PERU, Ill. - Eddie King hit a first inning two-run homer to set the pace, and Alton's Adam Stilts carried on, striking out seven in six innings of work on the mound as the Alton River Dragons defeated the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp 9-2 in a key Prospect League game Monday night at Veterans Memorial Park in Peru.
The win pulled the River Dragons one-half game ahead of the Springfield Lucky Horseshoes for second place in the Prairie Land Division of the Western Conference, but still trail the now-first place Cape Catfish of Cape Girardeau, Mo. by a game-and-a-half in the second half standings. Alton is now 11-13 in the second half and 29-26 overall.
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King started the game off with his two-run homer over the left field fence to give the River Dragons a 2-0 lead. The Pistol Shrimp tied the game on a first inning RBI single by Jack Johnston and a RBI single in the second by Evan Evola to draw level at 2-2. On the Evola single, another runner was thrown out at the plate to keep the score tied.
The Dragons went on to score seven unanswered runs to take the game. It started with a RBI single by Edwardsville's Blake Burris to put Alton up 3-2 in the third, then Alton expanded the lead in the fourth when Alton's Mike Hampton drew a bases loaded walk, forcing home a run to make it 4-2. The River Dragons then put the game away in the eighth, scoring five times. The scoring started when Burris reached on a botched fielder's choice that left everyone safe and allowed a run to score to make it 5-2. King then reached on an error by the shortstop, allowing two runs to score to make it 7-2. Burris and King executed a double steal, Burris stealing the plate and King going to second that made the score 8-2, with the final run scoring on a ground out by Cameron Hailstone to give Alton the 9-2 win.
King was the leader for the River Dragons with two hits and four RBIs, while Burris had a hit and drove home two runs, Hampton had a hit and RBI, Erik Broekemeier from Metro-East Lutheran picked up a hit and Hailstone also drove in a run. Stilts pitched very well, allowing a pair of earned runs on eight hits while walking one and fanning seven to get the win, while Colton Huntt went the final three innings, only allowing a hit while striking out three to earn the save.
The River Dragons continue their final week of the regular season with a home game against the Quincy Gems Tuesday night at Lloyd Hopkins Field in Gordon Moore Park in a 6:35 p.m. start, then go on the road for the next three games, playing the first two in Iowa. Alton plays at the Clinton LumberKings Wednesday, then go to Burlington to play the Bees Thursday, then play a home-and-home set against the Horseshoes to finish the regular season. The first game is at Robin Roberts Stadium at Lanphier Park, with all games starting at 6:30 p.m., while the regular season finale second game of the series will be played at Lloyd Hopkins Field on Saturday night, with a 6:35 p.m. start.
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