BASEBALL: Du Quoin beats Pinckneyville, gets back in win column
With a 14-9 win at Pinckneyville over Post 2504, Du Quoin ended a two-game slide and finished up their Junior American Legion baseball regular season with an overall record of 14-2 as they will now gear up for the 25th District Tournament, which begins this Thursday in Chester.
As ugly as Monday night's loss to Goreville was for Post 647, the first two innings of Tuesday's win may have been uglier, at least on the defensive side of the ball.
Du Quoin sent ten batters to the plate in the top of the first, taking a 4-0 lead on just two hits - singles by Brock Bullar and Ashton Smith. The rest of the damage came thanks to two walks and three hit batters.
Pinckneyville started their game at the dish with four consecutive hits in the bottom of the first - singles by Jordan Koester and Garrett Williams, followed by a two-run triple by Kyle Luke, and an RBI single from Bradley Kurtz, cutting the lead to 4-3.
Post 647 responded with another crooked number in the top of the second inning when they again had ten hitters take hacks. Bullar led off the frame with a solo homer in front of a walk to Smith and a double by Braden Lee. Ryne O'Rourke was hit by a pitch with one out, then Bryce Clarry reached on an error before Jordan Edwards doubled, and Du Quoin was up big 9-3.
Post 2504 had an answer in the bottom of the second, posting another three on the scoreboard. Isaac Hardin started the rally with a single, Williams reached on an error, then Kurtz (double) and Tyler Rice (single) delivered RBIs to make it 9-6.
The lead was trimmed to a single run in the bottom of the third inning, as two more Du Quoin errors and base hits by Kyle Kreger, Hardin and Williams produced two more Pinckneyville runs.
Things settled down until the top of the fifth when Post 647 got a single from Smith, a double from Tevin Lee, and another single by O'Rourke to go up 11-8. They added three more in the top of the sixth when Edwards singled in front of Bryzn Witcher's triple and singles by Hank Stewart and Clayton Funk.
Kurtz cranked a solo home run for Pinckneyville in the bottom of the sixth, but other than that, Witcher was strong on the mound in relief of Braden Lee. Witcher went the final five innings, allowing one earned run on three hits and two walks with four strikeouts to earn the victory.
On in relief of Hunter Clark, Williams pitched two scoreless frames for Post 2504 before trouble in the fifth and sixth spoiled his day on the hill. He finished with four innings pitched, four earned runs allowed on seven hits and a hit batter with four K's. Tyler Rice tossed a scoreless seventh for Pinckneyville.
Offensively for Du Quoin, Stewart (1-4, 2 BB), Bullar (2-5, HR), Smith (2-4, BB), Braden Lee (1-1, 2B, HBP), Tevin Lee (1-4, 2B, HBP), Funk (1-3), O'Rourke (1-2, 2 HBP), Edwards (2-3, 2B, SAC) and Witcher (2-3, 3B, BB, HBP) accounted for the team's thirteen hits.
Pinckneyville also finished the game with thirteen hits, those coming from Koester (2-4, BB), Williams (2-4, BB), Luke (1-4, 2B), Kurtz (3-4, 2B, HR), Rice (1-3, BB), Kreger (2-4) and Hardin (2-4).
Post 2504 begins postseason play at Chester on Thursday with a 5:30 p.m. matchup with Campbell Hill. Post 647 will play on Friday at 7:30 p.m. in Chester against the winner of that game.