FLORA-The North Clay Cardinals celebrated their first IHSA Regional Championship in 15 years last week after defeating Brownstown in Altamont.

Thursday, the Cardinals were scheduled to play their Midland Trail Conference rival South Central Cougars in Bridgeport for a Sectional semi-final baseball game.

Heavy rains late Wednesday night and early Thursday morning cancelled the game and pushed it back to Friday.

Friday, more rain came into the Bridgeport area and once again the game was cancelled.

North Clay Athletic Director Josh Mathis and South Central’s Athletic Director worked hard to find a neutral site to get the game in before Saturday’s scheduled championship game to take place in Bridgeport.

Both teams found one common neutral site, Mike Jennings Field in Flora.

A huge crowd gathered around the fences of Mike Jennings Field and were treated to one of the best Sectional semi-final games in recent history.

It was a rollercoaster of emotions as both teams dueled through five scoreless innings.

North Clay Head Coach sent Freshman southpaw Dylan McKnelly to the hill and the lefty kept the Cougars off balanced at the plate and kept the Cardinals in the game against South Central ace Tanner Bushue.

The Cougars would get the last laugh as they won 2-1 on a walk off hit in the bottom of the seventh inning.

North Clay had an early chance to score in the top of the first inning when they received back-to-back base hits from the Zink brothers, John Logan and Jonah.

The Zink brothers stole second and third respectively, but were unable to score when Bushue struck out Bryan Harrington to end the inning.

McKnelly was strong from the onstart and scattered four hits over six plus innings of work, keeping the Cougars scoreless.

The game was scoreless after five innings of play and the Cardinals had the top of the order coming to the plate to start the top of the sixth.

It was a rollercoaster of emotions for both teams and the large crowd on hand through the final two innings of Friday’s sectional semi-final.

Cardinals first baseman Andrew Grahn led off the top of the sixth inning for North Clay by striking out swinging on a nasty slider from Bushue.

Junior Colton Bailey followed by drawing a walk.

John Logan Zink, the Cardinals all-time leader in hits (225), doubles (63),   home runs  (28),  RBI  (155),  runs scored  (167) and stolen bases (103), followed by hitting a slow groundout to shorstop hard enough to move Bailey to second.

It was jubilation in the next at-bat when Jonah Zink hit a slow bouncing ground ball to the Cougars second baseman.

Jonah beat the throw to first and in the process allowed Bailey to sneak around third and slide home safely to the suprise of the Cougars defense.

The infield RBI single by Jonah Zink gave the Cardinals the 1-0 lead.

AJ Walters courtesy ran for Jonah Zink and was picked off first to end the inning, but not before the Cardinals had a huge moemntum swing shift into their favor.

McKnelly continued to feed the momentum the Cardinals picked up in the top of the sixth, by keeping the Cougars off the scoreboard in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Harrington led off the top of the seventh for North Clay with a single to centerfield, but would be stuck on first base as Bushue then struck out the Cardinals in order.

KB Hawks, Clint Quinn, and Shane Acree were struck out on 11 pitches by the Cougars ace.

It set up a wild and crazy bottom of the seventh inning at Mike Jennings Field.

McKnelly began his seventh inning on the mound with two straight balls and forced Coach Rich Grubaugh to take his first trip to the bump to talk to his Freshman southpaw.

The lefty battled back with a strike, then moved the count to three balls and one strike before the next pitch was a high liner off the glove of John Logan Zink.

A second straight single by the Cougars gave them runners at first and third with still no one out in the inning and the Cardinals clinging to a 1-0 lead.

South Central’s Isaac Grapperhaus smoked a single past Cardinals third baseman Harrington to score the tying run and give the Cougars runners on first and second with no one out.

Grubaugh then went to his bullpen in the form of Bailey after McKnelly gave North Clay six impressive innings.

South Central’s first hitter against the Junior righty put down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners into scoring position at second and third.

A slow dribbler down the third base line  off the bat of the Cougars catcher forced Cardinals third baseman Harrington to try and make a tough play.

The sophomore third baseman’s throw was out of the reach of Grahn at first base and went down the right field line, allowing the Cougars to score the winning run easily and end a tremendous season by the North Clay Cardinals.

The Cougars advanced to the Sectional Final against Edwards County Lions on Satuday.

Edwards County upset Dieterich in their Sectional semi-final, but were unable to make it two straight upsets as they fell to South Central 8-7.

The Cougars played Marissa on Monday in Marion on Monday in the Super-Sectional.