By Patrick MacCoonRecord Sports EditorThe sound of the catcher’s mitt echoed louder from Ben Stephens’ fastball than the thunder that lurked in the background Monday night.For the second time this summer, Stephens fanned 11 batters as a healthy dose of fastballs mixed in with a few hard-breaking sliders kept Elsberry frequently walking back to its dugout in a 12-1 seven-inning victory for the Warrenton Senior Legion baseball team.The all-state pitcher improved his summer record to 3-0 while boosting his strikeout total to 35 in 23 innings and lowering his earned run average to 0.31.“Ben probably knows more about pitching than most of the guys at the ballpark,” head coach Scott Butler said. “He’s a dynamite pitcher. He knows how to get the big outs when he has to.”Despite stranding the same amount of runners as runs scored, Post 122 took advantage of its speed on the base paths. It was given many opportunities to do so with nine walks and six hit batters allowed by Elsberry pitchers.Tyler Brittain and Stephens scored three runs apiece and also swiped a pair of bases while setting the table as the first two batters in the lineup for Warrenton (4-2).“Baserunning is always something to focus on,” Stephens said. “It helped us take advantage of their miscues and put some extra runs on the board.”Instead of wanting a pinch runner to sub in for him, Stephens crossed the plate each time with hustle down the line off wild pitches, while Brittain sacrificed his body by being hit three times by pitches.“We have a very aggressive and smart baserunning team,” Butler said. “Everybody knows Ben Stephens for his pitching, but he is a complete player. He has blind speed and surprises people with his quickness. Tyler (Brittain) did exactly what a leadoff hitter is supposed to do. He is great on the basepaths and he will find any way to get on base.”Donovan Mozee gave his starting pitcher plenty of room to work with and led all with three runs batted in and three walks. The powerful cleanup hitter hit a sacrifice fly to center to plate Brittain for a 6-0 advantage the top of the sixth inning.Post 122 plated five runs in the seventh off of three walks, three hit batters, and a two-out error on its way to blowing open a 12-0 lead.A shutout attempt by Stephens was snuffed out by Elsberry in its final inning at the plate as it took advantage of three walks and an RBI single, but couldn’t plate a second run with a strong throw from Troy Muse to home plate.Stephens only allowed four hits, but walked six batters and hit another as he threw just over 100 pitches in his complete-game effort.“I definitely want to limit the walks in my next outing,” Stephens said. “Sometimes with a big lead it’s easy to lose focus, but it’s important for me to not lose focus and keep throwing strikes.”Corey Eckenfels recorded two of Warrenton’s seven hits, which were all singles.“I’m completely satisfied with how we played today because we put up 12 runs after not playing for two weeks,” Butler said. “Even when we don’t hit lights out we are going to find ways to score runs.”Post 122 will take to the road against St. Charles on Thursday with an 8:30 p.m. start time before returning home to face St. Peters at 5 p.m. on Friday.

Ben Stephens lowered his ERA to 0.31 in summer ball while striking out 11 in a win Monday night against Elsberry.

Bill Barrett