52 years in the making, East Peoria wins emotional sectional title game over Dunlap

WASHINGTON — East Peoria baseball coach Matt Plummer couldn’t contain his tears. 

52 years. 

That’s how long it had been since the Raiders won a sectional title in baseball. Plummer has been at the helm for 24 of those years. 

Plummer knows a thing or two about being patient. He doubles as East Peoria’s boys golf coach; a sport that requires lots of persistence where the road to success is never quick or linear. 

When he addressed his baseball team following Saturday’s Class 3A Washington Sectional championship game, with tears welling in his eyes, it hit him. He and the East Peoria community wouldn’t have to wait any longer after the Raiders defeated Dunlap 5-3 in a thrilling battle between two titans of the Mid-Illini.

“I think resilience and toughness is the definition of these guys,” Plummer said. “They have become so resilient and so tough through everything they've had gotten in their life and not gotten.”