In 2a state semifinals today at the Louisville Slugger Complex in Peoria, the Carterville Lady will take on North Boone of Poplar Grove at 3pm. The Lions are 28-4 led by All State pitcher Caidence Phillips who is 23-1 on the season with an ERA of 0.46. She has struck out 282 batters and walked just 16 in 137 innings of work. Coach Will Capie has 2 state titles under his belt including last year’s team that finished 38-1. He has a 10-year record at Carterville of 229-61. The program is looking for its 3rd state title in school history. They will take on the 27-6 Vikings of North Boone out of the Big Northern Conference. This is a rematch of last year’s state title game that Carterville won 1-0.
The 2nd game at 5:30 will feature the 35-2 Bobcats of Beecher taking on 27-5 Trojans of Auburn. Beecher is out of the River Valley Conference coached by long time coach Kevin Hayhurst in his 23rd year. He has won 4 state titles in his tenure with the most recent coming in 2018. Auburn is out of the Sangamon Conference. Ryan Gardner is in his 4th year as the Auburn coach as his team went 0-2 at state a year ago.
