Leitschuh's comeback keys Litchfield | Panthers score 11 in 6th to win

Gillespie left fielder Michael Marcacci can't quite get to a line drive with two outs in Litchfield's 11-run sixth inning at Litchfield Friday, May 8, 2026.

Litchfield's Sam Schwab catches a fly ball during the game against Gillespie Friday, May 8, 2026.

Gillespie's Dawson Lancaster pitches against Litchfield during the game Friday, May 8, 2026.

Gillespie's coach and players have a team meeting on the pitchers mound during the game against Litchfield Friday, May 8, 2026.

Gillespie's Braden Reich pitches against Litchfield during the game Friday, May 8, 2026.

Litchfield's Mathew Bywater bats during the game against Gillespie Friday, May 8, 2026.

Gillespie's Luke Schuckenbrook pitches against Litchfield during the game Friday, May 8, 2026.

Litchfield's Ethan Saathoff bats during the game against Gillespie Friday, May 8, 2026.

Litchfield's Max Leitschuh bats during the game against Gillespie Friday, May 8, 2026.

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Leitschuh's comeback keys Litchfield | Panthers score 11 in 6th to win

Litchfield's Max Leitschuh scores a run during the game against Gillespie Friday, May 8, 2026.

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Leitschuh's comeback keys Litchfield | Panthers score 11 in 6th to win

Litchfield's Max Leitschuh scores a run during the game against Gillespie Friday, May 8, 2026.

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Photo gallery | See best images as Litchfield rallied past Gillespie

Litchfield's catcher Augustus Hale catches a pop of foul ball during the game against Gillespie Friday, May 8, 2026.

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Leitschuh's comeback keys Litchfield | Panthers score 11 in 6th to win

Gillespie's Braden Reich is greeted by his teammates as he reaches home plate after hitting a home run with the bases loaded during the game against Litchfield Friday, May 8, 2026.

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Photo gallery | See best images as Litchfield rallied past Gillespie

Litchfield's Laidyn Jones pitches against Gillespie during the game Friday, May 8, 2026.

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Photo gallery | See best images as Litchfield rallied past Gillespie

Gillespie's Braden Reich hits a home run with the bases loaded during the game against Litchfield Friday, May 8, 2026.

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Photo gallery | See best images as Litchfield rallied past Gillespie

Gillespie left fielder Michael Marcacci can't quite get to a line drive with two outs in Litchfield's 11-run sixth inning at Litchfield Friday, May 8, 2026.

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Photo gallery | See best images as Litchfield rallied past Gillespie

Litchfield's Sam Schwab catches a fly ball during the game against Gillespie Friday, May 8, 2026.

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Photo gallery | See best images as Litchfield rallied past Gillespie

Gillespie's Dawson Lancaster pitches against Litchfield during the game Friday, May 8, 2026.

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Photo gallery | See best images as Litchfield rallied past Gillespie

Gillespie's coach and players have a team meeting on the pitchers mound during the game against Litchfield Friday, May 8, 2026.

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Photo gallery | See best images as Litchfield rallied past Gillespie

Gillespie's Braden Reich pitches against Litchfield during the game Friday, May 8, 2026.

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Leitschuh's comeback keys Litchfield | Panthers score 11 in 6th to win

Litchfield's Mathew Bywater bats during the game against Gillespie Friday, May 8, 2026.

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Photo gallery | See best images as Litchfield rallied past Gillespie

Gillespie's Luke Schuckenbrook pitches against Litchfield during the game Friday, May 8, 2026.

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Photo gallery | See best images as Litchfield rallied past Gillespie

Litchfield's Ethan Saathoff bats during the game against Gillespie Friday, May 8, 2026.

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Leitschuh's comeback keys Litchfield | Panthers score 11 in 6th to win

Litchfield's Max Leitschuh bats during the game against Gillespie Friday, May 8, 2026.

LITCHFIELD — Just being back in the dugout with the Purple Panthers’ uniform on was a big deal to Max Leitschuh’s teammates. What the Litchfield senior can do with a bat in his hands was on full display in Litchfield’s dramatic 11-6 comeback South Central Conference win over Gillespie on Friday.

