Hornets ‘hit it right at them’ in sectional semifinal loss to Monmouth United

Published 8:01 pm Wednesday, June 3, 2026

CAMP POINT, Ill. — The ball was not flying out of the park for Brown County on Wednesday like it did last week in the regional round.
Brown County hit several balls that died out in the warning track in a bigger Camp Point Central baseball diamond in Wednesday’s Class 1A Sectional semifinal game and could only muster one run, as Monmouth United defeated the Hornets 5-1.
Monmouth United starting pitcher Aiden Martin was in top form, pitching a complete game with seven strikeouts for the win. He allowed just four hits, two walks and one run.
“Sometimes in baseball, you hit it right at them,” said Hornets head coach Jared Hoots. “We had probably four go back to the warning track and it just didn’t go over. We just missed a little bit of the barrel. (Martin) did a good job of moving the spots and the biggest thing he did is he didn’t walk anybody. He pounded the strike zone.”
It was quite the contrast from the Class 1A Mendon Regional, where Brown County hit four home runs and combined for 23 runs to win the regional championship last week.
The Red Storm struck right away in the top of the first inning when Chance Stewart hit a leadoff double and was singled home by Ian Leffler.
Brown County answered right back when Collin Dieterle doubled home Jack Sefton to tie the game 1-1 in the bottom of the first, the only run the Hornets would score.
“I expect the guys to respond,” said Hoots. “We’ve given up runs all year and those guys have come back with their bats. We’ve done a good job of responding with the bats all year and I thought we had good swings. It unfortunately didn’t fall.”
The third inning started off with a Brown County error that would come back to haunt the Hornets after Nolan Jenks drove in Koen Sperry and Collin Leary singled home Leffler.
Monmouth United tacked on antoher run in the fifth when Leary drove in Leffler, and another in the sixth after Stewart singled home Egan Marshall.
Brown County fought to its last out, with Jaxon Henricks doubling and Thomas Boylen singling, but were ultimately stranded on base.
“Jaxon and Thomas are both hitting over .350,” said Hoots. “There’s not too many teams in Class 1A in state where you’re eight and nine hitters are hitting over .350. I tell them all the time that we got one of the toughest lineups to get out in the state. That’s just a testament to the way we hit the ball and our never say quit attitude.”
Hornets starting pitcher Myer Maxwell took the loss after pitching five innings with three strikeouts, while allowing six hits, one walk and three earned runs.
Sefton pitched the sixth inning and had one strikeout, while allowing two hits, one walk and an earned run. Dieterle pitched a clean seventh inning with two strikeouts.
“They bulldogged their way through it,” said Hoots. “They got a couple of lucky bounces there. I think four out of the five runs (United) scored was because their leadoff guy got on and it’s hard to win games when you do that. I thought Myer and Jack battled. I thought Collin came in and threw a good seventh inning to give us a boost. I was hoping for him to go back out in the eighth, but it just didn’t happen.”
Brown County ends the 2026 season with a 20-8-2 record and as Class 1A Mendon Regional champions. The Hornets also won the WIVC Tournament this season and will return most of their team next season.
“You always want to get as far as you can because the more experience these guys get, the easier it will be to understand what steps come next year,” said Hoots. “In our area, baseball is really good. Just because we got guys coming back doesn’t mean we are going to be a dominant team. We got to work in the offseason and staying healthy is the biggest thing. The future is really bright in Brown County sports.”