TRENTON - As their senior counterparts did last week, the Alton Post 126 junior American Legion baseball team's journey to a possible Illinois Fifth Division tournament championship will go through the losers bracket of the double-elimination affair.
Jerseyville scored all of its runs in the middle innings to take an 8-0 win over the junior Legionnaires in the opening round of the tournament Monday evening in Trenton, relegating Alton to the losers bracket of the tournament.
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It was a close game for the first three innings, with both teams scoreless, with Jerseyville then scoring four times in the fourth inning to take the lead, then scoring two times in both the fifth and sixth innings to solidify their lead and win 8-0 to advance into the semifinals of the five-team tournament.
Max Holmes led the way for Alton with two hits, while Seth Slayden, Logan Bogard and Jon Webb had the only other hits for the Junior Legionnaires on the night. Smith and Vogel had two hits for Jerseyville, Meador, Heafner and Brunaugh added hits. Brunaugh had two RBI. Smith pitched all seven innings and struck out eight in a five-hitter. Vogel scored two runs.
Slayden started on the mound for Alton and went four innings, allowing six runs on six hits, walking two and striking out one, with Holmes throwing the final two innings, giving up a two runs on two hits, while walking none and no strikeouts.
Jerseyville advances to a winners bracket game against Orient Tuesday evening at 7 p.m., with the loser playing the junior Legionnaires Wednesday evening in the losers bracket, with the first pitch coming at 5 p.m. The winner moves on to a game against the loser of the other winners bracket semifinal between Steeleville and Trenton Thursday evening at 5 p.m., and the winner of that game moves to the losers bracket final against the loser of the winners bracket final Friday evening at 7 p.m. The top two teams in the tournament advance to the Illinois state tournament, with the Division final coming on Saturday at 11 a.m., with a second game to be played 30 minutes after the end of the first game if necessary.
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