Published: July 03, 2008 10:24 am            

Post 120 wins Firecracker opener in 10 innings

MATTOON — Jeremy Jansen made sure an up-and-down Wednesday ended on a high note for his Effingham Post 120 Senior American Legion club, drilling a 10th-inning RBI single to ensure a 4-3 win over Stewardson-Strasburg Post 611/289 in opening-round play of the Mattoon Post 88 Firecracker Classic.

It was Jansen's third hit of the hot afternoon at Eastern Illinois University's Coaches Stadium, and it brought home a hustling Anthony Hecht from second base just ahead of a tag by catcher Mark Edwards on a relay started by left fielder Conrad Widdersheim.

Hecht reached base to lead off the inning with an infield single off reliever Colton Booher, beating out a slow chopper to third base and stealing second on Danny Winkler's subsequent strikeout.

With only one down and one of the team's best bunters in Jordan Amlong waiting on deck, Post 120 manager Kenny Miller said he still never thought twice about windmilling the speedy Hecht around third.

"I don't think Anthony thought I was going to send him, but you've got to there," said Miller. "They still had to make a perfect throw. It was a good one, but (Hecht) said he got in under the tag and the umpire never hesitated to make the call."

The ball actually squirted away from Edwards, anyway, improving Post 120 to 22-9 with 13 wins in its last 15 games.

Stew-Stras, which also lost to Effingham twice at last month's Alton Wooden Bat Tournament by 5-3 and 5-1 scores, dropped to 6-8 after dropping another Pool B heartbreaker to Mount Zion Post 475 by the same 4-3 margin.

Wednesday's began as a scoreless pitcher's duel and remained that way until the bottom of the sixth as Post 120 starter Curran McNeely and Post 689/211 hurler Ben Giertz matched one another pitch-for-pitch.

Effingham finally broke through in the sixth, though, as Hecht tripled to right and scored the go-ahead run on Winkler's seeing-eye jam shot just over the head and out of reach of third baseman Luke Rincker.

Jansen then chopped a comebacker to the hill, which Giertz chucked wildly into center field trying to get the force at second.

With runners suddenly on second and third after the error, a beautiful RBI squeeze bunt from Andrew Miller plated what turned out to be a insurance run of gargantuan importance.

That's because in the top of the seventh McNeely couldn't shut the door on Stew-Stras, allowing a leadoff hit to Clayton Brandt.

Jaden Widdersheim followed with a grounder to shortstop, but Post 120 couldn't quite turn its third double play of the afternoon as the throw to first was a fraction of a second too late.

After a Booher single, Conrad Widdersheim made it hurt with laser beam liner to straightaway center field, completely burning Winkler as he started in on the ball and then desperately — and unsuccessfully — tried to leap and snare it.

It got deep enough for both runners to score, but Widdersheim was thrown out at third to end the inning.

Effingham failed to answer, meaning extra innings.

Stew-Stras plated a run in the eight when Wade Burch lofted a fly ball down the right field line and a diving couldn't make the grab.

Burch ran all the way to third, and a wile relay throw by shortstop Hecht got past both third baseman Austin Mahaffey and McNeely backing him up to bring Burch in to score.

McNeely got two outs but allowed a single to Rincker to keep the inning going. After a wild first pitch to Brandt to get Rincker into scoring position, Miller made a change and went to Mahaffey, who got Brandt to fly out to left for the third out.

A one-out single from Winkler and a stolen base gave Effingham life once again, and Miller came up with his second clutch performance at the plate as he bounced a one-out single back through the box and into center to score Winkler and keep it going.

Miller, generally under the microscope of his manager/dad, made up for a missed opportunity early on when Jansen led off the second with a double only to be caught in a rundown when the Post 120 first baseman bounced back to the pitcher.

"(Andrew) had a rough start to the day," said Miller. "But he got that squeeze down and a base hit when we were down to our last out. That'll make it a better day at home."

Giertz gutted out nine innings on the hill, throwing 123 pitches before finally having to call it quits.

With Kaskaskia College-bound pitcher Phil Wetherell sidelined by an injury, eating up those innings was of vital importance to a squad without a deep bench.

"I tip my hat to Giertz," said Miller. "Ben pitched a heck of a game. They played really well today, and honestly may have actually outplayed us. Donny (Wetherell, Post 611/289 manager) is never going to have a lazy team out there."

McNeely has looked strong in back-to-back outings; Wednesday he struck out seven and didn't walk a man in 7 2/3 innings.

"This was the best he's looked in a long time," said Miller of McNeely. "We got the old Curran back today, and we want him to stick around."

McKay was also extremely tough, amassing five punchouts and just one walk in two hitless innings to eventually get a win and improve to 3-2.

While Stew-Stras drops to 0-2 in Pool B, Mount Zion is 2-0 after eking out a 2-1, 10-inning win over Teutopolis before it got past Stew-Stras.

Effingham is 1-0 and plays twice today, weather permitting. The first game is with Teutopolis at 11:30 a.m., followed by a 1:45 meeting with Mount Zion. Mount Vernon, Ind., is also in the pool and begins play Friday with a 10 a.m. game against Effingham.

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

At Coaches Stadium

Eastern Illinois University

STEW-STRAS

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

L. Rincker 3b----5---0---1---0

Brandt 2b------5---0---2---0

J. W'sheim 1b---4---1---1---0

Booher ss------3---1---1---0

Giertz p--------4---0---0---0

Beals cr--------0---0---0---0

C. W'sheim lf----4---0---1---2

Burch cf--------3---1---2---0

Mechling rf-----4---0---0---0

Edwards c------4---0---0---0

Tabbert cr------0---0---0---0

TOTALS--------36---3---8---2

EFFINGHAM

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

McKay lf-------4---0---0---0

Koester 2b-----1---0---0---0

Campbell ph---1---0---0---0

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

Hecht ss-------5---2---2---0

Winkler cf-----5---2---2---1

Jansen rf------5---0---3---1

Miller 1b------3---0---1---2

Amlong 3b----0---0---0---0

Mahaffey 3b---4---0---0---0

Schmidt dh----3---0---1---0

McNeely p-----1---0---0---0

Sherrick c-----4---0---1---0

Wright cr------0---0---0---0

TOTALS-------38---4--10---4

Stew-Stras---000---000---210---0--------3

Effingham----000---002---010---1--------4

— One out when winning run scored.

E — Brandt, Giertz, Edwards 2, Koestter, Hecht. LOB — Stew-Stras 5, Effingham 8. DP — Effingham 2. 2B — J. Widdersheim, C. Widdersheim, Jansen. 3B — Burch, Hecht. SB — Beals, McKay, Hecht, Winkler. SAC — Koester, Miller.

PITCHING SUMMARY

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

Stew-Stras Post 611/289

Giertz-----------9---8---3---2---1---5

Booher (L)-------.1---2---1---1---0---1

Effingham Post 120

McNeely--------7.2---7---3---2---0---7

Mahaffey--------.1---1---0---0---1---0

McKay (W, 3-2)---2---0---0---0---1---5

— Mahaffey pitched to two batters in the 9th.

WP — McNeely. PB — Sherrick. T — 2:13.