Will Cook County News

By Claude Martinez.

Crestwood – The 2025 Chicago High School Baseball Classic, hosted by Black Baseball Media on April 12, kicked off with a stunner. The first game of the day ended up being both the highest-scoring and the biggest upset of the tournament.

Ogden International came in with an impressive 8 wins and 2 losses, while Rich Township was sitting at just 1 win and 7 losses on the season. But on this day, the underdogs flipped the script.

In the bottom of the second, Ogden led 1-0. Rich Township had the bases loaded with two outs—no easy situation.

That didn’t faze sophomore left fielder Jesiah Dawson, who ripped a triple to rightfield, clearing the bases and giving Rich a 3-1 lead.

By the bottom of the fifth, Ogden had responded with two runs to close the gap to 4-3, but Rich came roaring back.

Leadoff man Khyre Burnette drove in two with a single.

Dawson followed up with another RBI single to bring in Burnette. Then Junior Branden Bankhead capped off the rally with a double that scored two more runs.

Both teams put up three runs in the sixth inning, but the seventh was scoreless—sealing a 12-6 victory for Rich Township, their most dominant win of the season so far.

FINAL: Rich Township 12, Ogden International 6.

Three Rich Township hitters had standout performances. Junior Bankhead tallied three hits, four RBIs, and a stolen base.

Sophomore Khyre Burnette had a single, three RBIs, and two stolen bases.

And sophomore Jesiah Dawson delivered the biggest punch of the day with a triple, five RBIs, and two stolen bases.

Dawson was named the WCCN Player of the Game.

Sophomore Landon Hughes was also electric on the mound, pitching 3.2 scoreless innings and striking out six batters, finishing with a 0.00 ERA on the day.

He was named the game’s VIP and spoke about his performance, his mindset, and what’s next for the team.

Watch the news package on YouTube (linked below), Facebook or Instagram @ Will Cook County News.

Special thank you to Sam Williams (Black Baseball Media), Corey Stallings Sr. (Rich Township head coach) and Guillermo Guzman (Ogden head coach).

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