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ALTON – An eighth-inning error by Zach Vaughn allowed Jackson Brooks to score the winning run as Alton won a see-saw game over Civic Memorial 11-10 Saturday afternoon at Alton High’s ballpark.
It was a game where the lead changed hands frequently, with the Eagles tying things up in their half of the sixth to force extra innings, but the Redbirds came up with the win.
CM got on the board in the opening inning on a bases-loaded two-out walk to Will Buhs that forced home Nick Walker, but Alton tied it in the bottom of the inning, courtesy of an Adam Stilts pop single to short that scored Nathan Lemons to bring the Redbirds level at 1-1. The Eagles then got three in the second, starting on a Zach Vaughn single that scored Nic Vaughn, a wild pitch that brought home Zach Vaughn and a double steal that saw Bryce Zupan score to make it 4-1 for the Eagles.
Alton countered with four in the bottom half, with a Michael Reeder one-out double that scored Tyler Steward, a Robby Taul double that scored Reeder, Leo Taul scoring on a passed ball to tie the game, and a Dylan Lahue base hit that brought in Robby Taul to give the Redbirds a 5-4 lead.
The Eagles retied the game in the top of the fourth with two out. Gavin Lyday and Grant Lane drew walks, and Lyday scored on a Buhs single to left. The Redbirds gained the lead back in the bottom of the inning, starting with runners on first and third and nobody out. Robby Taul scored and Lahue went to second on what was called defensive indifference, and one out later, Brooks doubled to center to score two more runs and make the score 8-5 Alton.
The Redbirds extended their lead in the fifth as Robby Taul doubled to center to score Reeder and make it 9-5. The Eagles then rallied in the top of the sixth, as with one out, Nick Vaughn doubled in a pair of runs, then one out later, Zach Vaughn singled home Eli Smock and Nick Vaughn to tie the game at 9-9.
Alton took the lead right back in the bottom of the sixth on a two-out single by Reeder that gave the Redbirds a 10-9 lead. But the Eagles were able to tie the game again in the seventh, thanks to a one-out solid single to center by Lane that scored Zupan with the tying run. Lane then stole second and went to third on a throwing error by the catcher, but Robby Taul struck out Buhs and got Stock to ground to third to end the inning. Alton went down in their half of the seventh to force extra innings.
CM had a threat going in the top of the eighth, with one out singles by Keaton Loewen and Zach Vaughn, but Walker flew to left and Zupan grounded to third to end the inning. In the bottom of the eighth, Brooks singled to get things started for the Redbirds, and Steward reached on an error to put the winning run in scoring position. Caleb Noble struck out and Reeder forced Steward at second, with Brooks moving to third. Reeder then scored on an error by Zach Vaughn to give the Redbirds the 11-10 win.
Robby Taul was two-for-four with two RBIs, while Reeder was three-for-five with two RBIs for the Redbirds. Brooks also had two RBIs for Alton.
Zach Vaughn went three-for-five with three RBIs for the Eagles, while Nick Vaughn was two-for-four with two RBIs. Buhs also had a pair of RBIs for CM.
Robby Taul got the win for the Redbirds, striking out two, while Riley Phillips and Zach Knight had three strikeouts pitching. Nick Vaughn struck out four for the Eagles.
“I think offensively, we’ve turned the corner,” said CM head coach Nick Smith. “We’ve been struggling offensively, but I think our guys came up with some good at-bats, and put some clutch hits together.”
“We gave them some extra outs, and Alton took advantage of them,” Smith said. “We’ll get back to work, and sure those things up.”
“I feel like it was a game we could have won,” Smith said. “If you score 10 runs, you need to win those ball games.”
The Redbirds are now 2-4 and play Thursday at Granite City in a 4:30 p.m. start, while CM drops to 3-3 and travels to Piasa Southwestern for a game on Tuesday, with a 4:30 p.m. first pitch.
Colin Feeney also contributed to this story.
