By Fred Kroner
Luke Zimmerman and Brady Clodfelder stroked two hits apiece for Villa Grove, which knocked off Heritage, 13-3, on Monday in a first-round Class 1A regional baseball tournament game at home.
Zimmerman tallied three runs. Crossing home plate two times each were Nolan Morse, Jake Gilles and Cooper Clark.
Clodfelder belted two triples and drove in two runs.
Clark (4-3) pitched all five innings, yielding three hits and four walks. He struck out a season-high 12 hitters.
On Wednesday (May 18), the Blue Devils suffered a 13-3 semifinal loss to Decatur St. Teresa in the Salt Fork Regional.
VG was limited to three hits, singles by Gavin Kiser, Tyler Wilson and Luke Zimmerman.
Wilson and Clark drove in runs. Clodfelder, Morse and Zimmerman tallied runs.
The team’s seniors were Liam Barr, Wilson and Kylee Witte.
Three players hit over .300 for the season. Zimmerman (.397) was the leader, followed by Peyton Smith (.362) and Sam Bender (.358).
Zimmerman led in RBI (17) and Clodfelder led in stolen bases (15).
Clark led the team in pitching wins (four) and Bender had the most strikeouts (37). Bender, Clark and Parker Knierim had the most pitching appearances (11).
Villa Grove finishes the season with an overall record of 8-14.
