Charleston High School baseball split its final regular season Apollo Conference matchup against Mahomet-Seymour with a 5-3 loss on Thursday.  

It comes after a 8-5 win over the Bulldogs (18-6) on Wednesday in Mahomet. 

“We didn’t follow through today,” Charleston head coach Jim Miller said.  

Mahomet-Seymour struck first in the opening inning when junior leadoff hitter Paxson O’Malley hit a single and later got to third on a wild pitch then home on a passed ball. 

In the third inning, the Bulldogs loaded the bases for sophomore Bradley Jones, who hit a groundball that the Trojans tried to turn a double play on, but the throw to first was late and two runs scored.  

“We got three runs down and I kept telling them every inning ‘we’re still in the game,’” Miller said.  

In the fourth, Charleston’s Landon Shafer and Rohen Walters got on base.  

Junior Wyatt Gordon hit a ball to Jones which got past his glove and into the outfield. Both. Runners scored and cut the deficit to 3-2.  

The next frame, Jones scored his second run after a passed ball.  

The final run came in the top of the seventh when senior Nolan Franz hit an RBI single. 

“We just got to mentally focus all the time,” Miller said. “It’s something we haven’t done in a year or two so we will work on it.”  

Charleston finishes the year in Apollo Conference play at 5-5, improving from last season’s 1-9. 

“It’s a huge step,” Miller said. 

He said the key for Charleston heading into the post season is selective hitting.  

“We learned a long time ago If a guy is opening with a fastball, to be looking for that strike pitch and now people are adjusting to that and throwing us off-speed,” Miller said. “We have to learn to adjust.”  

The win clinches a first-place finish in the conference for Mahomet-Seymour with a final record of 7-3. It’s the team’s fifth straight season finishing first. 

“It was one of their goals at the beginning of the year,” Difilippo said. 

The win is the 400th for Difilippo in his 19th season as head coach of Mahomet. 

“It feels awesome,” he said. “It’s never about me It’s always about the kids.” 

Difllippo said he was helped by coaches before him. 

“I was blessed with me having some great mentors and great coaches,” he said. “My coaches helped me build to where we’re at and I just kept building.”