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Traxton Mattingly, Johnathon Stunkel leave their mark at Putnam County, will play together at ICC · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: Traxton Mattingly Jonathan Stunkel leave their market Putnam County will
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  play together at ICC. Written by Kevin Schlum, this article
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  is being read by an automated voice brought to you
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  by Everlett. Traxton Mattingly and Jonathan Stunkel began playing baseball
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  together when they were five years old. When they were eight,
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  they started playing travel baseball together on a team called
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  the PC Crush, and they've stayed together. The pair were
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  the only two seniors on this year's Putnam County baseball team,
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  and they led the Panthers to a second place trophy
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  in Class one A, matching the best finish in program history.
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  I told Jonathan at the start of the year that
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  we were going to get us some big hardware this year,
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  and we did it. Mattingly said we couldn't be more
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  proud of each other and the whole team. Mattingly and
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  Stunkel provided valuable leadership for a team that started two
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  fresh in Eli King and Callan Weisbrock, sophomore Maddox Pool
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  and juniors Jacob Farrar, Caide Zimmerline, Peyton Bardo, Carter Hochstadder
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  and Wyatt Zeller's junior Rudy Villigomes and sophomore tysons Zuniga
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  also contributed. We definitely pick each other up and we
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  keep the younger guys going, Stunkle said. A lot of
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  it's a mental game. A lot of these guys get
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  down on themselves, but you always have to be there
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  and pick them up and just be that leader and
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  step into roles in big spots during games. The two
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  seniors also were dominant players on the field. Mattingly and
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  Stunkel were the team's top two hitters, hitting in the
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  leadoff spot. Maddingly entered the state tournament hitting point four
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  two six with seventeen doubles, door triples, one home run,
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  forty nine runs and twenty four RBIs. Stunkel, the team's
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  number two hitter, was hitting point four to four zero
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  with twelve doubles, five triples, seven home runs, forty eight
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  runs and thirty nine RBIs. Stunkel also was the team's
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  a's pitcher, going nine to three with a one point
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  four to six ERA and ninety two strikeouts to fifteen
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  walks and seventy two innings. Mattingly also contributed on the mound,
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  going two to two with a two point eight five
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  ERA with thirty one strikeouts and twenty walks in twenty
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  seven innings. Both shined at State in Putnam County's four
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  to three, eight inning win over North Clay. Stunkel doubled
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  twice and scored a run while pitching six and two
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  thirds innings, allowing three runs one earned on five hits
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  with five strikeouts and two walks. Mattingly was one for two,
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  walked twice and scored a run everything. Putnam County coach
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  Chris Newsom said about what the pair meant to the team.
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  Their four year guys the lifeblood in chirpinesss Traxton. What
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  Stunkel provides is just daily. He's just a dog. He
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  wants to do everything. He does it one hundred percent.
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  He sets the tone for everybody else in the program.
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  You have to rise with him. We have to be
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  at his level, which is pre high. Both of those guys,
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  we couldn't have done it without them. They're very very special.
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  In my heart. They brought home something that we've only
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  done once before in our school's history. So a lot
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  of credit goes to those two kids. While their Putnam
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  County careers are over, their baseball careers aren't as Maddingly
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  and Stunkel will both play at Illinois Central College next year.
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  The best part about it is we get to go
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  down to college and play together, so our journey is
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  not done together. Mattingly said, We're just going to go
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  there and play some ball like we always have. It's
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  going to be the best experience. We're going to go there.
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  We're going to ball out and hopefully both have starting
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  spots in the fall. Stunkel said he hopes he and
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  Mattingly can help take the Cougars to the next level
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  as well. ICC went twenty four to thirty seven this season.
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  Next year, we're going to ICC together and we're going
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  to keep it going, hopefully build another tradition down there
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  and get it done, Stunkele said. With so many returning players,
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  Mattingly and Stunkel said they think the Panthers have chance
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  to make another deep postseason run. I think they have
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  an US shot, Stunkle said. They just have to keep
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  their minds right, keep working hard, pull some more guys
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  up and put them to work and lead by example.
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  Newsom said Maddingly and Stunkel have set the standard for
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  the returning players and future players we talked briefly about
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  these guys are passing the torch now. Newsom said after
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  Putnam County's ten zero, five inning loss to Tremont and
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  Saturday's state title game, it's their last game. They wrote
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  it literally as long as they could. They played the
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  last game of the state. They're moving on to college ball.
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  So where are we going to go next? I wanted
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  the returning guys to make sure they are well aware
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  of how much hard work and determination it takes to
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  get here, and sometimes even that's not enough. You have
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  to have breaks go your way, you have to miss
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  certain pitchers, you have to have the right round out.
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  A lot of things go into it that aren't even
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  in your control. Those two guys are special. They set
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  the tone for sure, and there's a bar there for
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  everybody coming behind them.