Cuddy’s Cycle-Threatening Day and Forsythe’s 13 Strikeouts Power Coal City Past Peotone 10-4

A dominant 13-strikeout performance by Kellen Forsythe and a massive day at the plate from senior Lance Cuddy propelled the Coal City varsity baseball team to a 10-4 conference victory over host Peotone on Tuesday afternoon.

Coal City jumped out to an early lead and fended off a persistent mid-game rally from the Blue Devils before blowing the contest wide open with a five-run surge in the top of the seventh inning.

Cuddy was the undisputed catalyst for the Coalers’ offense, reaching base in all five of his plate appearances. The senior went a perfect 3-for-3, falling just a double shy of the cycle. He crushed a home run, roped a triple, drew two walks, and drove in a game-high four runs. Junior Connor Henline was equally lethal in the box, delivering a 3-for-4 performance that included three doubles and two RBIs.

Armed with early run support, Forsythe went to work on the mound for Coal City. The junior right-hander was overpowering, racking up an astonishing 13 strikeouts over five innings of work. Despite navigating around six hits and three walks, Forsythe routinely pitched his way out of jams to keep the Blue Devils at bay.

Coal City methodically built a 4-0 advantage over the first three innings, chasing Peotone starting pitcher T. Harshfield early. However, Peotone steadily clawed its way back into the game. Junior Tyler Leitelt sparked the Blue Devils’ offense, launching a home run and adding a double to finish 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Harshfield also contributed heavily at the plate, going 2-for-2 with an RBI, while Cole Peppers tallied a pair of hits.

Peotone scored single runs in the third, fourth, and fifth innings, narrowing the deficit to a tense 4-3.

The Coalers responded by pushing across an insurance run in the top of the sixth before unleashing a five-run barrage in the seventh. Capitalizing on a combination of timely hitting and defensive miscues by Peotone, Coal City firmly put the game out of reach. Only two of the five runs surrendered by Leitelt—who pitched six solid innings of relief—were earned.

Senior Ben Watson successfully closed the door for Coal City, tossing the final two innings in relief of Forsythe. Watson allowed just one unearned run and struck out two to seal the 10-4 victory.

Game Summary

Score by Quarters

(Note: Scored by Innings)
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
| :— | :— | :— | :— | :— | :— | :— | :— | :— | :— | :— |
| Coal City | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 2 |
| Peotone | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 4 |

Scoring Drives

(Note: Scoring by Innings)

• 1st Inning

  • Coal City: Plated 2 runs to take an early lead.

• 2nd Inning

  • Coal City: Added 1 run to extend the advantage to 3-0.

• 3rd Inning

  • Coal City: Scored 1 run.

  • Peotone: Got on the board with 1 run.

• 4th Inning

  • Peotone: Scratched across 1 run to cut the deficit to 4-2.

• 5th Inning

  • Peotone: Plated 1 run, narrowing Coal City’s lead to 4-3.

• 6th Inning

  • Coal City: Added an insurance run to make it 5-3.

• 7th Inning

  • Coal City: Erupted for 5 runs to break the game open.

  • Peotone: Scored 1 final run before the game concluded.

Individual Statistics

BATTING:

• Coal City: Lance Cuddy 3-3 (HR, 3B, 4 RBI, 2 R, 2 BB); Connor Henline 3-4 (3 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R); Donnie Ladas 2-4 (1 RBI); Ben Watson 1-1 (2B, 1 RBI); C. Nicholson 1-4 (2B, 1 RBI); Drake Stewart 1-2 (1 RBI, 1 R); Bobby Rodriguez 1-4 (1 R, 1 SB). Team LOB: 8.

• Peotone: Tyler Leitelt 2-3 (HR, 2B, 2 RBI, 1 R); T. Harshfield 2-2 (1 RBI); Cole Peppers 2-4 (1 R); Lincoln Tierney 1-3 (1 R); Everett Carder 1-3. Team LOB: 11.

PITCHING:

• Coal City: Kellen Forsythe (W) – 5.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 13 K; Ben Watson – 2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K.

• Peotone: T. Harshfield (L) – 1.0 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HR allowed; Tyler Leitelt – 6.0 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 6 K.

FIELDING:

• Coal City: 2 Errors; 1 Double Play.

• Peotone: 4 Errors.