ALTON - Camden Siebert and Drake Champlin both had two hits each, while Champlin struck out six in three-and-two-thirds innings on the mound, but the Breese Gray junior American Legion baseball team scored twice in both the fourth and sixth innings to take a 5-2 win over Alton Post 126's junior team in a game played Thursday evening at Lloyd Hopkins Field in Gordon Moore Park in Alton.
The junior Legionnaires will face Breese Gray again on Sunday as the team continues preparing for the upcoming District 22 tournament, which will be held July 14-17 in Valmeyer.
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On Thursday, after a scoreless first inning, Breese took the lead with a run in the second, with Alton equalizing in the home half of the third to tie the game at 1-1. Breese then scored twice in the fourth to go up 3-1, while the junior Legionnaires scored a single run in the bottom of the fifth to pull within 3-2. Breese then clinched the game with a two-run sixth to take their 5-2 win.
Siebert and Champlin led the way for Alton with their two hits each, while both Reece Girth and Eli Lawrence had a hit and RBI apiece.
Champlin pitched well for the junior Legionnaires, allowing three runs on four hits, all earned, while fanning six in his three-and-two-thirds innings, with Devon Barboza throwing in the final three-and-one-third innings, allowing two runs, one earned, on five hits while walking two and striking out two.
Alton starts its final stretch into the District 22 tournament on Saturday morning, going up against Troy on the road in a 10 a.m. start, then plays a split doubleheader at Breese, meeting the Gray team at 11 a.m., then goes up against Harrisburg at 2 p.m., then meets up against Troy in its final home game of the season Tuesday evening in a 6 p.m. first pitch. The District 22 tournament will be played in Valmeyer, after which the junior Legionnaires conclude its regular season with a doubleheader at Jerseyville July 18 at 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. The Fifth Division tournament is set for Steeleville July 22-24 and the state tournament will be played at Trenton's Pete Schumacher Field July 28-31.
