As one might imagine, the Missouri Ninth District Junior Legion Baseball All-Star Game in Elsberry came down to the wire on Saturday.

The South team pushed across two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to defeat the North team, 4-3.

For the North team, Warrenton Post 122 was represented by Mitch Burnette, Brandon Hazel, Braden Lawson, Dylan O’Neal, Kory Schniedermeyer, and Alex and Chris Vogt.

The representatives from Washington Post 218 were unable to play for the South team as they were battling for a state Legion title. 

With the game tied at 3-3 in the bottom of the eighth inning, T.J. Griffith of St. Clair Post 347 drew the  leadoff walk. He reached second on a stolen base and a base hit by New Haven’s Jacob Abel advanced Griffith to third. 

A wild pitch scored Griffith and gave the South team a 4-3 lead.

New Haven pitcher Dakota Hackman got a strikeout and two ground outs to shut down any chances of a North team comeback.

Union and South Team Manager Ryan Bailey said the game was a great representation of the quality of baseball the district offers.

“These guys are polite, courteous, hardworking and this is why ball coaches coach in my opinion,” Bailey said. “We get to coach young men who are intelligent and know the game really well. They are definitely some of the best in our area.”

To start the game, Elsberry Post 226 representative Stephen Boedeker drew a lead-off walk. Alex Vogt then smacked a hard base hit up the middle, scoring Boedeker from second base to put the North team up 3-1. Vogt contributed two hits on the day and an RBI.

Vogt said the game was a good way to end the Legion season and enjoyed playing with those on different teams.

“It was definitely fun to mess around with the other players in the dugout,” Alex Vogt said. “It was nice to end the season and have fun.”

North’s starting pitcher - Joe Lindsay – gave the South hitters fits in his two-inning appearance. The St. Charles Post 312 hurler allowed one run and struck out three. 

That run came across in the bottom of the second inning when New Haven’s Abel lined a double to the gap in left center. He scored on Drew Baumbach’s base hit up the middle to tie the game at 1-1. Abel went 3-for-4 on the day with an RBI for the South team.

Abel said the game was a great experience.

“It was a lot of fun,” he said. “I had a blast, getting to play with different guys.”

South’s Matt Wade had an equally impressive outing on the mound. The New Haven Post 366 pitcher allowed just two hits while striking out five in four innings of work.

Bailey said the pitching was exceptional on the day.

“This was a great group to work with,” Bailey said. “The pitching was excellent on both sides today and I just can’t say enough about the day. These are some great baseball players we have in our area.”

The score stayed knotted at one until the top of the fifth inning. For the North team, O’Fallon Post 388’s Wade Blevins reached on an infield single and Boedeker singled to left center in the inning. Both scored on wild pitches later in the inning to put North up 3-1.

The South team pushed across a run in the bottom of the sixth and tied it at 3-3 very next inning. Baumbach – representing New Haven -  drew the walk and later scored when St. Clair’s Tyler Lack guided an RBI single to left. Lack had two hits and an RBI on the day for the South squad. Baumbach also had a pair of hits and New Haven’s Dakota Hackmann had an RBI single on the day.

The South pitchers allowed six hits with Blevins, Elsberry’s Blake Kendall and Robert Hoggemann having a hit apiece. Alex Vogt and Boedeker led the way with a pair of hits.