ALTON - Talented hitter Aidan Hayes came up with three RBIs, while four different players had two RBIs each, as Alton Post 126's under-15 red junior American Legion baseball team scored eight runs in the fourth inning en route to an 18-8 win over the Smithton Post 937 Bandits junior team in a game played Wednesday evening, July 2, 2025, at Lloyd Hopkins Field in Gordon Moore Park.
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The young Legionnaires have four games left in the regular season, with three of them coming over the Fourth of July weekend, before beginning their postseason run in the District 22 playoffs July 10-13. Post 126 will also host the Illinois state tournament at Lloyd Hopkins Field July 24-27.
Smithton scored single runs in the first three innings, but the young Legionnaires scored twice in the first, three times in the second, and once in the third to take a 6-3 lead. The Bandits then scored four runs in the top of the fourth to go ahead 7-6, with Alton coming up with eight runs in the home half to take the lead for good at 14-7. Both sides traded runs in the fifth, with Post 126 scoring three times in the bottom of the sixth to take the 18-8 win, the game terminated by the 10-run rule.
Wyatt Harris led the young Legionnaires with four hits and two RBIs, while Nolan Pichee had two hits and two RBIs, Will McCormick had two hits and an RBI, Hayes had a hit and three RBIs, both Aiden Duncan and Zach Thornton had a hit and two RBIs each, Auggie Landuyt and Fletcher Groppel had a hit and RBI apiece, and Chris Rayfield came up with a hit.
Clayton McCormack pitched 2.1 innings to gain credit for the win, allowing three runs, one earned, on two hits, walking one and striking out three, while Duncan went for 1.2 innings, giving up four earned runs on six hits, walking none and striking out one, and Cy Courtney pitched the final two innings, giving up an earned run on one hit, walking three and fanning one.
The young Legionnaires will play at the Wheaton Post 76 junior tournament over the Fourth of July weekend at: Lee Pfund Stadium in Carol Stream, Ill., Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, before concluding the regular season, going against Southwestern on Monday at 5:30 p.m. at Schneider Park in Brighton.
Post 126 plays in the double elimination District 22 playoffs at the sites of the higher seeds July 10-13, with the winner going on to the Fifth Division tournament at Northside Park in Breese July 17-20. The young Legionnaires gain an automatic berth in the state tournament at host team when the tournament takes place at Lloyd Hopkins Field July 24-27.
