BASEBALL: Du Quoin wins Jr. American Legion Wooden Bat Tourney
Du Quoin finished off a 5-0 week at the Junior American Legion Baseball Wooden Bat Tournament in Steeleville on Sunday, defeating Herrin 4-2 in the afternoon and Benton 3-0 in the 5:00 p.m. championship.
Post 647 got great pitching performances from Jordan Edwards against Herrin and Hank Stewart against Benton. Neither right-hander surrendered an earned run with Edwards limiting Post 645 to three hits and a walk and Stewart holding Post 280 scoreless on five hits and a hit batter.
In the title game against Benton, Du Quoin jumped on the board 1-0 in the first inning after a double by Brock Bullar and a base hit by Ryne O'Rourke.
In the top of the second, Clayton Funk singled and scored after Ryan Myers reached on an error and Stewart singled, making it 2-0 Du Quoin.
Braden Lee drew his third walk of the game leading off the seventh and later scored for Post 647's third run. Funk added a single in that inning as well.
Stewart, for the most part, handled Post 280's bats by pitching to contact, striking out only one Benton batter on the day. He retired seven in a row after allowing three base runners in the bottom of the second, and sent down sixteen of the last eighteen hitters he saw.
Stewart (1-3, BB), Bullar (2-3, 2B, HBP), O'Rourke (2-4) and Funk (2-2, HBP, BB) had Du Quoin's seven hits against Benton.
It took a dramatic seventh-inning comeback for Du Quoin to get past Herrin earlier in the day. Post 647 trailed 4-1 entering the final frame.
Myers was hit by a pitch to start Du Quoin's seventh, and Stewart bunted him over with a sacrifice. Bullar followed with a single and later stole home, and O'Rourke, Lee and Edwards each added two-out hits in the three-run rally for Post 647.
Edwards retired the side in order in the bottom of the seventh, including his seventh strikeout of the game.
Bullar (2-4), O'Rourke (1-3, HBP), Lee (1-4), Edwards (1-3, HBP) and Myers (1-2, HBP) hit safely for Du Quoin against Herrin.
Post 647 returns to action at home on Tuesday against Christopher at 6:00 p.m. for a doubleheader.