CHAMPAIGN — The IHSA introduced the four-class system in baseball in 2008. During the first seven years, no big-school baseball program from Champaign County won a Class 3A sectional championship.
Centennial broke through in 2015. Champaign Central followed suit in 2017, eventually making the state tournament for the first time since 1968.
But mainly Chatham Glenwood, Springfield or one-year successful seasons from the likes of Mt. Zion in 2008, Danville in 2012 and Bloomington in 2013 ended up hoisting an IHSA sectional plaque in the first decade of the four-class era.
The opposite is now true. For the third consecutive season, a Champaign County team will win a sectional title and reach the Elite Eight on Monday night, with either Champaign Central (25-12-1) or Mahomet-Seymour (23-12) doing so this spring. The two teams meet at 11 a.m. Saturday in Lincoln in the sectional championship game, a year after M-S edged Central 5-4 to win its first sectional title since 2000.
Central earned a sectional title in 2023, beating Rochester 4-2 in the Sweet 16 matchup. The recent run of postseason success by both Central and M-S will give Champaign County five big-school sectional championships in baseball in the last 17 years. Still behind the seven 3A sectional titles won by Sangamon County schools like Glenwood, Springfield and Sacred Heart-Griffin, but the gap has closed.
“It’s something that we strive for every year,” M-S coach Nic DiFilippo said. “We continue to raise the bar. Five years ago, we were kind of in that point of where we were playing for regional titles and not winning those games. We’re there now, and now, we want to be in this sectional title game and having the expectation of playing for this game every year. Being in the Sweet 16 is pretty special. It’s really hard to do.”
M-S entered the postseason on a three-game losing streak and had lost five of its last six regular-season games.
But the Bulldogs have yet to give up a run in the postseason after shutting out Danville 10-0 in a regional semifinal game on May 28 in Rantoul, topping host Rantoul 10-0 last Saturday to win a regional title and then stifling Glenwood 6-0 on Thursday in a sectional semifinal game.
Junior Max Young will get the ball and the start on Saturday against the Maroons, trying to keep the Bulldogs’ shutdown pitching efforts intact. Both M-S and Central have experienced coaches at the helm. John Staab is in his 23rd season at Central and holds a 505-330-3 record. He is the only Central coach in any sport, with 500 career wins.
DiFilippo is in his 19th season at M-S and has a 382-176-3 record.
“Flip does a great job over there at Mahomet, and he’s won a lot of games. We’ve won a lot of games,” Staab said. “I’d expect there will be a big crowd on Saturday in Lincoln.”
Whichever Champaign County team wins on Saturday will face either Mascoutah (23-8) or Triad (30-6) on Monday night in a super-sectional game in Decatur. Those two southern Illinois teams play at 11 a.m. Saturday in a sectional title game in Troy.
While the breakthroughs in winning sectional championships has happened this decade, Champaign County is still waiting for its first baseball state champion in any class. Central played in the first IHSA state title game in 1940, back when it was just Champaign High and eventual Illini men’s basketball coach Harry Combes coached the Maroons’ baseball team, but lost 8-3 to Belleville.
No big-school program from Champaign County has played in a state championship game since.
Springfield has played in two 3A state championship games in the last decade, with the Senators winning a state title in 2021. Glenwood has played in five state title games since 1995, with the Titans winning state in 1996 and 2010.
Luke McClure from Champaign Central signed with the Wright State baseball program last November. He understands Saturday’s game is not only beneficial for both programs, but for Champaign County baseball as a whole.
“It says a lot,” McClure said. “If you put us on opposite sides of the postseason bracket, I think we would see each other at state. We’re both great teams with great coaches and good players. This is a great area for baseball.”
Winning on Saturday has extra incentive for McClure.
“Half their guys are going to be on my travel team,” he said with a laugh, “so whoever wins, it’s bragging rights for the summer.”
Summer ball can wait, though, for a few more days. Whether it’s Central or M-S celebrating come early Saturday afternoon will play itself out in Lincoln.
“Staab and I have been doing this a long time together as competitors, but there’s mutual respect,” DiFilippo said. “Let’s be honest, too. It pushes us to get better. When we beat them last year, I guarantee it left a sour mark in their mouth. No matter what happens on Saturday, someone will be upset but tipping their cap to the other side, as well.”
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