JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — The Danville Dans spent most of first half of the Prospect League season as the only team in the Central Division with a winning record.
Entering the final week, Danville knowing that four wins in its final six games would secure the first-half title as the Terre Haute Rex and the Normal CornBelters were each three games back.
Even after a doubleheader sweep of the Champion City Kings on Friday night, the Dans still needed 1 more win as the Rex won its final eight games of the first half to finish at 15-13.
After a loss to Johnstown (16-5) on Saturday night, Danville secured its playoff berth with a 10-3 triumph on Sunday afternoon at Sargent’s Field.
“We got blown out the first night, but we were able to win when we had to on Sunday,’’ said Danville manager Eric Coleman after claiming his sixth straight playoff appearance. “Terre Haute was playing well at the right time. Fortunately, we had a lead on them and we were able to hold them off.
“We controlled our own destiny in that final week. We took care of business and we didn’t rely on anyone else. We were able to get the win Sunday when we needed it.’’
Spearheading Sunday’s victory was the pitching trio of Jacob Havern, Mason Robinson and Austin Morris. They combined for 15 strikeouts while allowing just four hits and three runs — only two were earned.
“We were kind of set up for a playoff game on Sunday,’’ said Coleman, admitting to the importance of a win on Sunday. “We made sure to set up our pitching for that final game. We were going to ride those three guys and they got the job done.’’
It also didn’t hurt that the Dans offense showed up early and often against Johnstown.
Danville (17-13) took an immediate lead as center fielder Aaron Downs led off the game with a solo homer to center. The Dans would increase their lead to 3-0 in the first on a two-run homer by Graham Mastros.
“We jumped on them early with that home run from Downs,’’ Coleman said. “That can always put a damper on a pitcher and a team when they are trailing after just one batter.’’
The Mill Rats (13-16) would get one back in the second, but the Dans took complete control with a five-run third inning with run-scoring hits from Gray Wells and Taft Middleton, who was 3-for-4 in the contest.
“Our bats have come alive in the last few weeks,’’ said Coleman, whose team averaged 9.8 runs on the season-ending four-game road trip. “We didn’t have a great outing on Saturday, but good teams are resilient and bounce back.’’
Winning the first-half title means that the Danville Dans will host the Central Division playoff game on Monday, Aug. 1 against either the second-half winner or the team with best overall record if Danville wins the second half.
“It’s a good feeling to know that we will be host a playoff game on Aug. 1,’’ Coleman said. “We are still going try and win every game in the second half, but we can also make sure that our pitching is set up for that playoff game.
“Having a playoff spot secure, we can get some extra at-bats for guys that are needing them in the second half or get some extra innings for buys that are needing them.’’
Coleman is well aware of the past when the Dans have lost multiple players in the final weeks of the second half.
“We have had a lot more communication with our college coaches this season,’’ he said. “We had some guys that we’re only here for the first half and we are going to have some guys coming in for just the second half.
“I know that we are picking up a couple of position players and a couple of arms for the second half. I’m always working the phones, trying to get guys in here to develop. We can’t control the injury bug, but we can try to have guys ready to fill any of those positions.’’
Danville will start the second half with three straight road games beginning with tonight’s contest at Normal. That’s followed by a trip to Peru on Wednesday for a game with the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp, an off day on Thursday and then a trip to Terre Haute on Friday.
The next home game for the Dans will be Saturday against the Rex. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.
Other division winners in the Prospect League were the Chillicothe Paints in the Northeast Division, the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp in the Northwest Division and the Thrillville Thrillbillies of Marion in the South Division.