Leitschuh, who suffered a fracture in his right thumb and a torn ligament in a 13-0 win over Belleville Althoff on April 16, suited up for the first time since on Friday. His first plate appearances resulted in a strikeout looking with two on and two outs in the bottom of the first and he flew out to right field in his second at-bat.

In his third at-bat — again, two on and two outs with Gillespie leading 6-0 in the bottom of the sixth — Leitschuh hit a two-run double to left field and scored two batters later on a single by Tucker Pastrovich. With the Purple Panthers now leading 8-6, Leitschuh hit a bases-loaded double to left in his second appearance of the inning to give Litchfield its final runs.

“I was just trying to get back into the comfort zone, get a base hit here and a base hit there instead of trying to crush the ball; just be smooth with it, consistent,” Leitschuh said. “That's what I got to do to be a winner.”

Litchfield's Max Leitschuh bats during the game against Gillespie Friday, May 8, 2026.

It was a huge lift for a Panthers’ team that went 7-4 without Leitschuh in the lineup as Litchfield improved to 17-11 overall and 7-3 in the SCC.

"(Credit to) my kids for not quitting,” Litchfield coach Rocky Giannuzzi said. “All that was with two outs the entire time, which is insane. It started off with Max with that double and just kept on going from there. Our team's the kind of team, you give them a little bit of energy, then they just start rolling.”

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Two big half-innings and a cracked windshield

Gillespie (14-6, 6-2) had a monster top of the second to stake a 6-0 lead. And the Miners’ carousel of pitchers kept Litchfield hitless through five innings.

Brayden Enslow began the Miners’ second when he reached on an error by first baseman Pastrovich and was awarded two bases as the throw went out of play. Nathan Haywood's RBI single to center scored Enslow. Litchfield starting pitcher Laidyn Jones then gave up a walk and a hit batter before forcing Gillespie’s Luke Schuckenbrock into an RBI fielder’s choice for a 2-0 lead. After Brody Shaw walked to load the bases, Gillespie’s Braden Reich unloaded a grand slam over the fence in right-center field for a 6-0 lead.

The homer smacked teammate Carson Hailstone’s grandfather’s Honda SUV where the roof and the windshield come together. The owner, Roger Katich, inspected the damage — which included a dent on the frame and a cracked windshield — and said he took a little solace in that at least it was a Gillespie player who hit it.

“I’m not (upset),” Katich said. “There’s a little damage to the roof and the windshield is easily replaced.”

Gillespie's Braden Reich is greeted by his teammates as he reaches home plate after hitting a home run with the bases loaded during the game against Litchfield Friday, May 8, 2026.

It was Reich’s second home run this season and he thinks it might’ve been his furthest one he’s ever hit.

“I stayed on time, barreled it up, just did the rest,” Reich said. Did he know it was gone immediately? “I wanted to think it was, but I can't think that: you never know with high school.”

Getting a chance to hit with bases loaded is a dream for all baseball players. Was he thinking home run there?

“Just get a base knock, get some runs in, help the team out, but it ended up (going out),” Reich said.

Gillespie used seven different pitchers, with team ace Schuckenbrock (5-1 with a 0.77 ERA over 36 1/3 innings) lasting just 1/3 of an inning when he developed some discomfort in the fifth. He remained in the game and was replaced by Hailstone. Both coaches played a little cat-and-mouse with their pitchers Friday, with the teams in the same Class 2A Pleasant Plains sub-sectional. But Gillespie coach Tim Wargo said he had an additional reason: the Miners hadn’t played in a week, and he wanted guys to get some work on the mound.

“We haven't played (since May 1, a 7-0 win over North Mac) and been rained out,” Wargo said. “Nobody's been on the mound ... so you want to get a lot of people (work). We’ve got a big week next week, and just trying to get people ready.”

