Pekin lives to fight another day in the Illinois High School Association state baseball series.The Mid-Illini Conference champion and second-seeded Dragons (20-9) edged East Moline 5-4 in 12 innings Friday in a Class 4A regional semifinal moved to Galesburg and will play top-seeded Moline in today’s 11 a.m. championship.
Moline advanced with a 2-1 victory over host Quincy and will meet Pekin again at neutral site Galesburg, a considerably shorter drive for both teams now that the regional host has been eliminated.
Pekin seemingly had matters wrapped up in regulation, leading 3-1 behind ace righthander Ryan Vansaghi entering the seventh inning. But East Moline pushed across a pair of runs to force extra innings.
Each team also scored a run in the 10th. Lefty Beau Barnes came on and threw five innings of relief before Pekin plated the game-winner in the bottom of the 12th.
Cam Cordts beat out an infielder chopper and went to second on the play on a wild throw to first base. After missing a couple of attempted sacrifice bunts, Jeremy Clauson then singled over the first baseman’s head into right field to chase home Cordts with the winning run.
Jared Pyatt went 4-for-5 and Cordts 3-for-6 to spearhead Pekin’s 13-hit attack, while VanSaghi and Barnes combined for 16 strikeouts.
