Four-run 2nd inning, Riggs’ pitching drives Highland to regional semifinal victory
A four-run second inning and strong pitching from Deklan Riggs helped the Highland baseball Bulldogs move on in postseason action.
The Bulldogs scored four runs in the bottom of the second inning and Riggs allowed just a pair of fifth-inning tallies as Highland defeated host and Mississippi Valley Conference foe Jerseyville 6-2 in the IHSA Class 3A Jerseyville Regional semifinals Wednesday, May 24.
Highland (21-15) advances to face MVC rival Triad at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 27, for the regional championship in Jerseyville. Triad (25-11) blanked Taylorville 10-0 in the other semifinal to advance.
“We had some good pitching (tonight) and some timely hitting and we kind of had to earn it. But we’re happy to still be playing,” Bulldogs coach Joel Hawkins said.
After leaving the bases loaded in the first inning, the Bulldogs broke through with a four-run outburst in the bottom of the second. Jake Ottensmeier singled home a run and then Mason Emig delivered an RBI single, Chase Knebel drove a deep sacrifice fly to plate a run and Brayden Bircher capped the rally with a two-out RBI single, making it 4-0.
That early surge allowed Riggs, a junior lefthander, to dig in and challenge the Jerseyville hitters. Overall, Riggs was money on the mound going seven innings while giving up just the two runs, and notching nine strikeouts to improve to 6-1 on the season.
Needless to say, Riggs’ performance pleased Hawkins.
“He picked a guy off in the first inning to help his cause and he did a nice job of controlling things out there ... so that was where it started (the good things) for us,” Hawkins said.
Jerseyville — which finished the season at 10-24 — scored a pair of runs in the top of the fifth to draw within 4-2. HHS got those runs back in the bottom of the sixth as Chase Knebel and Brayden Bircher singled home runs to give the Bulldogs some needed breathing space at 6-2. Riggs then slammed the door in the seventh.
While pleased with the win, Hawkins noted one area he hopes the Bulldogs can improve on before Saturday: Getting more runs from the offense as HHS collected 16 hits against the Panthers but stranded 10 runners.
“We had 16 hits and only scored six runs and that was the negative that we didn’t score to go with all the hits. So we need to be more efficient on Saturday and it should be a great game between Triad and us,” Hawkins said.
HHS will face Triad for the third time this season. The teams split their home and home series in the regular season with Highland winning 3-2 on May 1 at home and then losing to the Knights 1-0 at Triad on May 3.
