Winamac falls to Illiana Christian in regional semis

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

The Winamac baseball team lost to Illiana Christian 11-1 in five innings in a Class 2A regional semifinal at Whiting High School Saturday.

Illiana Christian improved to 19-7 and advanced to the regional final against Eastside, who had beaten Fairfield 2-1 in the first semifinal.

Winamac, winners of their first sectional since 1999, finished 18-5.

Adam Walters, Tyler Barker and Ian Van Beek had two RBIs each for the Vikings. Walters singled twice and doubled, and Barker added a pair of singles to spark Illiana Christian’s 10-hit attack.

Barker also had three stolen bases, and Isaac Vanderwoude had a hit, an RBI, a run scored and two stolen bases.

Winamac pitchers walked three and also hit three batters.

Van Beek pitched a five-hitter with no walks, a hit batter and 10 strikeouts.

Located in Dyer, Illiana Christian gained provisional IHSAA membership in 2018 and full IHSAA membership in the 2020-21 school year.

Illiana Christian went on to beat Eastside 7-0 Saturday night for their first regional title in school history. Prior to this season, they had never won a baseball sectional.

Winamac graduates nine seniors from a team that shared the 2021 Hoosier North title and then won conference and sectional titles in 2022: Dylan Brown, Carter Field, Russell Compton, Mitchell Bonnell, Caleb Seymour, Tyler Perry, Hayden Clark, Caleb Good and Jaiden Klingerman.

Illiana Christian 11, Winamac 1 (5 innings)

Winamac 001 00 – 1

Illiana Christian 043 22 – 11

WP – Van Beek (5 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 HBP, 10 K)

2B – Walters (IC), Corcoran (IC)