BASEBALL: Marion eliminates Pinckneyville-Du Quoin, 8-3

A three-run fifth inning helped Marion break open a one-run ball game against Pinckneyville-Du Quoin on Sunday, as Post 147 went on to win 8-3 and advance to the semifinal round of the Senior American Legion Baseball 25th District Tournament in Steeleville.

Weather wiped out the first three days of the tournament, leaving organizer Butch Ogle little choice but to change the format of the event from double-elimination to single, meaning Posts 2504 & 647 saw their season come to an end with a 5-16 overall record.

Pinckneyville-Du Quoin had the lead early on when Dylan Carns doubled and scored on an RBI ground ball by Hayden Carter in the bottom of the second inning against Post 147 starter Brayden Simich.

That 1-0 lead lasted only moments, as Marion plated two runs in the top of the third after base hits from Braden Ziegler and Aaron Farthing, and an RBI grounder from the bat of Zeb Goodman.

Jordan Evans walked to lead off Marion's fourth inning, advanced on a wild pitch and came home on an error to tack on to the lead.

2504/647 stayed close with a run in the bottom of the fourth as Carns drove in A.J. Smith (single) with a double to make it 4-2.

But Carter, the P-DQ starting pitcher, began to wear down in the top of the fifth as his pitch count neared 100. After the right-hander fanned the first two batters of the inning, he walked Goodman and Sean Burgess, gave up a single to Evans, walked Gage Johnson, then allowed a single to Brandon Lynn which ended Carter's day. Grayson Buza took over on the mound for Pinckneyville-Du Quoin and got out of the jam, but Marion led 6-2.

Already having left six men on base through four innings, 2504/647 left two more on in the fifth, another pair in the sixth, and one in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings to give them a grand total of thirteen runners stranded.

Burgess added an insurance run for Post 147 in the eighth with an RBI single and Farthing did the same in the ninth.

Tyler Rulevish drove in Nolan Luke (double) with a base hit in the bottom of the ninth for Pinckneyville-Du Quoin's third run.

Simich lasted six innings and a batter, giving up two earned runs on eight hits and four walks with three strikeouts. Lynn (1 IP, BB, K) and Evans (2 IP, ER, 3 H) finished up the final three innings for Marion.

Carter allowed four earned runs on six hits and five walks, striking out five in his four and two-thirds innings of work. Buza (2 1/3 IP, H, 2 BB) and Dustin Engelhardt (2 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, BB, 3 HBP) closed out the game for Pinckneyville-Du Quoin.

Post 147 got hits from Farthing (2-5, R, 2 RBI), Burgess (2-4, R, RBI, BB), Evans (2-4, 2 R, BB), Johnson (1-4, R, BB, 2B), Lynn (3-4, RBI, BB) and Ziegler (1-3, 2 R, BB, HBP).

Luke (2-5, R, 2B), Rulevish (4-4, RBI, BB), Smith (1-4, R, BB), Carns (2-5, R, RBI, 2 2B), Engelhardt (1-3, BB) and Jackson Brand (1-3, BB) had hits for Posts 2504 & 647.

Marion (13-10) will meet Herrin (7-5) on Monday at 7:30 p.m. in Steeleville with the winner earning a spot in the 5th Division Tournament, and in the District Tournament finals.