ST. LOUIS - The Alton Post 126 under-16 red junior American Legion baseball team pulled off their biggest wins of the season, defeating the Adidas Athletics Gold team of suburban St. Louis 6-3, then winning over the Inevitable A's team, also of suburban St. Louis, 9-0 to win the Up and Coming World Series tournament on Sunday in St Louis.
The Up and Coming organization sponsors youth baseball tournaments around the area and Midwest, attracting many select and traveling teams from around the area and Midwest.
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In the semifinal game against the Athletics, Adidas took the lead with a two-run second inning, but the junior Legionnaires scored five times in the top of the third to go ahead for good, then scored once in the fifth, then Adidas scored a single run in the top of the sixth, but could come no closer as Alton advanced to the final.
Reese Bohlen led Alton with two hits and two RBIs, while Alex Pilger had a hit and drove in two runs, Cooper Harris had a hit and RBI, and Reid Murray also came up with a RBI. Logan Hickman started on the mound and went five innings to get the win, allowing two runs on three hits, walking five and striking out nine. Drake Champlin pitched in the sixth to earn the save, giving up a run on two hits, walking one and fanning one.
In the final against the Inevitable A's, the junior Legionnaires scored twice in the second, fourth, and fifth innings, adding on three runs in the third, to take an early-termination win in five innings.
Hickman led Post 126 with three hits and a RBI, while Dagen Cordes had two hits, both Dane Godar and Murray had a hit and two RBIs, Bohlen had a hit and RBI, Joe Stephan and Kadin Carlisle both came up with a hit, and Pilger also drove in a run. Gavin Ipanis went all the way on the mound, scattering two hits while walking one and striking out four.
The junior Legionnaires play a District 22 game at Valmeyer's Borsch Park on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m., then play in the Fike Post 499 wood bat tournament in Blue Springs, Mo., June 28-30, finishing the regular season at the TB24 tournament hosted by Danville Post 210 the weekend of July 5-7.
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