East Peoria, Ill. - Brady Bolen's strong pitching performance in the opener and then an eye-popping hitting barrage in the title game led the Illinois Central College baseball team to claim the Region 24-C championship over John Wood by scores of 7-4, 27-8 on Saturday at Thome Field.

With their backs against the wall in a win-or-go-home morning game, Bolen and reliever Braden Vanderheydt held the Blazers to four runs to force the "if necessary" afternoon game where the Cougars left no doubt, pounding out twenty-five hits led by Micah McCoy's six to get the win.

Vanderheydt stayed warm from his bullpen performance and started the second game, going seven strong innings to help advance the Cougars to the Central District Tournament on May 14-16 in Normal, IL. ICC will play Heartland on Thursday, May 14 at 12pm at the Corn Crib. 

"Brady was a warrior in the morning game which was exactly what we needed," coach Brett Kelley said. "He had a little bit of a rough inning in the fourth but then settled in and was ready to go. And then Braden was clutch in getting the last six outs and getting us on track in the championship."

"For the second game today," Kelley continued, "we told our hitters that the bullpen was thin so we needed to be aggressive. Guys responded and got on base and we're proud of the way we played. We've been working hard since August so are excited to be celebrating this Region championship, especially because we're down some guys but luckily others stepped up. We're looking forward to Districts next weekend."

GAME 2: (3) ILLINOIS CENTRAL 27, (4) JOHN WOOD 8 
Every Cougar who stepped up to the plate had at least one RBI and ICC scored early and often. Kelley's squad scored five runs in the first and thirteen in the second to grab the momentum for a near-unbelievable 18-2 lead. 

Aiden Fulton got things started with a lead-off single and then McCoy promptly sent the first pitch over the right field fence for a 2-0 lead. Jake Morrill and Kyle Miller were both hit-by-pitches, and Ben Lapp singled to load the bases for Charlie Graham who had an RBI single. Ashton Corley hit a sacrifice fly to score Miller and Jace Easley followed with a single and a 5-0 lead. 

The Blazers had a lead-off homer and two doubles in the first to score their runs and make the score 5-2.

And that's when the hitting avalanche began as as the first eleven ICC batters reached base. The hits came in bunches, courtesy of four singles (Graham, Ashton Corley, Easely, and Ryan Brucker), two doubles (Miller and McCoy), and two home runs (Morrill and Corley) for the 18-2 lead. 

JW scored three runs in the third but ICC added four more runs in the fourth on two walks, an Easley double, and McCoy's two-RBI single for a 23-5 advantage. 

ICC added four more runs in the seventh on homers from Aiden Fulton and McCoy for the final margin.

GAME 2 HITTING:
Micah McCoy | 6-7, 7 RBI, home run, 2 doubles
Jace Easely | 4-6, 4 RBI, double
Charlie Graham | 4-7, 3 RBI
Jake Morrill | 1-3, 3 RBI, home run
Ashton Corley | 2-5, 3 RBI, home run
Aiden Fulton | 2-4, 2 RBI, home run
Ryan Brucker | 3-7, 2 RBI, triple
Kyle Miller | 1-5, RBI
Ben Lapp | 2-6, RBI, double

GAME 2 PITCHING
Braden Vanderheydt (W) | 6.0 IP, 10 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 3 K
S  Timm (S) | 3.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER

GAME 1: ILLINOIS CENTRAL 7, JOHN WOOD 4
Bolen kept JW off the base paths for the first three innings to help get the Cougars going in the right direction. 

Offensively, ICC scored one run in the first inning as Fulton reached on an error and then eventually scored on a passed ball for a 1-0 lead. The Cougars added four more runs in the fourth, thanks to an RBI single by Easley that scored Graham (who had singled) and Corley (who had doubled) for a 3-0 advantage. Fulton then tagged a 2-0 pitch to right field for an RBI triple and then he scored on Brucker's grounder for a 5-0 lead. 

John Wood fought back in the bottom half of the fourth with a walk, two singles, and a homer that cut the Cougar lead to 5-4.

ICC answered in the top half of the fifth, getting one run back on two walks and singles by Miller and Lapp for a 6-4 lead. 

Miller's solo home run to center field in the top of the seventh gave ICC a 7-4 lead. Vanderheydt came on in the eighth and promptly went three-up, three-down. In the ninth, he survived two JW singles and a walk as the Cougar defense held for the final margin and move the Cougars into the "if necessary" game.

GAME 1 HITTING
Jace Easely | 1-4, 2 RBI
Aiden Fulton | 2-5, triple, RBI
Ryan Brucker | 1-5, RBI
Kyle Miller | 2-4, RBI, home run
Charlie Graham | 3-4, RBI

GAME 1 PITCHING
Brady Bolen | 7.0 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 4 K
Branden Vanderheydt | 2.0 IP, 2 H, 3 K

WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE COUGARS - CENTRAL DISTRICT TOURNAMENT (all games at Heartland)
Thursday, May 14 at 12:00 pm
vs. Heartland 
Corn Crib
Normal, IL 

COMPLETE CENTRAL DISTRICT TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Thursday, May 14
Game 1 | 12:00 pm: Illinois Central vs. Heartland
Game 2 |   3:00 pm: Parkland vs. Moberly Area
Game 3 |   6:00 pm: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2

Friday, May 15
Game 4 | 12:00 pm: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2
Game 5 |   5:00 pm: Winner Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4

Saturday, May 16
Game 6 |  12:00 pm: Winner Game Four vs. Winner Game 5
Game 7 |    3:00 pm: If necessary

Central District Tournament website: heartlandhawks.com/feature/CentralDistrict