DES PERES, MO. - Will McCormick drove in three runs, while pitcher Fletcher Groppel went all the way on the mound, striking out three, as the Alton under-15 red junior American Legion baseball team won over Kirkwood Post 156 12-1 in a game played at The Principia High School in Des Peres, Mo.
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The young Legionnaires went out to a 12-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning by scoring five runs each in the second and fourth innings, sandwiched around a two-run third, while Kirkwood scored its only run in the bottom of the fourth, with Alton winning 12-1 after the fifth inning, due to the 10-run rule.
McCormick led the young Legionnaires with two hits and three RBIs, while Zach Thornton came up with two hits, Cy Courtney had a hit and two RBIs, Chris Rayfield, Dylan Vandiver, and Aiden Duncan all had a hit and RBI each, and both Auggie Landuyt and Nolan Pichee had hits.
Groppel pitched a six-inning complete game for the win, allowing an earned run on three hits, walking none and striking out three.
The young Legionnaires play twice this weekend at the Bethalto Sports Complex, hosting De Soto, Mo., Friday night at 6 p.m., and St. Peters, Mo., Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. Post 126, then hosts Smithton at Lloyd Hopkins Field in Gordon Moore Park Wednesday evening at 6 p.m, then play in the Wheaton Post 76 junior tournament in Carol Stream, Ill. over Fourth of July weekend.
