BELLEVILLE – A Jack Ysursa two-run single in the home half of the second inning, along with a strong pitching performance by Will Lanxon, was enough to give Belleville Post 74 a 3-1 win over Alton Post 126 in the opener of the Illinois American Legion District 22 baseball playoffs Sunday night at Whitey Herzog Field in Belleville.
It was the second win in the last three days for the Hilgards over the Legionnaires, with Belleville having taken an 8-7 win in eight innings in the regular-season finale on Friday night.
The Legionnaires had a good chance in the opening inning, with a one-out double by Gage Booten, but a ground out and a strikeout ended the chance. In the bottom of the second, Hunter Grupe led off the inning by reaching on an error, and a subsequent double put runners on second and third with nobody out. Ysursa then singled to center to score both runners, giving the Hilgards a 2-0 lead. A pop out and an Adam Stilts strikeout kept Ysursa on first, but Lanxon singled to keep the inning alive. A strikeout concluded the inning.
The Legionnaires had an opportunity to tie the game in the top of the third, starting with a lead-off walk to Preston Schepers, who was sacrificed to second by Owen Macias. Jayce Maag then drew a walk to put runners on first and second, but a foul out and a line out to second on a hard-hit ball concluded the inning.
Alton pulled to within 2-1 in the top of the fourth. Kopsie reached on an error, going to third on the play, and scored on Ryan Best’s RBI single to left. Stilts then hit a grounder to force Kopsie at second for the first out, and an Owen Stendebach single advanced Stilts to second, giving the Legionnaires a chance to tie the game. A pair of strikeouts ended the inning, preserving Belleville’s lead.
Ysursa struck again in the bottom of the inning, doubling home a run after a lead-off single that started the bottom of the fourth, restoring the Hilgards’ two-run lead at 3-1. A pop-out to short, a grounder to first and a fly out to center ended the inning for Belleville.
The Legionnaires nearly tied the game in the sixth, as Kopsie walked to start the inning, and two outs later, Kopsie stole second. Stendebach singled sharply to left. Kopsie was thrown out at the plate for the final out, keeping the Belleville lead at 3-1.
Schepers was hit by a pitch to start the seventh, but the Legionnaires were retired in order after that, preserving the 3-1 win for Belleville.
Stilts threw a complete game for Alton, giving up seven hits while fanning five. Lanxon went six-and-a-third innings for the Hilgards, giving up four hits while striking out six.
The loss dropped the Legionnaires to 16-8 on the season, and Alton will now play in the losers’ bracket of the double-elimination tournament, playing in an elimination game against the loser of the New Athens-Highland game on the road, as Roy E. Lee Field at SIU-Edwardsville, the Legionnaires home field, is unavailable. The date and time of the next game has yet to be announced. The District 22 winner will advance to the Fifth Division tournament July 19-23 in Fairfield, with the division winner going on to the Illinois state tournament in Barrington, in northwest suburban Chicago.
