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Senior Spotlight: Connor Beasley

ST. ELMO – High school athletes often joke about outlandish accomplishments that they would like to achieve.

Not that breaking St. Elmo’s single-game strikeout record was an outlandish feat for senior Connor Beasley, but he still just laughed it off when it was suggested he should strike out 19 batters before Monday night’s game.

“We actually joked around saying, ‘Why don’t you beat the record tonight?’” Beasley said. “I didn’t really think it was possible, but I was able to throw it by them and break it.”

Beasley recored the first 15 outs of the game via the strikeout on his way to setting the school record against Brownstown in the final night game between those two teams at Deken Park.

The previous mark of 18 was set by Logan Mahon – who was drafted by the Colorado Rockies after college – and Beasley had twice come within one strikeout of the record.

Mahon – who was on hand to witness Beasley’s performance – was a player Beasley idolized when he was younger, and Beasley now wears No. 13 as a tribute to Mahon.

“I remember when I was little, I would watch Logan Mahon pitch, and it was nice to beat his record,” Beasley said. “I saw him walking around tonight, and it was great to break it while he was here.”

The fourth-year starter has shown great improvement each season he has pitched for the Eagles – transforming from just a fastball pitcher to a hard thrower who can fool a hitter with a nasty breaking pitch.

And when that combination is working – as Brownstown learned – it can be hard to handle.

“It’s been leaps and bounds,” Brownstown coach Ken Milano said of Beasley’s improvement. “When he started out, he was just a guy on the mound who you could hit.

“Then he turned into a pitcher, and now he has turned into a really good pitcher.”

Brownstown hitters got two hits off of Beasley, and put just two other balls in play. Beasley walked one batter.

The game ranked in his personal top three of all-time pitching performances, Beasley said, with the others – a 1-0 win against North Clay and a 1-0 regional loss to South Central – coming when he was a sophomore.

“Tonight was probably as good as I have seen him,” said Eagles coach Ryan Beccue, who also cited the North Clay game as one of Beasley’s best.

The win on Monday was the 29th of Beasley’s career, leaving him one short of tying Mahon’s school record, and he may challenge Mahon’s career strikeout record by season’s end.

His eight wins during the spring of his sophomore year are tied with Mahon for the single-season record.

But despite all of those accolades, Beasley is likely to play basketball in college.

The school’s all-time leader in rebounding (845) and sixth-highest scorer (1,381 points), Beasley is hoping to play basketball at McKendree University in Lebanon, though he said “it is a possibility” that we would try to play both basketball and baseball while in college.

With more performances like Monday’s, there could several college coaches lining up to try to win Beasley’s baseball services.

St. Elmo senior Connor Beasley struck out 19 Brownstown hitters during an 8-0 win on Monday, setting the single-game school record.

St. Elmo senior Connor Beasley was 2-for-4, with an RBI, during Monday’s 8-0 win against Brownstown.

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