Post 120 hammers Stew-Stras, finishes 2-2 at Firecracker

Dustin White

MATTOON — Effingham Post 120 already knew it had no chance at a semifinal berth heading into Sunday's game at the Mattoon Senior American Legion Firecracker Classic, but it was still able to have an impact on the tournament's final four.

Post 120 throttled Stewardson-Strasburg Post 289/611 by a 10-1 margin at Peterson Park's Grimes Field, the final pool play contest of the meet after Saturday play was called off due to rain.

Games with no impact on deciding pool winners or the wild card semifinalist were canceled and the times for Sunday's semifinals and finals were pushed back, and Stew-Stras still had a chance to move on as the wild card if it could knock off Effingham in a game originally scheduled for Saturday.

Instead, Effingham played spoiler and racked up 10 hits after managing just 18 in the tournament's first three games, ending pool play with a 2-2 record. Stew-Stras had the same mark, while Newburgh, Ind., advanced to the final four with four wins in as many tries only to get thumped 12-1 by Mattoon.

Effingham lost to Newburgh by a 3-1 tally in Friday action with an anemic offensive attack that saw all of three hits off the Post 120 bats. Two of those were back-to-back infield singles from John Logan Zink and Danny Winkler.

Teutopolis Post 924 also missed out on a semifinal berth with a 2-1 Sunday loss to Mount Vernon, Ind. Tony Zerrusen had three more hits to finish off a great tournament run, but T-town had just two more from the rest of its lineup and also finished pool play at 2-2.

After four games this week, Effingham will once again host District 23 East tournament play beginning Monday.

"We know we've got to start playing with a little more intensity," said Post 120 manager Kenny Miller. "We've got mostly home games this week, and there will be no excuse to be flat. There's absolutely no reason the kids shouldn't be out there playing for spots in the postseason."

Sunday

Effingham 10, Stew-Stras 1

Tied 1-1 after four innings, Post 120's skipper decided it was time for a little pep talk.

"We came into the game relaxed and lighthearted, but the guys were still pressing," said Miller. "I decided to get after them after the fourth."

Perhaps Miller's motivational speech did some good.

Jeremy Jansen, who led the team in hitting up until slipping into a serious slump in recent days, broke the tie with an RBI double to score pinch-runner Marty Jansen after Tyler Ohnesorge reached on an error to start the inning and Derek Meinhart worked a one-out walk.

Following Jansen's double, Ben Mehl laced a two-run single to left and Zink tomahawked a two-run homer over the left field fence to make it 6-1 and chase Stew-Stras starter Ben Kemme out of the game.

"It was nice to see some pop out of the bats today," said Miller, whose club had scored all of four runs in its prior three Firecracker games. "We also pitched well and defended well, which hasn't really been a problem for us lately."

Chad Green overcame a shaky first inning to go the six-inning distance as Effingham won via the six-run run after six innings.

Green struck out eight and walked only one, scattering six hits. Brian Suckow tagged him for an RBI single in the first inning after Luke Rincker led off the first with a liner over first and moved up on Clayton Brandt's walk.

After Suckow's run-scoring liner to left, Green held Stew-Stras 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and threw 17 first-pitch strikes to 25 batters.

Effingham took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first and could've had more with a bit better baserunning. Chase Green lined an infield single hard off third baseman Luke Levitt and moved up on a passed ball, but was hung up for a rundown out on Derek Meinhart's chopper back to Kemme on the edge of the mound.

Meinhart managed to take second on the play and made it to third on Jansen's pop single falling in behind shortstop. Mehl shot a single over second to get Meinhart home, but Jansen was gunned down at second as he rounded the bag too far and couldn't make it back in time.

Suckow got two outs in the fifth to stop the bleeding for Stew-Stras, but Austin Miley started the sixth and couldn't find the zone as he loaded the bases with two walks and a hit batter. After walking Zink to bring in a run, Miley was lifted for Justin Mechling, who surrendered a three-run double down the third base line from Cody McCollum.

Mehl, Zink and McCollum, hitting fourth, fifth and sixth, accounted for nine of Effingham's 10 RBIs. Widdersheim, Levitt and Kyle Helmuth also had base hits for Stew-Stras.

Friday

Newburgh 3, Effingham 1

Jordan Amlong threw well for Effingham, but Post 120 couldn't hold a slim lead after manufacturing its only run of the game in the third.

