Henline Throws One-Hit Shutout, Strikes Out 13 to Lead Coal City Past Peotone 3-0

Junior pitcher Connor Henline delivered a masterclass on the mound Monday afternoon, tossing a complete-game one-hit shutout to propel the Coal City varsity baseball team to a 3-0 conference victory over visiting Peotone.

Henline was virtually untouchable, racking up 13 strikeouts and issuing just a single walk over seven brilliant innings. He threw 94 pitches in the gem, silencing the Blue Devils and keeping their offense completely off balance. The lone blemish on his pitching line came courtesy of Peotone’s Eli Chenoweth, who managed a base hit but was ultimately stranded as the Coal City defense played flawless, error-free baseball behind their ace.

The contest remained a tense, scoreless pitcher’s duel until the bottom of the fourth inning, when Coal City junior C. Nicholson provided the offensive breakthrough. Nicholson crushed a solo home run to put the Coalers on the board and give Henline all the run support he would need. Coal City later manufactured two crucial insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth to firmly put the game out of reach.

Henline also led the charge at the plate to help his own cause, going 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored. Gavin Berger and Donnie Ladas each chipped in with hits to keep the pressure on the Peotone defense.

Despite taking the loss, Peotone sophomore Kayden Derkacy pitched valiantly in a complete-game effort of his own. Derkacy went the distance, allowing three runs on five hits over six innings while striking out seven Coal City batters.

Game Summary

Score by Quarters

(Note: Scored by Innings)
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
| :— | :— | :— | :— | :— | :— | :— | :— | :— | :— | :— |
| Peotone | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Coal City | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | – | 3 | 5 | 0 |

Scoring Drives

(Note: Scoring by Innings)

• 4th Inning

  • Coal City: C. Nicholson hit a solo home run to break the scoreless tie.

• 6th Inning

  • Coal City: Added 2 insurance runs to extend the lead to 3-0.

Individual Statistics

BATTING:

• Peotone: Eli Chenoweth 1-2; Lincoln Tierney 0-1 (1 BB). Team LOB: 1.

• Coal City: Connor Henline 2-3 (2B, 1 R); C. Nicholson 1-3 (HR, 1 R); Donnie Ladas 1-2; Gavin Berger 1-3; Bobby Rodriguez 0-2 (1 R); Drake Stewart 0-1 (1 BB). Team LOB: 4.

PITCHING:

• Peotone: Kayden Derkacy (L) – 6.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 7 K.

• Coal City: Connor Henline (W) – 7.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 13 K.