COLLEGIATE BASEBALL Prospect League Standings All times Central
Overall
Eastern Conference
Central Division ‘W ‘L ‘GB
x-Danville Dans ‘17 ‘13 ‘—
Terre Haute Rex ‘15 ‘13 ‘1.0
Normal CornBelters ‘14 ‘15 ‘2.5
Full Count Rhythm ‘12 ‘16 ‘4.0
Dubois County Bombers ‘12 ‘17 ‘4.5
Northeast Division ‘W ‘L ‘ GB
x-Chillicothe Paints ‘19 ‘10 ‘—
Lafayette Aviators ‘14 ‘13 ‘4.0
Johnstown Mill Rats ‘13 ‘16 ‘6.0
Champion City Kings ‘7 ‘22 ‘12.0
Western Conference
Northwest Division ‘W ‘L ‘GB
x-Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp ‘17 ‘9 ‘—
Clinton LumberKings ‘15 ‘11 ‘2.0
Springfield Lucky Horseshoes ‘8 ‘18 ‘9.0
Burlington Bees ‘6 ‘23 ‘12.5
South Division ‘W ‘L ‘GB
x-Thrillville Thrillbillies ‘21 ‘6 ‘—
Jackson Rockabillys ‘17 ‘10 ‘4.0
O’Fallon Hoots ‘17 ‘11 ‘4.5
Alton River Dragons ‘13 ‘13 ‘7.5
Cape Catfish ‘14 ‘15 ‘8.0
First half
Eastern Conference
Central Division ‘W ‘L ‘GB
x-Danville Dans ‘17 ‘13 ‘—
Terre Haute Rex ‘15 ‘13 ‘1.0
Normal CornBelters ‘14 ‘15 ‘2.5
Full Count Rhythm ‘12 ‘16 ‘4.0
Dubois County Bombers ‘12 ‘17 ‘4.5
Northeast Division ‘W ‘L ‘ GB
x-Chillicothe Paints ‘19 ‘10 ‘—
Lafayette Aviators ‘14 ‘13 ‘4.0
Johnstown Mill Rats ‘13 ‘16 ‘6.0
Champion City Kings ‘7 ‘22 ‘12.0
Western Conference
Northwest Division ‘W ‘L ‘GB
x-Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp ‘17 ‘9 ‘—
Clinton LumberKings ‘15 ‘11 ‘2.0
Springfield Lucky Horseshoes ‘8 ‘18 ‘9.0
Burlington Bees ‘6 ‘23 ‘12.5
South Division ‘W ‘L ‘GB
x-Thrillville Thrillbillies ‘21 ‘6 ‘—
Jackson Rockabillys ‘17 ‘10 ‘4.0
O’Fallon Hoots ‘17 ‘11 ‘4.5
Alton River Dragons ‘13 ‘13 ‘7.5
Cape Catfish ‘14 ‘15 ‘8.0
Second half
Eastern Conference
Central Division ‘W ‘L ‘GB
x-Danville Dans ‘0 ‘0 ‘—
Dubois County Bombers ‘0 ‘0 ‘—
Full Count Rhythm ‘0 ‘0 ‘—
Normal CornBelters ‘0 ‘0 ‘—
Terre Haute Rex ‘0 ‘0 ‘—
Northeast Division ‘W ‘L ‘ GB
Champion City Kings ‘0 ‘0 ‘—
x-Chillicothe Paints ‘0 ‘0 ‘—
Johnstown Mill Rats ‘0 ‘0 ‘—
Lafayette Aviators ‘0 ‘0 ‘—
Western Conference
Northwest Division ‘W ‘L ‘GB
Burlington Bees ‘0 ‘0 ‘—
Clinton LumberKings ‘0 ‘0 ‘—
x-Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp ‘0 ‘0 ‘—
Springfield Lucky Horseshoes ‘0 ‘0 ‘—
South Division ‘W ‘L ‘GB
Alton River Dragons ‘0 ‘0 ‘—
Cape Catfish ‘0 ‘0 ‘—
Jackson Rockabillys ‘0 ‘0 ‘—
O’Fallon Hoots ‘0 ‘0 ‘—
x-Thrillville Thrillbillies ‘0 ‘0 ‘—
x-first-half champion
Friday, June 28
Danville Dans 19, Champion City Kings 4
Danville Dans 5, Champion City Kings 1
Normal CornBelters 10, Clinton LumberKings 0
Normal CornBelters 3, Clinton LumberKings 0
Terre Haute Rex 2, Lafayette Aviators 0
Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp 8, Johnstown Mill Rats 3
Chillicothe Paints 18, Dubois County Bombers 8
Full Count Rhythm 5, Cape Catfish 0
Alton River Dragons 14, O’Fallon Hoots 6