Zink led off with a four-pitch walk from Newburgh starter Ben Wright, and Danny Winkler laid down a successful sacrifice to get him to second. After Marty Jansen struck out, Chase Green broke up the no-hitter with an RBI single over first base.

Wright, a tall righthander with good velocity and a better off-speed breaker, cruised the rest of the way as both infield hits came in the fifth and resulted in no scoring.

Meanwhile, his offense got the run back and one more in the home half of the third on a two-run, two-out double into the left field corner. A ringing double in the fifth and a two-out RBI single in the fifth doubled the lead.

Amlong allowed eight hits and didn't walk anybody, recording four strikeouts.

Dustin White can be reached at 217-347-7151 ext. 123 or dustin.white@effinghamdailynews.com.

Mattoon Senior American Legion Firecracker Classic

At Grimes Field

Peterson Park, Mattoon

Pool Play

Sunday

EFFINGHAM

------------ab--r--h--bi

Cs Green ss----3--1--2--0

Meinhart dh---3--2--0--0

Cd Green p----0--0--0--0

J. Jansen cf----3--2--2--1

Mehl 1b-------3--2--2--3

Zink 2b--------3--2--1--3

McCollum 3b---4--0--1--3

Westendorf c--4--0--2--0

Amlong rf-----3--0--0--0

Ohnesorge lf--2--0--0--0

M. Jansen lf---1--1--0--0

TOTALS------29-10-10-10

STEW-STRAS

---------------ab--r--h--bi

Rincker rf--------3--1--1--0

Brandt 2b--------2--0--1--0

Widdersheim 1b--3--0--1--0

Suckow ss--------3--0--1--1

Miley dh---------2--0--0--0

Kemme p--------0--0--0--0

Mechling p-------1--0--0--0

Levitt 3b---------2--0--1--0

Wascher ph-------1--0--0--0

Helmuth lf--------3--0--1--0

Helton c----------2--0--0--0

Tucker cf---------2--0--0--0

TOTALS----------24--1--6--1

Effingham---100---054---—----10

Stew-Stras--100---000---—-----1

E — McCollum, Widdersheim, Kemme, Helton. LOB — Effingham 7, Stew-Stras 6. DP — Effingham 1, Stew-Stras 1. 2B — J. Jansen, McCollum, Widdersheim. HR — Zink (5th, 1 on). SB — Cs Green.

PITCHING SUMMARY

-------------IP--H--R-ER-BB-SO

Effingham

Cd. Green (W)--6--6--1--1--1--8

Stew-Stras

Kemme (L)--4.1--8--6--5--1--3

Suckow------.2--0--0--0--0--2

Miley--------.1--0--4--4--3--1

Mechling-----.2--2--0--0--0--0

WP — Cd Green, Miley. PB — Helton. HBP — Mehl (by Miley), Amlong (by Suckow). T — 1:34.

Friday

EFFINGHAM

------------ab--r--h--bi

Cs Green ss----3--0--1--1

McCollum 3b--3--0--0--0

Meinhart c----2--0--0--0

A. Wright cr---0--0--0--0

Mehl 1b------3--0--0--0

Cd Green dh--3--0--0--0

Amlong p----0--0--0--0

J. Jansen cf---3--0--0--0

Zink 2b------2--1--1--0

Winkler rf----2--0--1--0

M. Jansen lf--1--0--0--0

TOTALS-----22--1--3--1

NEWBURGH, IND.

-----------ab--r--h--bi

Cannon 2b----3--1--1--0

Coudret ss----3--1--2--0

Shoulders cf--3--0--1--1

Burress 1b----3--0--2--2

Oeth c-------3--0--0--0

Kolley dh-----3--0--1--0

B. Wright p---0--0--0--0

Deutsch 3b---3--0--0--0

Ison rf-------2--0--0--0

Henson lf-----2--1--1--0

TOTALS------25--3--8--3

Effingham--001---000---0---—---1

Newburgh--002---010---x---—---3

LOB — Effingham 4, Newburgh 4. DP — Newburgh 1. 2B — Cannon, Burress. SAC — Winkler, M. Jansen.

PITCHING SUMMARY

-------------IP--H--R-ER-BB-SO

Effingham

Amlong (L)----6--8--3--3--0--4

Newburgh, Ind.

B. Wright (W)--7--3--1--1--2--5

T — 1:24.

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