BRIMFIELD — Rebuilding has never really been an option for Brimfield/Elmwood.

The Class 2A co-op just seems to reload and has consistently been one of the Peoria area’s top small-school baseball programs over the last decade. In the last five years alone, Brimfield has had three Elite Eight appearances, winning at least 27 games in four of those seasons.

Twice the Indians, who are 9-4-1 through Friday, have lost their final game to the eventual state champion, including last season’s 31-3 campaign ended by Joliet Catholic in the supersectional. But those defeats have been a driving force for a program searching for its first trip to the state finals.

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“I think it makes us hungry,” B/E coach Brandon Porter said of falling just short of the state finals. “They get a taste of it, and they know what it takes to get there. … It motivates us to work hard.

“It gives something for the younger guys — just our tradition that we’ve built here over the last 10 years — pushes them to get better. Hopefully, we make it back there and take the next step.”

Those "younger guys" are now seasoned veterans with five of them two- or three-year returning starters. Juniors Jude Strahm, Kyle Binder, Landon Binder and Drew Kieser along with sophomore Brady Johnson are back and contributing in large roles.

Take Thursday’s 6-3 win over Illini Bluffs, in which Landon Binder hit a go-ahead three-run home run as part of a six-run sixth inning. Brady Sumner added a pair of RBIs, while Camden Blodgett had two of Brimfield’s seven hits.

Kyle Binder and his first cousin, Landon, have proven to be consistent, run-producing presences in the lineup, batting in the three and four spots, respectively.

“We ride them hard,” Porter said. “A lot of our success is based on them. We knew that coming into this year.”

Kyle Binder says his success has come from bringing a more balanced approach to the plate. The catcher admits that as a sophomore he was previously just up there taking a lot of big hacks.

All that has changed. Now he’s hitting .425 on 17 hits with four doubles, three homers and 17 RBIs in 40 at-bats following the victory over IB.

“I kind of simplified things this year,” Kyle Binder said, “and kind of just stayed into launch position and working on just moving the ball all over the field.”

Pitching, on the other hand, was one of Brimfield’s biggest questions coming into the season. Porter had graduated all but 30 innings from 2022.

As it turns out, the Indians have solid arms on the mound led by Johnson, Kieser (1-1 with 25 strikeouts and a 3.62 ERA in 19.1 innings) and sophomore Cleveland Bizosky (4-0 with 27 strikeouts and a 2.53 ERA in 19.1 innings).

Johnson has thrown 27.1 innings in five starts, striking out 27 and posting a 3.07 ERA with a 3-2 record.

“I really built off that,” the right-hander said of playing as a freshman. “I was able to learn a lot from junior high to here, so I think that’s helped me move forward and improve, for sure.

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“I’d say (my confidence) has grown immensely. This year, I’d say, I’m a lot more confident in my ability.”

Having graduated a talented senior class, led by Frank Kelch and Drew Bryant, has left some big leadership holes. Those two along with classmates Jack Houlihan and Austin Baysingar provided Brimfield with a special camaraderie.

Now, the roles are falling on this year’s experienced players.

“We just try and take after what they’ve done,” Kyle Binder said, “so we’ve kind of seen how they’ve done things, so we just kind of follow up with how they did things.

“We always just seem to really work together and improve every year, so we really take it seriously, we just try to be the best we can be.”

Adam Duvall is a Journal Star sports reporter. Email him at aduvall@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @AdamDuvall.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: IHSA baseball: How Brimfield/Elmwood is using last season's success