51ºÚÁÏ

But not Thursday afternoon.

"I was just trying to lock in," Perez said. "I didn't want to listen to anybody, I just wanted to start thinking."

The O'Fallon junior outfielder's laser-like focus paid off in droves.

In the top of the sixth inning, he hit an inside fastball to the outfield to drive in the go-ahead run in O'Fallon's 2-1 victory over Edwardsville in a Class 4A Bloomington Sectional semifinal.

O'Fallon (26-10) advanced to play Normal Community (33-4) at 11 a.m. Saturday in the sectional final at Illinois Wesleyan University.

It's the first time since 2021 that the Panthers have advanced to the sectional title game, and that season they finished third in the state tournament. They were knocked out of the postseason the last two seasons by the Tigers, last year in the regional final and two seasons ago in the sectional semifinals.

"It's huge. It feels great," Perez said. "They've been there so many times and we haven't been able to get past them for a long time. It feels good to get past them and get a chance to do something in the playoffs."

Thursday was the 60th meeting between the two Illinois powerhouse programs since 2000, and the teams have won 30 games each.

"All the rivalries in the Southwestern Conference are big, but this one is special," first-year O'Fallon coach David Causey said. "(Edwardsville coach Tim Funkhouser) is such a great guy. I want to give a shoutout to him because he's been so helpful to me as a first-year coach. He's the nicest guy in the world, a great competitor. Their team is excellent."

Perez was waiting on deck when Edwardsville (26-11) made the call to the bullpen and standout senior pitcher Joe Chiarodo in the top half of the sixth.

As Panthers players tried to break the tension and loosen up Perez, he gently shoved teammates away.

"I was just trying to lock in and watch (Chiarodo)," Perez said. "I wanted to see what he was throwing, time him down."

With the go-ahead run standing on third base in a 1-1 game, Perez took a 3-1 fastball to the left side of the defense, evading the Edwardsville defense and scoring the go-ahead run.

"When you're in a big spot like that, the game moves real fast on you," Perez said. "I just had to slow it down and lock in and play my game."

And with Connor Blue on the mound for O'Fallon, two runs were plenty.

"Conner Blue has been a really good pitcher for a long time and he made pitches today," Edwardsville's Funkhouser said. "He made a lot of things difficult for us. He was able to keep executing pitches and caught us looking at times, but that's a credit to his stuff and his competitiveness. Just tip your cap to him because he did really well."

A University of Cincinnati commit, Blue twirled an absolute gem. The righty shut down the Edwardsville offense for 6 2-3 innings, giving up one run on three hits while striking out a season-high 13 batters. 

Knowing he was closing in on his pitch limit, Blue confessed he was grooving his fastball down the middle in the seventh inning.

"I was just trying to throw fastballs down the middle, hoping they put it in play and get outs," Blue said. "I didn't want those last two strikeouts. I just wanted to finish it off."

He even smiled at his coach as Causey made the trek to the mound, half-heartedly trying to stay in the game for the final batter.

"I knew I was at my pitch count, so I knew I had to come out, but I felt good," Blue said.

Causey handed the ball over to the Panthers closer, junior Sam McCollum. Edwardsville had the tying run at first base, but McCollum slammed the door closed with a game-ending strikeout.

"We love having him in those tight situations, so it was awesome to see him come in and close that," Causey said. 

O'Fallon got on the board first, manufacturing a run in the second inning off uncharacteristic defensive miscues by the Tigers. 

"Those things happen," Funkhouer said. "We've taken advantage of other teams when they do that. Unfortunately, that happened to us today."

Edwardsville returned the favor in the fifth inning, getting its lone run on a Lucas Krebs sacrifice fly after the runner advanced a base on a passed ball to tie the game 1-1.

Funkhouser expressed how proud he was of the senior class that was part of two state championships, a third-place finish and four conference championships along with 127 wins.

"Those guys carried us," Funkhouser said. "We obviously still want to be playing tomorrow together, but I'm going to miss them. People are disappointed when the season ends. These guys have improved as individuals and really grown."

With such a short turnaround, Causey and his team have turned their focus toward Normal Community on Saturday morning.

"Whoever we start, we'll have to throw strikes," Causey said. "That'll be the secret and we just have to keep swinging the bats. I really liked our approach today. I thought we got some balls in play early, and I think that's the key. We have to get out early in the gates."