SMITHTON - Nolan Parker had three hits and a RBI, while Joe Stephan had two hits and a RBI, and Drake Champlin struck out five in three innings of work on the mound, as Alton Post 126's senior American Legion baseball team took the first game of a best-of-three series for the District 22 championship over Marissa Post 172 10-0 Saturday evening at Smithton Park.
The Legionnaires were awarded the district championship on Sunday morning, July 20, 2025, when Marissa announced that they could not field a team for game two, and would forfeit the game 7-0, giving Alton the championship.
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Alton scored eight runs in the opening inning to put the game away early, adding on single runs in the fifth and sixth to take the 10-run rule win over Marissa.
In the bottom of the first inning, Dane Godar and Stephan drew walks to open the game, with both scoring on Ayden Calvert's triple to right field to give the Legionnaires a quick 2-0 lead. Champlin then drew a walk and Logan Bogard's sacrifice fly to center scored Calvert and sent Champlin to second to give Alton a 3-0 lead. Carsen Bristow then singled Champlin to third, with a walk to Parker loading the bases. Alex Pilger singled home courtesy runner Caleb Wonders to make it 4-0, with the bases remaining loaded. After a strikeout, Godar singled home Bristow to make it 5-0, the bases still being loaded. Stephan solved that problem with a bases-clearing double that scored three runs, making the score 8-0 after the first inning. Calvert was hit by a pitch to keep the inning alive, but a fly out ended the inning.
Champlin got out of a mini-jam in the second, and it would be as close as Marissa would be to scoring a run in the game, as Champlin was solid on the mound. Alton picked up a ninth run in the fifth, starting with a Parker single, but he was thrown out at second attempting to steal. Wonders picked him up with a base hit, and went to second on a wild pitch, with Landon Sitze drawing a walk. Wonders went to third on a wild pitch, and Sitze later stole second, with Wonders scoring when the throw to second got away, making it 9-0.
Stephan led off the sixth with single, but was forced at second on a grounder hit by Calvert. One out later, Calvert went to second on a wild pitch, Bogard drew a walk, Bristow was hit by a pitch to load the bases again, and Calvert scored on Parker's game-ending RBI single, making it 10-0 and ending the game because of the 10-run rule.
Parker led Post 126 with three hits and a RBI, while Stephan had two hits and drove home three runs, Calvert had a hit and two RBIs, Godar and Pilger each had a hit and RBI, Bristow, and Wonder both had hits, and Bogard drove in a run. Champlin went three innings to pick up the win on the mound, allowing only two hits, while walking one and striking out five, while Sitze went the final three innings, allowing only a hit while walking one and fanning four.
With the game two forfeit, Alton now advances to the Fifth Division tournament at Trenton July 24-27, and will play the District 25 winner Thursday evening at 5 p.m., at Trenton Community Park. The division champions advance to the Illinois state tournament in Rantoul July 30-Aug. 3, wth the Illinois winner advancing to the Great Lakes regional at Lee Pfund Stadium in Carol Stream, in suburban Chicago, Aug. 6-10. The regional champion goes on to the 100th Anniversary Legion World Series Aug. 13-18 in its traditional home of Shelby, N.C.
