Coach Kevin Shough has witnessed a significant improvement in his team’s hitting since the first week of the season. But Post 122’s opponents have been even more potent at the plate, still keeping the Warrenton Junior Legion team on the losing end of most of its battles. On Sunday Post 122 came up just short during its road trip to Westhoff Park, falling 9-8 to O’Fallon. “We played really well,” acknowledged Shough. “We just didn’t close it out.” Warrenton amassed 11 hits, with six different players contributing. “We’re hitting the ball better,” said Shough. “Most of the lineup is hitting.” But O’Fallon was stronger down the stretch, scoring four runs in the bottom of the seventh to rally from an 8-5 deficit. Post 122 started off cold at the plate, going three-up, three-down in the first inning. O’Fallon jumped ahead 2-0 in the bottom of the inning, placing the ball in the gaps. Warrenton countered in the second with runs by Luke Darity and Curtis Bauer. Darity led the charge with three hits, including two doubles. He also scored twice. “Luke had a breakout game and was hitting the ball hard,” said Shough. Post 122 scored one run each in the third, fourth and fifth innings, with Kenny Dildine connecting on a double. “It was back and forth with both teams bringing in runs,” said Shough. Warrenton offset a 5-5 tie with three runs in the sixth, but O’Fallon drove in four runs to escape with the win in the seventh. “Unfortunately they had more base hits in the seventh inning than we did,” said Shough. Dallas DeRoy started on the mound for Post 122, striking out five and walking seven batters through 6 1/3 innings. He allowed seven hits and eight earned runs. “Our pitchers did their jobs,” said Shough. “O’Fallon was just able to hit the ball and get on base.” Shough says it was encouraging to see O’Fallon have to earn all of its runs. A Warrenton team that was prone to errors early in the season has cleaned up its act during recent action. “The kids are starting to play together and vocalize a little more, calling plays in the field,” said Shough. “We could still be a little more disciplined in our plate approaches.” Austin Marsh, Curtis Bauer and DeRoy each collected two hits, with Marsh and Bauer adding two RBIs a piece. Corey Eckenfels entered in relief for DeRoy, walking one batter and giving up two hits during the final 2/3 innings.