Thrillville Thrillbillies 10, Springfield Lucky Horseshoes 9
Jackson Rockabillys 11, Burlington Bees 6
Saturday, June 29
Terre Haute Rex 2, Champion City Kings 1, game 1
Terre Haute Rex 6, Champion City Kings 4, game 2
Johnstown Mill Rats 16, Danville Dans 5 (7 innings)
Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp at Lafayette Aviators, suspended to July 16th
Dubois County Bombers at Chillicothe Paints, suspended to June 30th
Normal CornBelters 10, Springfield Lucky Horseshoes 9
O’Fallon Hoots 9, Clinton LumberKings 8
Cape Catfish 8, Burlington Bees 3
Full Count Rhythm 9, Alton River Dragons 6
Thrillville Thrillbillies 17, Jackson Rockabillys 16
Sunday, June 30
Danville Dans 10, Johnstown Mill Rats 3
Clinton LumberKings 9, O’Fallon Hoots 6
Terre Haute Rex 7, Champion City Kings 0
Cape Catfish 8, Jackson Rockabillys 3
Burlington Bees 2, Springfield Lucky Horseshoes 0
Dubois County Bombers 10, Chillicothe Paints 7 (10 innings), game 1
Chillicothe Paints 14, Dubois County Bombers 6, game 2
Normal CornBelters 12, Lafayette Aviators 8
END OF FIRST HALF
Monday, July 1
Chillicothe Paints at Lafayette Aviators, LATE
Normal CornBelters at Clinton LumberKings, LATE
Thrillville Thrillbillies at Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp, LATE
Jackson Rockabillys at Full Count Rhythm, LATE
Tuesday, July 2
Lafayette Aviators at Champion City Kings, doubleheader, 4:35 p.m.
Cape Catfish at Dubois County Bombers, 5:30 p.m.
Alton River Dragons at Terre Haute Rex, 5:30 p.m.
Danville Dans at Normal CornBelters, 6:30 p.m.
Clinton LumberKings at Springfield Lucky Horseshoes, 6:30 p.m.
O’Fallon Hoots at Burlington Bees, 6:30 p.m.
Full Count Rhythm at Jackson Rockabillys, 7 p.m.
Thrillville Thrillbillies at Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp, 7:05 p.m.
Wednesday, July 3
Lafayette Aviators at Chillicothe Paints, doubleheader, 4:05 p.m.
Danville Dans at Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp, 4:05 p.m.
Thrillville Thrillbillies at Full Count Rhythm, 5 p.m.
Terre Haute Rex at Dubois County Bombers, 5:30 p.m.
Champion City Kings at Johnstown Mill Rats, 6 p.m.
Normal CornBelters at Springfield Lucky Horseshoes, 6:30 p.m.
Clinton LumberKings at Burlington Bees, 6:30 p.m.
Jackson Rockabillys at Cape Catfish, 6:35 p.m.
O’Fallon Hoots at Alton River Dragons, 6:35 p.m.
Thursday, July 4
Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp at Thrillville Thrillbillies, 4 p.m.
O’Fallon Hoots at Alton River Dragons, 5 p.m.
Champion City Kings at Johnstown Mill Rats, 6 p.m.
Normal CornBelters at Springfield Lucky Horseshoes, 6:30 p.m.
Burlington Bees at Clinton LumberKings, 6:30 p.m.
Cape Catfish at Jackson Rockabillys, 7 p.m.
Chillicothe Paints at Full Count Rhythm, 7:05 p.m.
Saturday’s Box Score
At Sargent’s Stadium, Johnstown, Pa.
