ROXANA – Both Donavon Ducey and Mike Brueckner had three RBIs each, while Deacon Alm and Jerald Downs each drove home two more runs, as the Alton Post 126 under-15 navy junior American Legion baseball team scored in every inning in the young Legionnaires 17-7 win over Valmeyer in the elimination game of the Illinois District 22 playoffs Saturday morning at Roxana City Park.
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The win puts the under-15 team into the championship series against Post 126’s under-16 red team, who defeated Valmeyer 15-0 in the winners bracket game on Friday night. Valmeyer defeated the young Legionnaires 7-6 earlier on Friday in the tournament’s opening game, but were eliminated with the loss.
Alton took an early 7-0 lead with single runs in the bottom of the first and second, followed by five runs in the third. Valmeyer came back with two runs in the top of the fourth, following up with five runs in the fifth, but Post 126 scored three times in the fourth, twice in the home half of the fifth, and five more times in the sixth to finish the game with a 17-7 win, the game being terminated by the 10-run rule.
Ducey led the way for the young Legionnaires with two hits and three RBIs, Alex Springer came up with two hits and a RBI, Brueckner had a hit and three RBIs, both Alm and Downs had a hit and two RBIs each, Ian Lamb and Chase Collman had a hit and RBI apiece, Riley Cox came up with a hit, and Hayden Schepers drove in a run.
Ducey also started on the mound, and went four innings to pick up the win, allowing five runs on seven hits, walking three and striking out eight, while Brueckner pitched the final two innings, giving up two unearned runs on one hit, walking two and fanning two.
