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Williamsville will play for their second state title of the 2014-15 school year after beating Teutopolis 4-1 in Friday's 2A baseball state semifinals at Dozer Field in Peoria.
The Bullets scored two runs in the first inning, the first of which came on a one out Teutopolis error to right field that allowed Daniel Daykin to score from third. With an extra out, Jess Buttry called for a suicide squeeze, one that Luke Bleyer executed to perfection, scoring Talon File which gave the Bullets the early cushion.
Bleyer pitched out of damage early, stranding five runners over the first two innings. He left the bases loaded in the second by getting Teutopolis' best hitter Louis Niemerg to fly out to right.
In the fourth, Buttry pulled Bleyer and handed the ball to John Beal with two in scoring position and one out. Beal conceded a run but ended the frame with a strikeout to leave the bases loaded. It was a role reversal for Beal who'd seen Bleyer take him off the hook against defending 2A champ Pleasant Plains in the sectional finals.
Another Teutopolis error in the top of the fifth gave that run, and the momentum, back to the Bullets. Vince Vignali added another security run in the top of the seventh with an RBI single that plated Andrew Roberts to run the score to 4-1.
Beal sat the Shoes down in order in the seventh inning to secure the win. He finished his day with 3 2/3 innings pitched, three strikeouts and no hits allowed.
Williamsville will play Rockford Christian in Saturday's 2A State Finals at 5:30 pm. The Royal Lions defeated St. Bede 2-1 with a walk-off win in the bottom of the ninth inning in Friday's first 2A semifinal.
