January 28, 2025 Local Stories in and Around St. Joseph, Illinois

SJO wins sectional title


By Jim Cotter

Good baseball teams find ways to keep their opponents at bay and then, at the opportune moment, strike to gain momentum.

The St. Joseph-Ogden boys varsity baseball team kept their postseason run alive with a 5-1 win over the Paris Tigers in the championship game of a Class 2A sectional on a very warm Saturday afternoon at the Glenn Fisher Sports Complex in St. Joseph.

The Spartans were enjoying the benefits of playing at home due to being the higher seed throughout this round of the postseason, and with junior Tyler Alenbaumer on the hill, figured their chances were as good as any in the past of advancing further.

Altenbaumer, who threw on Monday in the regional championship over Oakwood, took advantage of an extra day of rest to come back and throw against the Tigers, perhaps the most important game in his baseball career.

“I knew before the game started that I could go all the way today because I’ve done it multiple times this season and knew I could do it again. After that first inning, I locked down and my teammates picked me up and I knew that I would not let them (Paris) score on me again,” Altenbaumer said after the game on his mentality heading into the game and surviving a somewhat rocky first inning.

Paris jumped ahead 1-0 after their first at bat on a pair of hits that culminated in a single by Tiger third baseman Drew Pinkston, scoring their first run of the game.

SJO stranded runners in the first three innings but could not get anything across against Paris starter Hunter Cash. Meanwhile, Altenbaumer did what he needed to do to keep the Tigers from scoring any more runs and from there, let his offense do the damage.

“He (Cash) settled in after we got a few baserunners on, and we weren’t productive with the hits early when we needed to be. We left runners at third with less than two out, where we are normally much better at, and we knew we would get to him at some point,” SJO head coach Josh Haley said after his team’s win about getting to the Paris hurler eventually.

With Paris still leading 1-0 heading into the bottom of the fifth inning, the Spartans sent the top of the order to the plate in hopes of scoring some of those runs that they were stranding. Paris helped with a couple of fielding errors that tied the game, then another error that loaded the bases for left fielder Isaiah Immke, a senior that has been swinging a sizzling bat as of late.

With the Paris outfield shading Immke to the right, the senior took advantage of the extra room in left field and laced a frozen rope up against the fence, clearing the bases and giving the Spartans a 4-1 lead. SJO would add another run in the inning to take a 5-1 lead into the sixth, where Altenbaumer took over.

I knew his (Cash’s) pitch count was high and if I worked the count full, I would eventually get a good pitch to hit, and I did. Tyler pitched an incredible ballgame and I said in the dugout before I went to the plate that if I came up, I wanted the bases loaded, and I did and got the hit that put us ahead,” Immke said following the game on his hit and what he was thinking heading to the plate.

“Our 7-8-9 hitters act like they’re 3-4-5 in the lineup, and I’ve said this before that I don’t care where any of our players bat in the lineup, they are a tough out. I cannot say enough about Isaiah and his senior leadership in getting that big hit for us today. I told our guys at our fall contact days to prepare for a postseason and our goal was to get back to state, and that was the goal that we made back then,” Haley added on his team’s versatility in the lineup from top to bottom and the mentality of seeing the goal that that set months back.

Zach Martinie and leadoff hitter Hayden Brazelton recorded the other two hits for the Spartans (33-2), who preserved the win for Altenbaumer (10-0).

Paris finishes their season a very respectable 25-4, and St. Joseph-Ogden will move on to the Decatur Super Sectional, which will be held on Monday, June 14 at the Workman Family Baseball Complex on the campus of Millikin University.

The Spartans will play Springfield Sacred Heart Griffin, who are 32-1 on the season and defeated Virden North Mac 10-0 on Friday afternoon to punch their ticket to the super sectional contest. Game time from Decatur on Monday is set for a 4 p.m first pitch.

Banner
Related Posts

SJO girls’ basketball makes lifetime memories with run to state

February 26, 2019

February 26, 2019

Shortly after the Class 2A girls’ basketball state championship game, the story made its rounds on social media. And it...

SJO volleyball cruises to three straight road wins

September 3, 2019

September 3, 2019

So far, the road has not produced any bad results for the St. Joseph-Ogden High School volleyball team. The Spartans...

Road tough: Jones, Armstrong key unbeaten Illini Prairie start for SJO girls’ basketball

January 20, 2022

January 20, 2022

The Illini Prairie Conference title is there for the taking. And the St. Joseph-Ogden High School girls’ basketball team has...

Commitment pays off for Mattsey

December 10, 2019

December 10, 2019

St. Joseph-Ogden Junior Brandon Mattsey is a leader. That is why his cross country coach Jason Retz, nominated him for...

Jacob, Cramer and Barnes help SJO girls’ basketball top Prairie Central

January 20, 2020

January 20, 2020

Needing a big win, the St. Joseph-Ogden High School girls’ basketball team delivered last Thursday night. The Spartans stopped a...

SJO girls’ track and field wins eighth straight sectional title, qualifies 13 athletes for state

May 13, 2019

May 13, 2019

Winning sectional titles and sending multiple athletes to the state meet. That’s the standard the St. Joseph-Ogden High School girls’...

Kaiser, Albrecht spark latest win by SJO volleyball

September 17, 2019

September 17, 2019

The St. Joseph-Ogden High School volleyball team kept right on rolling Monday night after placing second this past Saturday at...

Spartans look for successful 2019 season

July 26, 2019

July 26, 2019

Although the calendar may still say July, the St. Joseph-Ogden high school football team has been busily preparing for the...

SJO cross-country is heading to state!

November 4, 2019

November 4, 2019

Detweiller Park, here they come. After two stellar postseason races, the St. Joseph-Ogden High School boys’ cross-country team and girls’...

Get to know… SJO Tennis Player Lily Rice

October 14, 2022

October 14, 2022

We asked SJO Tennis Player Lily Rice three questions. Here are her answers. Who is your favorite tennis player of...

A field of art

October 17, 2019

October 17, 2019

Call it art in progress. The fans at St. Joseph-Ogden High School always take note of the painted field, endzones,...

Dukeman shines in classroom and in athletics

March 7, 2019

March 7, 2019

School comes easy for St. Joseph-Ogden High School junior Hannah Dukeman. Dukeman, who plays softball for SJO in addition to...

Wendling doesn’t give up, ready for state meet

February 14, 2019

February 14, 2019

When Jake Wendling first suffered a knee injury earlier this season, wrestling at the state meet didn’t seem likely. But...

Ward, Martlage and Immke help SJO softball get back in win column

May 5, 2021

May 5, 2021

A flurry of games is usually the norm for St. Joseph-Ogden softball.But usually, at this juncture in the calendar, the...

SJO football schedule for 2019 set

July 1, 2019

July 1, 2019

Making the playoffs is always a goal for the St. Joseph-Ogden High School football team. Having qualified in 27 of...

Comments
Leave a Reply