Johnstown Mill Rats 16, Danville Dans 5
Danville ‘AB ‘R ‘H ‘RBI
Aaron Downs cf ‘3 ‘0 ‘0 ‘0
Sebastian Arguelles ss ‘4 ‘2 ‘2 ‘0
Graham Mastros 3b ‘4 ‘1 ‘0 ‘0
Josh Davis c ‘4 ‘1 ‘2 ‘2
Nolan Farley dh ‘3 ‘0 ‘0 ‘0
Brenden Stressler rf ‘2 ‘1 ‘2 ‘1
Michael DiMartini lf ‘2 ‘0 ‘0 ‘0
Gray Wells 1b ‘2 ‘0 ‘1 ‘1
Grant Comeaux 1b ‘1 ‘0 ‘0 ‘0
Adam Reyes 2b ‘2 ‘0 ‘0 ‘0
Abe Chancellor p ‘0 ‘0 ‘0 ‘0
Aidan Dorsch p ‘0 ‘0 ‘0 ‘0
Mac Ketchin p ‘0 ‘0 ‘0 ‘0
Totals ‘27 ‘5 ‘7 ‘4
Johnstown ‘AB ‘R H ‘RBI
Max Humphrey cf ‘4 ‘2 ‘3 ‘1
Austin Stalker lf ‘3 ‘3 ‘1 ‘0
Dom Krupinski 2b ‘5 ‘1 ‘2 ‘1
Garrett Pancione c ‘3 ‘2 ‘1 ‘2
Peyton Starr dh ‘3 ‘2 ‘1 ‘3
Jack Newman 1b ‘4 ‘2 ‘2 ‘5
Cael Magill rf ‘4 ‘1 ‘1 ‘1
Chance Satcho 3b ‘3 ‘2 ‘1 ‘0
Parker Martin ss ‘3 ‘1 ‘3 ‘0
Graeme Rios p ‘0 ‘0 ‘0 ‘0
Charlie Sindahl p ‘0 ‘0 ‘0 ‘0
Jonah Richardson p ‘0 ‘0 ‘0 ‘0
Totals ‘32 ‘16 ‘15 ‘13
Danville ‘000 ‘320 ‘0 ‘— ‘5 ‘7 ‘2
Johnstown ‘113 ‘830 ‘x ‘— ‘16 ‘15 ‘1
E — Wells Dorsch, Humphrey. LOB — Danville 8, Johnstown 3. 2B — Arguelles, Davis, Humphrey, Pancione, Magill, Martin. 3B — Stressler, Starr. HR — Newman 2. SB — Humphrey, Krupinski.
Danville ‘IP ‘H ‘R ‘ER ‘BB ‘SO
Chancellor (L, 3-1) ‘3.0 ‘7 ‘5 ‘5 ‘1 ‘2
Dorsch ‘0.2 ‘5 ‘7 ‘5 ‘1 ‘1
Ketchin ‘2.1 ‘3 ‘4 ‘3 ‘4 ‘1
Totals ‘6.0 ‘15 ‘16 ‘13 ‘6 ‘4
Johnstown ‘IP ‘H ‘R ‘ER ‘BB ‘SO
Rios (W, 2-2) ‘5.0 ‘7 ‘5 ‘4 ‘2 ‘5
Sindahl ‘1.0 ‘0 ‘0 ‘0 ‘2 ‘2
Richarson ‘1.0 ‘0 ‘0 ‘0 ‘0 ‘1
Totals ‘7.0 ‘7 ‘5 ‘4 ‘4 ‘8
WP — Sindahl. HBP — Pancione (by Dorsch).
Time — 2:21
Umpires — Bob Reitz and Nick Cyr.
Sunday’s Box Score
At Sargent’s Stadium, Johnstown, Pa.
