two runs.
SJ-O (30-2) returns to action on Monday (June 7) at 4:30 in the regional title game against fourth-seeded Oakwood (14-9). The top-seeded Spartans won the lone regular-season meeting between the schools, 7-1.
Oakwood earned its spot in the finals by outscoring Westville, 14-13.
The Spartans are seeking their eighth consecutive regional crown in baseball for years the sport was sanctioned by the IHSA. There was no postseason in 2020.
The 30-win season is the fourth in school history, all under the tenure of ninth-year coach Josh Haley.
