ALTON - Marcus Heusohn's walk-off RBI single scored Edwardsville's Blake Burris with the winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the Alton River Dragons a thrilling 9-8 win over the defending Prospect League champions Cape Catfish of Cape Girardeau, Mo., in a baseball game played Thursday night at Lloyd Hopkins Field at Gordon Moore Park.
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Heusohn had three hits and drove in two runs for Alton, while Gage Mestas had three hits and an RBI, Noah Bush had two hits and drove in a run, Burris and Daniel Contreras both had two hits apiece, Eddie King hit a three-run homer in the third for his only hit and RBIs, Troy Johnson hit a pinch solo homer in the eighth for his only hit and RBI and Chris Andrews also had a hit. Robby Taul of Alton High pitched four innings in relief to get the win, walking three and having no strikeouts, while Carson Richardson and Civic Memorial's Bryce Zupan each fanned two apiece.
The River Dragons have won the first two games of their current homestand and came after the Catfish tied the game in the top of the ninth on Cam Careswell's RBI single that scored Danny Sperling to tie the game at 8-8.
The two teams combined for 17 runs on 29 hits, starting with the Catfish scoring five times in the opening inning, while Alton countered with a single run in the bottom of the frame, then scored twice in the second and four times in the third to go ahead 7-5. Cape then scored a single run in the fifth and sixth innings to tie the game, with the Dragons taking the lead back at 8-7 with a run in the home half of the eighth.
Careswell's RBI single tied the game in the top of the ninth and forced extra innings, setting the scene for Heusohn's game-winning hit in the bottom of the 11th to give Alton the 9-8 win.
The River Dragons are now 10-5 overall, 8-3 in the Western Conference, and 8-2 at home, and play a home-and-home set against the Springfield Lucky Horseshoes Friday and Saturday, with the first game at Lloyd Hopkins Field Friday night at 6:35 p.m., then playing at Springfield's Robin Roberts Stadium at Lanphier Park Saturday at 6:30 p.m., then play a pair of games at the Clinton, Ia., LumberKings Sunday at 2 p.m. on Father's Day, then Monday night at 6:30 p.m. After a Tuesday off day, Alton hosts the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp of Peru Wednesday night in a 6:35 p.m. start, then play at home against the O'Fallon, Mo., Hoots, also starting at 6:35 p.m.
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