Campbell, Darr Both Have Three Hits, Briggs, Crump Have Two Hits Each, But Southwestern Takes 6-4 Win Over Shells

ROXANA - Reed Campbell and Rocky Darr both had three hits, while Ryan Lowis and both Parker and Colin LeMarr drove in runs as Piasa Southwestern took a 6-4 win over Roxana in a baseball game played Friday afternoon at Roxana City Park.

The game was a key one for both teams, as both the Piasa Birds and Shells are off to good starts, and wanted to keep their momentum going in the early part of the season.

Both teams traded a run each in the first inning, with Roxana going on top with two runs in the bottom of the fifth to go ahead 3-1. The two teams again traded runs in the sixth inning to give the Shells a 4-2 advantage, but Southwestern came up with four runs in the top of the seventh to take the win 6-4.

To go along with Campbell and Darr's three hits on the day for the Birds, Colin LeMarr and Lowis each had a hit and RBI, Adam Hale and Marcus Payne both had a hit each, and Parker LeMarr drove home a run.

Aidan Briggs and Mason Crump both led Roxana with two hits apiece, while Kael Hester had a hit and the Shells' only RBI, and both Kyle Campbell and Dalton Carriker had a hit each.

Southwestern's head coach Brian Hanslow said his team had a good comeback and had a lot better bats in the final two innings than the first five.

“The weather became an issue with the wind and I feel there is still a rivalry between Roxana and Southwestern in both baseball and basketball," Hanslow said. "We were fortunate to be able to take advantage of some of Roxana’s mistakes and get the win."

Roxana head coach Jerry Wheaton said Roxana and Southwestern have a long-standing rivalry and it was a good battle on Friday afternoon.

“Southwestern always puts out competitive teams,” he said. “Our story over the last week is we can’t finish a game right now. Mason Crump pitched a great first five and two-thirds innings but ran out of pitch count. He had 13 strikeouts. Briggs also had a couple of key hits tonight.”

Landon Siitze pitched the final 1.1 innings, allowing four runs on three hits, issuing three walks and fanning one.

The Birds are now 4-1 on the year, and next play at Civic Memorial Tuesday at 4:30 p.m., then host a doubleheader against Jacksonville Routt Catholic next Saturday, Mar. 30, with the first game starting at 11 a.m, then play at Jacksonville April 1, in a 4:30 p.m. start.

Roxana meets up with Jacksonville at home Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m., then travel to Freeburg Tuesday and to Jersey on Wednesday, before hosting Breese Central Thursday, all games starting at 4:30 p.m.

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