BASEBALL: Du Quoin knocks off Salem at Jr. Legion Division Tournament
Du Quoin looked all but done at the Junior American Legion baseball 5th Division Tournament after Saturday's 5-0 loss to Carlyle, but Bryzn Witcher tossed a complete game and Ashton Smith was 4-for-4 with a pair of RBIs on Sunday as Post 647 stayed alive with a 6-4 victory over Salem to put themselves a win away from a trip to the state tournament.
Witcher (2-3), Braden Lee (2-3, BB), and Clayton Funk (2-3) each had two of Du Quoin's eleven hits in the do-or-die game at Salem High School. They had just one hit - a single by Hank Stewart - in Saturday's defeat.
"We had big hits all up and down the lineup today, huge hits when we needed them with runners in scoring position," said Post 647 head coach Derek Sims. "That's what we weren't getting (Saturday)."
"Defensively, these last two games, we've been solid everywhere. I think we've had one error each of the last two games, which we want to get rid of, but compared to how we'd been playing the last three or four weeks, we've been solid. I couldn't be more proud of the boys today, that was a great Salem ball club. For us to come out of here, on their home field, with a win is awesome."
Du Quoin jumped on top 3-0 in the bottom of the second inning, getting base hits from Funk, Jordan Edwards, Witcher, and Smith along with a walk to Brock Bullar. Post 128 tied it up with three in the top of the fourth inning, taking advantage of a pair of leadoff walks.
Smith then started the game's decisive rally in the bottom of the fifth with a single, and B. Lee followed with another single before Tevin Lee walked to load the bases for Ryan Myers. A wild pitched plated Smith and advanced the runners for Myers to pick up an RBI on a sacrifice fly to give Du Quoin a 5-3 lead. Smith's RBI double added an insurance tally in the sixth.
Witcher issued a walk and hit a batter in the top of the seventh, but as he did all day, minimized the damage. The big right-hander caught a Salem base runner in a rundown for the final out as B. Lee applied the tag running the player back to second base.
"I can't say enough about Bryzn and how he battled today on the mound," Sims said. "Seven strong innings, he threw a lot of pitches, but we wanted to let him finish it off, he deserved it as well as he pitched. He threw one heck of a game and he got out of all the jams he was in other than the one big inning."
Post 647 awaits the loser of Sunday's game between Newton and Fairview Heights in another win-or-go-home matchup on Monday evening at 5:00 p.m. in Salem. The winner then moves on to Quincy for the state tournament beginning on Thursday.