DMS celebrates baseball champs, but wait, it's not over

Behind the pitching of Eli Furlow and Luke Baumann and some mighty offense, the Du Quoin Middle School baseball team beat Murphysboro on Wednesday, 10-2, to win the Class L regional.

And since that was going to be the end of the postseason, the Du Quoin Warriors were the 2020 champions. Way to go!

Twelve hours later on Thursday, however, the playing field changed dramatically. The Illinois Department of Public Health gave the SIJHSAA word that the state series could continue after all.

"As of last night we thought that was going to be it," said CMS Athletic Director Jeremy Cornett on Thursday. "Now we're going to have state championships in (junior high) cross-country, baseball and softball."

Despite the fact that the Warriors just lost out on a sure championship, Cornett for one is happy the sports seasons will have their usual closure.

"I'm excited that we get to have some semblance of normalcy," he said.

In normal years, teams that win their junior high regionals qualify immediately for state.

This year, the eight teams that come of the Class L regionals (of which Du Quoin is one), will have play-in games on Oct. 7 to cut those advancing teams to four.

Those four will go to Centralia, where they will play for the state championship at Centralia's Rotary Park.

In Centralia, the semifinals will be played Oct. 10 and the championship games on Oct. 13.

Meanwhile, the DMS girls team won the first round of regionals but lost to Murphysboro on Wednesday, 4-0.

Cornett said he expects the SIJHSAA will have guidelines concerning spectators figured out soon, even later Thursday night.