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Sports

Eureka, Lafayette Players Dominate Tourney

Redbirds Red team snag first title game slot for Greater Midwest Baseball Missouri-Illinois Bi-State Championships, thanks to 2-HR, 5-RBI game by Eureka High senior-to-be Spencer Stein.

LAKE ST. LOUIS – Saturday was red-letter day for the Rawlings summer baseball program, as three of its top teams emerged victorious in matchups against opponents from all over the region, and advanced to the final day of the Greater Midwest Baseball Missouri-Illinois Bi-State Championships.

The Redbirds Red group, which is made up of players from , , and Parkway North High Schools, earned its trip to the title game with an impressive 12-7 semifinal round win Saturday at Founder’s Park, over the Stallions Baseball Club of Wentzville and St. Peters.

Several Redbirds Red hitters had big days at the plate. Catcher Erik Schou (Lafayette) had three hits and an RBI, and second baseman Kyle Glennon (Lafayette) had two hits and three RBIs.

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But the standout star of the day was no doubt Eureka High senior-to-be Spencer Stein.

A slugging, left-handed hitting third baseman, Stein put on quite a show at Founder’s Park, blasting two long home runs, the first a 410-foot shot over the rightfield fence in the first inning, that gave Redbirds Red a 3-0 lead.

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In the second inning, Stein ripped another shot over the fence, his fourth home run of the summer, to cap a six-run Redbird Red inning that pushed the lead to 9-0.

After a brief scare in the Stallions fourth that made the score 11-7, Redbirds Red pitcher Corey Huskey (Parkway North) settled down, and retired the side in the fifth and sixth innings to ensure his team the win.

Earlier in the day, the Rawlings Redbirds White team earned itself an equally impressive win over a previously unbeaten to team, to advance to Sunday’s semifinal game.

The Redbirds White were 5-3 winners over the Southern Illinois Bullets, a team of all-stars from the Mt. Vernon, IL area, thanks to a brilliant performance on the mound by starter Matthew Goro.

A junior-to-be at Lafayette next fall, Goro pitched all seven innings, and allowed just the three runs on six hits, with six strikeouts and no walks, outdueling Bullets starter Cole Armstrong, an Illinois all-stater, who struck out 12 and walked two Redbirds on Saturday.

“(Goro) threw really well,” Redbirds White head coach Garrett Bauer said. “I thought he did a great job.”

At the plate, a pair of senior-to-be outfielders were the stars for Redbirds White, as Ed Pilgrim (Parkway West) and Tyler Kohl (Lafayette) did most of the damage.

Pilgrim had two hits, an RBI, and scored two runs; Kohl had three hits, an RBI, one scored, and two stolen bases; and both players played key roles in their team’s game-winning, seventh inning rally.  

Pilgrim led off the inning with a hit, and later scored on a Bullets’ error, and Kohl walked to reach base for the fourth time, then came around to score on a hit by John Voit (Lafayette).

“It seems like once you get out of pool play, and into tournament play, that’s when these games start to mean something,” Bauer said. “The intensity level, and energy was definitely better today.”

The final game of the day on Saturday proved to be another impressive win for another Rawlings team, as the Rawlings Prospects, a 16-under team with players from West County and St. Charles, held off Warriors Blue of South County for a 12-5 victory.

Second baseman Elliot Povis, a junior-to-be at DeSmet High next fall, had four hits and three RBIs to lead the Prospects, while Nick Ridenhour, a junior-to-be at Westminster Christian Academy, got the win, after six strong innings on the mound. 

Sunday, June 26

At Shaw Park – Clayton

10:30 am – Game 1 – Rawlings Redbirds White  vs.  Rawlings Prospects

12:30 pm – Championship Game – Rawlings Redbirds Red  vs.  Game 1 winner

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