FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS – Alton American Legion Post 126’s baseball team won a pair of games Saturday in the opening day of play in the Firecracker baseball tournament at Moody Park in Fairview Heights, the Legionnaires taking a 3-0 win over Odin/Patoka, Ill., and an 8-1 win over New Athens to go to 2-0 in their group.
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Post 126 was scheduled to meet Festus, Mo., at 10 a.m. today and finish group play at 7:30 p.m. this evening against Wheaton, Ill.; the semifinals and final are set for 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Monday at Whitey Herzog Field in Belleville.
Against Odin, Alton scored twice in the second from a Cullen McBride single that brought in Bryce Parish and from a Ryan Best single that scored McBride to put Post 126 up 2-0; in the fifth, Alton got an insurance run off an Ethan Kopsie pop-single that scored Elijah Dannenbrink.
Kopsie was 3-for-3 for Alton with a double and RBI to lead Post 126 in the game; Wesley Laaker struck out six in getting the win.
Against New Athens, Alton broke open the game with a three-run fifth and two-run sixth, highlighted by a two-run McBride single in the sixth that scored Adam Stilts and Dannenbrink. Stilts doubled twice while Dannenbrink and Jayce Maag also had doubles on the game; McBride, Gage Booten and Stilts each had two runs for Post 126. Stilts went the distance for the win, dismissing six by strikeout.
Alton falls twice Sunday in Firecracker Classic
Alton American Legion Post 126’s baseball team fell twice in Sunday’s group play of the Firecracker Classic baseball tournament at Moody Park in Fairview Heights Sunday.
The Legionnaires dropped a 1-0 decision to Festus, Mo., Post 253 Sunday morning, then was eliminated from the tournament with a 7-2 loss to Wheaton, Ill., Post 76 Sunday night. Post 126 finished group play with a 2-2 record.
Against Festus, the only run of the game came in the top of the sixth on an RBI single, the runner scoring from second. Jayce Maag had a double for Post 126 while Ben Mossman had the only other hit for Alton; Michael Reeder went the distance for the Legionnaires in taking the loss, striking out two and giving up just five hits in the game.
Wheaton got out to a 4-2 lead on Alton in the Sunday night finale through three innings before Wheaton once in the sixth and twice in the seventh to run out winners on the night. Maag, Cullen McBride and Zaide Wilson each had hits for Alton in the game. Simon Ngyuen, Bryce Parish, Zach Knight, Nathan Lemons and Adam Stilts all saw time on the mound for Alton in the game.
The semifinals of the tournament are set for 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. today at Whitey Herzog Field in Belleville, with the final scheduled for 3 p.m.
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