Unlike many high school baseball teams, which has plenty of time for the players to come together and get used to each other, summer teams sometimes have go through a few bumps in the road early on.
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In some ways, you could make a case for that argument based on Alton American Legion Post 126's junior team, which just came together for the first time a few days ago. Made up of players from Bunker Hill, Gillespie, Roxana, East Alton-Wood River and Alton, the team had its first workout of the summer just a few days ago, then went right into action for the first time this year at Gordon Moore Park/Lloyd Hopkins Field Friday evening.
Post 126 had a quick-moving game for quite awhile against Post 253 from Festus, Mo., falling behind quickly but tying the game in the sixth to force extra innings. But in the eighth, Fenton scored five times – and needed every one of those runs as Post 126 rallied in the bottom of the eighth but fell just short and taking a 6-5 defeat.
“It's going to take us about three or four days to jel,” said Post 126 coach Dennis Sharp. “We had some baserunning mistakes and a couple of mental errors out there, but at the same time, we pushed back hard from being five runs down in the eighth. We competed well and right now that's what we're looking for.”
Sharp admitted it would take a few days for the players to get used to each other but is optimistic the junior Legionnaires can be a good team. “We're pretty solid overall; we have some depth and players who can play quite a few positions,” Sharp said. “We like to play teams like Festus first because they're quite a bit like us; a game like this will give us some idea of what playing (Illinois District 22) teams will be like.
“It's kind of a gauge to see where we stand and what we need to work on. As long as we can compete and work hard, we'll be fine.”
Festus, hailing from Jefferson County, Mo., south of the immediate St. Louis area, got on the board in the top of the first when Chandler Dix reached on a fielder's choice and went to second on an error by Post 126 catcher Jake Reiter. A Cain Mann single with two out then brought home Dix to put them ahead.
From there, Festus pitcher Andrew Douglas and Alton pitcher Tate Wargo settled in and pretty much got through each other's lineups with little trouble – that is, until the bottom of the sixth, when Alton's Steven Nguyen tripled to leftame home on an error by the Festus shortstop to draw Post 126 level. Festus threatened in the top of the seventh, but did not score, and Alton went down in order to send the game into extra innings.
In the Festus eighth, errors got Zac Meyer and Braden Cox on base with one out, and then with two out singled from Cole Martin and Matt Rosen brought home two runs to make it 3-1. A Jayden Coulos single brought in another run, and two more runs scored on a single from Dix to put Festus out to a seemingly safe 6-1 lead.
Alton answered in the bottom of the eighth when Wargo singled and Bryce McKinney and Steven Nguyen drew walks to load the bases. Steven Patten singled in Wargo before Storm Coffman singled in McKinney and Tyler Mokey doubled in two more runs to cut the lead to 6-5. Simon Nguyen walked to load the bases again, but Douglas managed to get the final two outs to preserve the win.
The junior Legionnaires, 0-1 on the season, travel to Valmeyer for a 2 p.m. Sunday doubleheader before taking on Belleville in a single game at 7:30 p.m. Monday.