Danville Dans 10, Johnstown Mill Rats 3
Danville ‘AB ‘R ‘H ‘RBI
Aaron Downs cf ‘5 ‘1 ‘2 ‘2
Sebastian Arguelles ss ‘5 ‘1 ‘0 ‘0
Nate Vargas c ‘6 ‘2 ‘3 ‘0
Graham Mastros 3b ‘4 ‘2 ‘2 ‘2
Brenden Stressler rf ‘4 ‘0 ‘2 ‘2
Michael DiMartini dh ‘4 ‘1 ‘0 ‘0
Gray Wells 1b ‘4 ‘1 ‘1 ‘1
Taft Middleton lf ‘4 ‘2 ‘3 ‘1
Colton Coates 2b ‘4 ‘0 ‘0 ‘0
Jacob Havern p ‘0 ‘0 ‘0 ‘0
Mason Robinson p ‘0 ‘0 ‘0 ‘0
Austin Morris p ‘0 ‘0 ‘0 ‘0
Totals ‘40 ‘10 ‘13 ‘8
Johnstown ‘AB ‘R H ‘RBI
Austin Stalker rf ‘4 ‘1 ‘0 ‘0
Carter Rust cf ‘5 ‘0 ‘1 ‘0
Dom Krupinski ss ‘4 ‘0 ‘0 ‘0
Wesley Parker lf ‘2 ‘2 ‘0 ‘0
Jack Newman 1b ‘1 ‘0 ‘1 ‘0
Peyton Starr 1b ‘2 ‘0 ‘1 ‘0
Landon Meyer 2b ‘2 ‘0 ‘1 ‘0
Connor Roche 3b ‘4 ‘0 ‘0 ‘0
Joey Perry dh ‘3 ‘0 ‘0 ‘1
Logan Murphy c ‘4 ‘0 ‘0 ‘0
Tylor Elliott p ‘0 ‘0 ‘0 ‘0
Spencer Maley p ‘0 ‘0 ‘0 ‘0
Scott Templeton p ‘0 ‘0 ‘0 ‘0
William Oczkowski p ‘0 ‘0 ‘0 ‘0
Caio De Araujo p ‘0 ‘0 ‘0 ‘0
Liam Royster p ‘0 ‘0 ‘0 ‘0
Totals ‘31 ‘3 ‘4 ‘2
Danville ‘305 ‘000 ‘011 ‘— ‘10 ‘13 ‘1
Johnstown ‘011 ‘001 ‘000 ‘— ‘3 ‘4 ‘2
E — Mastros, Roche 2. LOB — Danville 11, Johnstown 8. 2B — Middleton 2, Newman. HR — Downs, Mastros. SF — Meyer. SB — Mastros, DiMartini 2. CS — Mastros.
Danville ‘IP ‘H ‘R ‘ER ‘BB ‘SO
Havern (W, 2-0) ‘5.0 ‘2 ‘2 ‘1 ‘2 ‘7
Robinson ‘3.0 ‘2 ‘1 ‘1 ‘4 ‘7
Morris ‘1.0 ‘0 ‘0 ‘0 ‘0 ‘1
Totals ‘9.0 ‘4 ‘3 ‘2 ‘6 ‘15
Johnstown ‘IP ‘H ‘R ‘ER ‘BB ‘SO
Elliott (L, 1-2) ‘2.1 ‘7 ‘8 ‘7 ‘3 ‘2
Maley ‘0.2 ‘0 ‘0 ‘0 ‘1 ‘0
Templeton ‘2.0 ‘1 ‘0 ‘0 ‘1 ‘1
Oczkowski ‘1.0 ‘0 ‘0 ‘0 ‘0 ‘2
De Araujo ‘2.0 ‘3 ‘1 ‘1 ‘3 ‘5
Royster p ‘1.0 ‘2 ‘1 ‘1 ‘0 ‘0
Totals ‘9.0 ‘13 ‘10 ‘9 ‘8 ‘10
WP — Elliott 2, Royster 2.
Attendance — 576 Time — 2:49
Umpires — Pete Jones and Bob Reitz