By Patrick MacCoonRecord Sports EditorThe Warrenton Senior Legion program can now add St. Charles to its list of big wins.After ending an eight-game win streak to Post 312 the week before, Post 122 avenged its loss with a 6-3 win over Post 312 on Sunday night at Blanchette Park.Already with a regular-season sweep of Washington, Scott Butler’s team yet again beat a Ninth District powerhouse it had not been used to besting over the years. The win also propelled Warrenton into second place in the district standings.“To beat St. Charles on the road and add another signature win just goes to show you how good this team really is,” said Butler, whose team improved his record to 12-3 in his first-year as head coach. “Winning is a custom for our program now.”Unlike its previous run-in with St. Charles, in which it only plated one run, Warrenton came out strong with its bats to give starting pitcher Ben Stephens plenty of room to work with.With six runs of support through the first two innings, Stephens improved his record to 5-0.The Meramec College baseball signee threw eight innings and gave up three earned runs while allowing 10 hits and four walks. Stephens struck out 10 batters.“This win is almost as big as beating Washington,” Stephens said. “It puts us in second place and we’ve won 12 of our last 13. It’s just a good feeling to get the job done against them after they beat us last week.”St. Charles starter Dan Josten was chased after 1 2/3 innings in which he allowed six runs on eight hits and three walks. His defense did not help his cause either as they committed two errors in allowing a five-run second inning.Post 122 had eight straight hitters reach base in the top of the frame, which included RBI singles from Troy Muse, Donovan Mozee, Stephens, Brandon Moeller and James Dotson.While Andrew Weis gave Post 312 some hope out of the bullpen and didn’t allow a run until being pulled with one out left in the top of the ninth, Warrenton’s early surge would hold up until the finish. Weis struck out 11 and only gave up three hits in eight innings.“We gave ourselves a comfortable lead and just kind of settled the rest of the way,” Butler said. “The lefty they had out of the bullpen was nasty. He had a hard two-seam that was giving us troubles. Luckily we got to them before they brought him in.”Kyle Svoboda drove in the first run for St. Charles (20-11) in the bottom of the fourth as he became the third straight batter to reach base with a single. However, Stephens escaped his second bases-loaded one-out jam to fend of a potential big inning.“When you are in a tight situation you have to trust your stuff,” said Stephens, whose fastball often registers in the upper 80s. “When I get behind in the count, I know I have to go right at the hitter. The only way to do that is to trust in your fastball and go right at them.”Post 312 scored its final two runs in the seventh to cut the deficit to three. Despite putting two runners on to begin the eighth, Stephens threw out the lead runner on a bunt and then struck out Anthony Gosser and coaxed a fly out to end his outing.The first two hitters in the lineup for Post 312 struggled mightily against Stephens. Collin Haney and Anthony Gosser finished 0-for-10 and combined for seven of Stephens’ 10 strikeouts. Gosser struck out four times and struggled against the slider.“After (Gosser’s) first time through, we could tell what he was struggling with, so we kept feeding him off-speed pitches,” Stephens said. “You can kind of do that throughout the game once you know hitters’ strengths and weaknesses and attack those.”Stephens threw 87 of his 134 pitches for strikes in eight innings. He allowed 10 hits, four walks and three earned runs.“Ben is just a competitor,” Butler said. “Three runs is probably the most he will ever give up in one game. I was confident in him being out there to get the win.”After catching the first eight innings, Dotson recorded his first save of the season for Warrenton on the mound. In his lone inning, he struck out one and snagged a line drive back to the mound for the final out.“This was a huge game for us,” said Dotson, who drove in two runs at the plate. “It’s a big win all-around. Ben pitched great and to be able to come in and save the game was a great feeling.”Dotson and Stephens led Post 212 with three hits apiece.Mozee and Muse each finished with two hits in a win that places Warrenton in control of locking up a berth in the Senior Legion Zone I Tournament.

James Dotson closed out the 6-3 victory for the Warrenton Senior Legion baseball program over St. Charles on Sunday night. Dotson, who normally starts at catcher, also had three hits and drove in two runs in Post 122's 12th win of the season.

Patrick MacCoon photo.