The Charleston High school baseball team was swept in an Apollo Conference doubleheader at Mattoon High School on Monday, losing game one 12-8 and losing game two 5-4. 

The Trojans (1-5, 0-2) only had the lead once across both games, and lost game two on a walk-off single. 

The scoring in game one was opened by Mattoon (8-3, 2-0) in the bottom of the first inning with an RBI double by junior infielder Mathew Miller. 

Charleston responded in the next inning with a three-run homerun from sophomore Wyatt Gordon, who hit two home runs across both games.  

The Greenwave scored three runs of their own in the bottom of the third to gain a 4-3 lead. Two of the runs came off infield errors by the Trojans, who had three errors in the second inning. 

The next inning Mattoon scored another three runs.  

Gordon would tally another run in the fifth to cut into the Mattoon lead, but the Greenwave would score four more runs to gain its biggest lead 11-4. 

Charleston attempted to mount a comeback in the last two innings, scoring four runs. In the top of the seventh, senior Luke Bonnstetter came to the plate with the bases loaded but struck out to end the ballgame.  

Bonnstetter was the Trojan’s starting pitcher, going three and one-third innings in the allowing 11 runs and 10 hits. At the plate he recorded a hit. 

Senior Phoenix Lofton pitched the rest of the game in relief, allowing two hits and one run. 

Mattoon senior starter Joseph Stewart pitched six innings allowing four runs and two hits. 

“We needed more timely hits,” Charleston head coach Daniel Bennett said. “Bonnstetter threw a pretty good game; we made some errors behind him and that’s baseball.”  

The second game saw a much closer contest. Mattoon scored the first run in the first inning, with senior starting pitcher Madden Johnson scoring on an error.  

The next inning saw Greenwave junior catcher Derek Sharp hit an RBI single to put Mattoon up 2-0. 

Charleston would get on the board with Gordon’s home run, a line drive  

“He’s a hard worker,” Bennett said. “Two home runs today, that’s pretty impressive for a sophomore, but he’s got a pretty bright future going forward.” 

Said Gordon: “It felt good but at the end of the day the team lost so it was a loss on the day.”  

The Trojans would take a 4-2 lead in the fifth inning, after a two out walk, Bonnstetter hit an infield pop-up that Mattoon senior Madden Johnson wasn’t able to catch after the wind impacted the flight of the ball.  

Bonnstetter reached and would later come around to score on Gordon’s single. Sophomore Russell Applegate then scored on a passed ball. 

The Greenwave tied the game in the bottom of the sixth. Johnson drove in a run on a single, and a runner would score on an error to make it 4-4.  

In the bottom of the seventh, Greenwave senior shortstop Kael Alexander hit a two-out triple, and senior outfielder Dallas Morton hit a single to centerfield to walk off the game for Mattoon and complete the sweep. 

Trojan junior starting pitcher Alex Matheny pitch five and one-third innings, throwing 105 pitches. 

“Alex throws a great game couldn’t ask for anything else,” Bennett said. 

Mattoon had Johnson pitch all seven innings, allowing five hits. 

“Anytime they’re on the mound, they give us a good chance,” Mattoon Head Coach Jarod Kiger said. 

Charleston’s next game is at Neoga High School on Tuesday at 4:30.