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Maximum on the Max

That was the last run for the Miners. Seldom-used pitcher Max Gretjak provided the Purple Panthers with five nearly-flawless innings, striking out two and allowing just two hits and no walks, to pick up the well-deserved victory.

Gretjak, in his longest outing in just his fifth appearance, earned high praise from his coach.

“Shout out to (Gretjak),” Giannuzzi said. “That kid is probably No. 8 in our rotation. He just came out and just shut down that team.”

Leitschuh leads the Purple Panthers with a .415 average (22-for-53) with a .516 on-base percentage and has 11 extra-base hits, including four triples and two homers. He’s driven in 18 runs in 17 games. Normally, he plays catcher, but on that fateful day against Althoff, he was playing left field — the only inning this season he’s been in that position — when he slid to make a catch. He made the catch, but at quite the cost.

“At first, I thought I was done for the year,” said Leitschuh, who will continue his baseball career playing at Lewis & Clark Community College in Godfrey, “Whenever I went to the hospital, they told me that it was broke, and I thought even worse, I had to stop playing high school and get ready for college, but then I went to a different doctor, and they told me up to four weeks in a cast, and now I come back three weeks later, I'm playing baseball, and I love it.”

Litchfield's Max Leitschuh scores a run during the game against Gillespie Friday, May 8, 2026.

With a cast on his wrist and lower hand, he was the team’s designated hitter. Giannuzzi dropped him to the No. 5 spot in the lineup, not sure what to expect seeing his first in-game pitches in three weeks.

“It just felt good to see his swing. It shows how much he's played when he was younger, because he came back (to the dugout) from that first one,” Giannuzzi said. “He's like, ‘Oh yeah, I'm seeing it good, I just missed this one.

“He just played so much baseball before, that it's like riding a bike for that kid. Our team kind of changes a little bit when Max is in the lineup now.”

It’s unclear if Leitschuh will be able to pitch again, or when. Regionals begin May 25 while sectional semifinals are June 3-4.

Last season, Leitschuh went 6-2 with a save and a 1.73 ERA across 52 2/3 innings to earn a spot on the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association’s Class 2A all-state team. He led the team in wins, innings pitched, had a team-high 83 strikeouts, ERA and WHIP. In 15 2/3 IPs this season, Leitschuh is 3-1 with 16 Ks and a 4.47 ERA.

Explosive sixth

Mathew Bywater led off the bottom of the sixth with the Panthers’ first hit of the game, a ground-ball single up the middle. Sophomore Ryker Witt built on that with Litchfield’s second hit. With two outs, Leitschuh loudly announced his return with the two-run double.

Litchfield's Mathew Bywater bats during the game against Gillespie Friday, May 8, 2026.

“It felt pretty good (getting that double),” Leitschuh said. “It was thrilling, it was exciting for the team; they had enjoyment of it. It was even more exciting for me getting my first hit back after three weeks of being gone.”

Jones walked and Pastrovich singled to right field to score Leitschuh, getting Litchfield within 6-3. With runners on the corners, Gretjak helped his own cause with an RBI single to right to score Jones. Landon Wernsing singled to load the bases.

Bywater hit a line drive to center for the game-tying runs in his second at-bat of the inning. That’s when Wargo made the pitching change, from Hailstone to Collin Griffith, but that couldn’t stop the bleeding. Griffith walked Witt to again load the bases, then Griffith’s wild pitch sailed to the backstop which allowed Wernsing to sprint home for the go-ahead score.

“It kind of took a second (to process the wild pitch),” Wernsing said. “I thought it was kind of just still sitting right there and then it just kept rolling and then I took off. It felt good. We could feel the momentum change after that kind of keep going and took an even bigger lead.”

Wernsing added the team benefitted from just seeing Leitschuh back in the Purple uniform.

“He's been a huge bat for us,” Wernsing said. “We've been missing him, so it's nice to see him come back and succeed a little bit there.”

Contact Ryan Mahan: 788-1546,ryan.mahan@sj-r.com, Twitter.com/RyanMahanSJR.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: High school baseball | Litchfield scores 11 in late rally for win