Charleston Middle softball is headed to the IESA Class 3A State Tournament set for next weekend.

Raylin Cox and Ava Goble combined to throw a 2-hitter Saturday to help the Trojans defeat Mt. Zion, 4-2, and earn the sectional title.

Cox also drove in two runs on two hits while Avery Beals scored twice.

“The girls came ready to play today,” CMS Coach Blain Mayhall said. “They didn’t seem to have any nerves. They were pretty loose. I was a lot more nervous than what they were. But they stayed composed.”

Charleston Middle (19-3) will face Frankfort Hickory Creek, which is 20-2, in a 12:30 p.m. game on Friday. The winner of that game would play Saturday morning at 10:30 a.m.

“We played Frankfurt with another team that’s gone to state,” Mayhall said. “They are always quality. It’s a big area up there so they have some solid softball.”

The other three Friday games feature:

Manteno vs. Washington Central at 10:30 a.m.

Coal City vs. a sectional winner TBD at 2:30 p.m.

Barrington Station vs. Minooka at 4:30 p.m.

The semifinals will take place Saturday morning, followed by a third-place game and then a state title game at 4:30 p.m.

  • 4. Charleston’s Ava Goble (middle) celebrates with Avery Beals and Aubrey Hunter after Goble makes the final out of the game securing the Trojans 4-0 victory over Mt. Zion.
  • Third baseman Aubrey Hunter throws to first baseman Raylin Cox for the second out of the seventh inning.
  • Charleston’s Raylin Cox fires a pitch to a Mt. Zion batter in the third inning.