Alton Legion Under-15 Team Splits Pair, Loses To Calhoun, Defeats Jerseyville, Under-17 Team Loses As Jerseyville Scored In Bottom Of Ninth  

JERSEYVILLE - The Alton Post 126 American Legion junior baseball teams split a pair of games on Tuesday in Jerseyville, with the under-15 team scoring three runs in the top of the seventh to defeat the Post 492 under-15 team 8-5, while the under-17 team lost as Jerseyville scored in the bottom of the ninth to win 4-3.

In a game played on Monday night on the road, a three-run bottom of the first was enough to give Calhoun's junior Legion team a 4-1 win over the junior Legionnaires in Hardin.

In the game on Monday night, Calhoun scored three times in the bottom of the first, with both teams trading runs in the second, which would be all the scoring in the game as Calhoun won 4-1.

Both Joe Stephan and Reece Bohlen had two hits each for Post 126, while Dane Godar had the only other hit and Blake Rensing drove in the only run of the game. Reid Murray started on the mound and pitched one inning, allowing three runs, two earned, on three hits, walking two and striking out one. Alex Pilger pitched the rest of the way, going five innings and giving up an unearned run on three hits, fanning five.

In Tuesday's game against Jerseyville, both teams traded runs in the first before Post 492 scored a run in the home half of the second, then scored another run in the fourth to go ahead 3-1, with Post 126 scoring four runs in the top of the sixth to go up 5-3. Jerseyville scored twice in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game at 5-5, but Alton scored three runs in the top of the seventh to take their 8-5 win.

Murray led the way for the junior Legionnaires with two hits and three RBIs, while Jack Puent had a pair of hits and an RBI, both Rensing and Dagan Cordes had two hits each, Godar, Logan Hickman and Pilger each had a hit and RBI and Bohlen had a hit. Stephan started on the mound and went three innings, allowing two runs, one earned, on four hits while walking three and striking out two. Godar threw 2.1 innings, giving up three runs on four hits, all while walking two and fanning two and Pilger went the final 1.2 innings to gain the win, giving up two hits while walking two and striking out three.

In the extra inning game between Jerseyville and the young Legionnaires that followed on Tuesday, it was a pitcher's duel for the first five innings, both teams being held scoreless until Alton broke through with two runs in the top of the sixth, but Jerseyville came back with three in the bottom of the inning to go ahead 3-2. Post 126 tied the game with a run in the seventh, but Post 492 scored in the bottom of the ninth to take the win 4-3.

Camden Siebert led Alton with two hits, while both Drake Champlin and Carsen Bristow each had a hit and RBI and both Will Henkhaus and D. Nation had a hit apiece. Champlin started on the mound and went six innings, allowing three runs, none earned, on five hits while striking out seven. Nation pitched the final 2.1 innings and was charged with the loss, giving up one run on three hits while fanning one.

The junior Legionnaires are off until Saturday, when they play at Breese #2 in a doubleheader, with games starting at 1 and 3 p.m., then play against the young Legionnaires Monday at Lloyd Hopkins Field in Gordon Moore Park Monday at 6 p.m., host Highland next June 27 at 6 p.m. and wind up June with a game against Trenton June 30 at 7 p.m. The under-17 team plays East St. Louis at Lloyd Hopkins Field Wednesday night at 6 p.m., then play at a tournament in Carlyle Friday through Sunday. After the under-15 vs. under-17 game on Monday, the young Legionnaires host Piasa Southwestern High's summer team on June 28, with a start time of 5:30 p.m. then wind up the month with a doubleheader at Breese #1 June 30, the first game starting at 6 p.m.

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