Hawks fall in state final

The Class 1A state runner-up Gibault baseball team returns home with its trophy early Saturday evening. For more photos from the state tourney, click here. (Judy Brinkmann photo)

For the third straight year, a Monroe County baseball team played in the IHSA Class 1A state final at Dozer Park in Peoria.

Unfortunately, all three of those appearances resulted in runner-up finishes for the local squads. 

Gibault ended its season with a 14-5 loss to Ottawa Marquette on Saturday to place second at state. Valmeyer posted back-to-back state runner-up finishes in Peoria the past two seasons.

An eight-run second inning spelled doom for the Hawks, who went with hard-throwing senior ace righthander Mark Branz in their season finale. Ottawa Marquette pounded out 16 hits on the day.

Tim Reinholz finished his season on fire at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a long home run and two RBIs on the day to pace Gibault’s offense. 

The team was welcomed home Saturday evening with a parade through town followed by a reception in the school gym. Graduating seniors from this year’s squad are Branz, Austin Sweeney, Cam Kincheloe, Ian Metcalf, Preston Oberkfell and Will Janson. 

The Hawks advanced to the state final with a 12-4 win over Steeleville on Friday. For more on that game, click here.

For photos from the state tournament, click here.

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Corey Saathoff

Corey is the editor of the Republic-Times. He has worked at the newspaper since 2004, and currently resides in Columbia. He is also the principal singer-songwriter and plays guitar in St. Louis area country-rock band The Trophy Mules.
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