Jacksonville sets school wins record as Routt, Brown County win regionals

Morgan County baseball had a postseason night that reached beyond one scoreboard. Jacksonville set a school wins record, while Routt and Brown County each won regional titles and moved on to sectional play, turning a strong stretch for three local programs into one of the biggest small-school baseball moments of the spring.

Jacksonville’s milestone came with a 6-2 win over Mattoon in the Mattoon Regional semifinal, a result that tied the program’s single-season wins record before the Crimsons even took the field for the title game. At that point, Jacksonville was 26-7 and had won 14 of its previous 15 games and 19 of its previous 21, a late surge that showed the record was built over weeks of steady play rather than one hot night. The Crimsons’ run gave Jacksonville High School a benchmark season and put west-central Illinois baseball on notice.

Routt added its own statement in the Class 1A Mendon Unity Regional title game, beating Brown County 7-1 on Saturday, May 24, 2025. Brady Turner delivered the kind of performance that decides postseason brackets, pitching a complete game, allowing two hits, walking two and striking out nine. He also helped his own cause with a two-RBI double. The victory gave Routt its third straight Class 1A regional title and kept the Rockets moving toward a sectional matchup with Abingdon-Avon on May 28, 2025, with a sectional championship berth still in play.

Brown County’s season also carried real weight despite the loss. The Hornets finished 23-11, tying for the second-most victories in program history behind the 2022 team. For Brown County High School, that made the regional run part of a season-long push that ranked among the strongest in school history, not just a brief postseason burst.

Taken together, the results showed why this stretch resonated across Jacksonville, Morgan County and neighboring communities. Jacksonville’s record-setting finish, Routt’s sustained regional standard and Brown County’s historic win total all pointed to programs peaking at the right time, with pitching, momentum and postseason poise carrying the load when elimination games arrived.