BELLEVILLE - Clayton McCormick pitched a magnificent game on Friday afternoon, July 2, 2026, allowing only one run while striking out seven, as Kaden Witsken drove in three runs on a bases-clearing double to help Alton Post 126's junior American Legion baseball team take a 5-1 win over the Rawlings Tigers Mach under-16 team in the Play 9 tournament at Belleville West High School.
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The win made it back-to-back victories for the junior Legionnaires, who improved to 13-7-1 heading into the final week of the summer regular season, with the District 22 playoffs set to begin in mid-July.
Alton jumped in front with a run in the bottom of the second to go ahead 1-0, then Witsken delivered his big hit in the third, scoring all three runs in the inning to give the junior Legionnaires a 4-0 lead, with Alton scoring a single run in the fifth to go up 5-0. The Tigers scored a consolation run in the top of the seventh to make the 5-1 final.
Witsken was the offensive leader for Post 126 with a hit and three RBIs, while both Chris Rayfield and Triston Ferguson had a hit and RBI each, and Will McCormick, Fletcher Groppel, and Auggie Landuyt also had hits. Clayton McCormick went six innings on the mound to get the win, allowing an unearned run on five hits, walking one and striking out seven. Will McCormick pitched in the seventh, not allowing a hit or run, walking none and fanning one.
Post 126 is set to finish the regular season Monday against Jerseyville Post 492, and against Patoka Post 543 on Tuesday, both games starting at 6 p.m. at Lloyd Hopkins Field in Gordon Moore Park.
The District 22 playoffs, a double-elimination tournament, are set for July 9-12 at various sites around the District.
