Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
ALTON - Civic Memorial's Luke Parmentier, along with both Luke Melton and Jordan Aguallo each had two hits and a RBI, while the Alton River Dragons scored three runs in the fifth and two in the seventh, holding off a four-run eighth-inning rally to defeat their arch-rivals, the Cape Catfish of Cape Girardeau, Mo. 7-6 in the first meeting of the season between the two clubs, in a Prospect League baseball game Wednesday night at Lloyd Hopkins Field in Gordon Moore Park.
The win was the River Dragons' fifth in their last six games, and kicked off a three-game home stand in the right way. Alton is now 6-2 on the young season, still tied for first in the South Division of the Western Conference with the Jackson, Tenn., Rockabillys and now a half-game up on the O'Fallon, Mo., Hoots, a full game ahead of the Thrillville Thrillbillies of Marion, even on the loss side, and four games ahead of the Catfish.
It was Cape who scored first, as an Alex Kowalski RBI double-scored Corbin Malott to give the Catfish a 1-0 lead. Alton tied the game in the second on Additya Sur's grounder to short that scored Melton and tied the game 1-1. Cape took back the lead in the fourth on a RBI single by Ty Allen that scored Malott to give the lead back at 2-1.
Alton then scored six unanswered runs - three of them in the fifth - to go back in front. In the home half of the fourth, Melton scored on Arguallo's RBI single to center, retying the game 2-2, then scored three times in the fifth to take the lead. Parmentier drove home Darius Blackmon to put Alton ahead 3-2, and sending Joe Connolly to third. Connolly and Parmentier then executed a double steal, with Parmentier swiping second, and Connolly the plate to make the score 4-2. R.J. LaRocco, Jr. then singled back to the box to bring in Parmentier to make it 5-2. In the seventh, Melton drove in Parmentier with a triple to right to extend the lead to 6-2, and LaRocco grounded out to the first baseman unassisted. Melton scoring to push the lead to 7-2.
As it turned out, the River Dragons would need every run, as in the eighth, Kowalski drew a bases-loaded walk to force home Carson McCaleb, then Allen singled home both Henley Parker and Malott to cut the lead to 7-5. A bases-loaded balk scored Kowalski, but the Catfish could get no closer, as the Alton relief pitching shut down Cape to preserve the 7-6 win.
In addition to Parmentier, Melton and Aguallo's performances at the plate, Alton saw LaRocco have a hit and two RBIs, both Connolly and Blackmon had a hit, and Sur drove in a run. Lucas Johns started on the mound and pitched three innings, giving up two runs, one earned, on three hits, walking seven and striking out two. Jack Gazdacka went 1.2 innings, allowing only one hit, while walking one, Bryce Louis went for three innings to earn the win, allowing one hit and walked one, Logan Geggus of Edwardsville pitched 0.1 innings, allowing four runs on two hits, walking three and fanning one, and Harrison Dubois picked up his fourth save of the year, pitching the final 1.2 innings, striking out four.
The River Dragons and Rockabillys meet in the second game of Alton's home stand Thursday night, which concludes Friday night against the Hoots, with both games starting at 6:35 p.m. Alton goes on the road on Saturday night at the Normal Cornbelters in a game that starts at 6:30 p.m., then host the Rockabillys again on Sunday at 5:35 p.m.
More like this:
