HARRISBURG — Something had to give in Friday’s 2A baseball sectional championship between Harrisburg and Carterville. The Bulldogs came in with three, short-game victories in the postseason by a combined score of 40-5, while Carterville had not allowed a run over 22 innings in three postseason wins.

What we saw was a game befitting a sectional championship, as the Bulldogs scored two in the sixth to win 4-2.

Carterville starter Jarrett Glenn limited the high powered Harrisburg offense to four hits, but two of those came to start the sixth by seniors Krayton Morse and Noah Boon. Later in the inning, two more seniors, Ben Brombaugh and Andrew Bittle delivered sacrifice flies to plate the two runs.

An unlikely hero for Harrisburg was Javie Beal, not unlikely in source, but in role. When Bulldogs’ head coach Jay Thompson made a pitching change from Bittle with nobody out in the third, he went with Beal, who had only pitched three innings all season, none since third game of the season. After the game, Thompson said he wanted somebody on the mound that would compete.

Compete he did. Beal tossed four shutout innings, allowing only one hit, while striking five. Before assuming his unlikely role on the mound, Beal was a part of one of numerous top-notch defensive plays. Glenn led off the third with a shot to the right field fence. Beal’s relay throw was right on target to cut down Glenn’s effort at a leadoff triple.

Carterville jumped on top in the first on Matt Wallace’s two-out RBI single scoring Bryce Anderson. With a runner on third and two outs in the bottom of the first, Lions’ third baseman Peyton Bittle made a leaping grab of Noah Boon’s liner to end the inning and keep it a 1-0 game.

The Lions added another run in the second on Bittle’s RBI single, but the turning point of the game may have come later in the inning. With runners on second and third with two outs, Anderson hit a rocket that appeared destined for left center and two RBIs, but Bulldogs’ senior shortstop Colby Morse picked it on a hop and threw out Anderson to end the inning.

Harrisburg tied the game in the bottom of the second, scoring two runs on a bases loaded walk and a fielder’s choice. The game settled into a pitcher’s dual after that with zeroes going on the board until the bottom of the sixth.

The Bulldogs advance to the SIU 2A Supersectional where they will meet Freeburg Monday night at 7:00. Freeburg defeated Columbia 11-1 in five innings. The winner Monday night will advance to the 2A state semifinals.

The Lions’ season ended at 16-6-2.