Prep baseball: Keota no-hits Danville in first round

The first round of the Class 1A baseball postseason has come and went, and it was a big weekend for Union area teams.

Keota, Pekin, Highland and Hillcrest Academy all staved off elimination and all four will be playing in Tuesday’s substate quarterfinals. Winfield-Mount Union/Columbus was eliminated.

Keota 12, Danville 0 (5)

Colten Clarahan and Aidan Anderson combined to no-hit Danville and knock the Bears out of the Class 1A Substate 6 tournament.

Clarahan struck out 10 batters over four innings, and Anderson struck out two in one inning of relief as the Eagles moved on to play Notre Dame in the quarterfinals.

Keota only needed three hits to score 12 runs. Clarahan went 2-for-3 with a double. Tanner Waterhouse was 1-for-2 with two RBIs. Dalton Dodd and Cole Kindred each knocked in one.

Pekin 3, Lone Tree 2

Jackson Horras silenced the Lone Tree bats, giving up just two runs (one earned) over 6.2 innings to earn the win on the mound, striking out 12 batters along the way.

Chase Stanxsberry went 1-for-2 with a home run and two RBIs. Colton Comstock was 2-for-3 with an RBI, and Horras had a pair of hits as the Panthers punched their ticket to New London on Tuesday.

Highland 11, Montezuma 1 (5)

The Huskies dominated the Braves en route to a mercy-rule victory. Chase Schultz and Ethan Paisley combined to hold Montezuma to just one earned run, and Paisley led the way at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a triple and four RBIs.

Brenton Bonebrake was 2-for-2 with an RBI in the win. Luke miller had a double and an RBI.

Hillcrest Academy 11, Grand View Christian 2

The Ravens were up just 4-2 heading into the bottom of the sixth, but a seven-inning frame helped the Ravens get by the Thunder.

Seth Ours and Luke Schrock combined to quiet the Thunder bats on the pitcher’s mound. Ours got the win, giving up one earned runs over 4.1 innings. Schrock was 3-for-5 with three RBIs at the plate, and Ours knocked in three of his own.

Mason Bender and Rowan Miller each had two hits and an RBI on the day. Bender had the team’s only extra-base hit, a double.

West Liberty 11, Winfield-Mount Union 1

The Wolves couldn’t get much going in a Class 2A Substate 5 opener at West Liberty. WMU/Columbus finishes the season 2-19.