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Sports

St. Charles Shuts Down St. Peters, Legion District Title Within Grasp

St. Charles West graduate Michael Eimer pitches St. Charles Post 312 to the district championship finals.

O’FALLON—The St. Charles Post #312 American Legion team is so close to a championship, it can almost, figuratively, taste the title.

Post 312 put itself in this position on Saturday night at Westhoff Park with a convincing 4-1 victory over archrival St. Peters Post #313 in the winner’s bracket championship game of the District 9 North Division American Legion Championship Tournament.

St. Charles has now earned a spot in the District 9 North championship finals and is just one win away from winning the district championship.

“It feels great,” Post 312 head coach Kurt Denningmann said. “That was good. That was a good win.”

St. Charles is in an especially advantageous position because it only needs to win one game in the championship finals on Sunday to claim the title. Meanwhile, St. Peters or West O’Fallon, the two remaining teams in the loser’s bracket, would have to win three games in a row to be declared district champions.

“We would’ve been OK on the pitching tomorrow if we had to do that,” Denningmann said. “But this is so much better. They’ve got to win three games, back-to-back-to-back, and we only need one. This is so much better.”

St. Charles certainly earned that advantage by the way it has played, and pitched, over the first three days of the District 9 North tournament.

In their first round, semifinal, and winner’s bracket championship victories over O’Fallon, Wentzville, and St. Peters, Post 312 has allowed just three total runs.

On Thursday, it was 2011 St. Charles graduate Austin Olendorff and St. Charles West senior-to-be Travis Weidenbenner who combined to beat O’Fallon, 11-1, in seven innings.

Then on Friday, another St. Charles grad, Connor Brett, threw a four-hitter in a .

But the biggest win of the entire season was no doubt Saturday’s triumph over St. Peters. St. Charles West grad (2010) Mike Eimer allowed just seven hits and one unearned run in what was clearly one of Post 312’s most dominant pitching performances of the season.

“Michael was so efficient tonight,” Denningmann said. “He threw 102 pitches, and we were kind of laughing because on his 100th pitch both us coaches looked at each other and said, ‘that’s the hardest pitch he’s thrown yet’. So, terrific job by Mike.”

Fort Zumwalt South grad (2011) Blake Hetelle was the tough-luck loser for St. Peters.

He’d only given up four hits through five innings on Saturday, and found himself in a tie game heading into the sixth when St. Charles touched him up for a three-run rally to take the lead.

Duchesne senior-to-be Michael Pundmann and St. Charles West senior-to-be Adam Ricks got the rally started with a pair of one-out singles off Hetelle to start the sixth.

Then back-to-back walks to St. Charles grad Jacob Bothe and St. Charles West senior-to-be Alex Rael gave Post 312 one run. But the key play in the game came when Olendorff came to the plate moments later.

The Post 312 pitcher and third baseman slapped a ground ball to shortstop that scored Ricks, but should’ve also resulted in an out at first. Instead, the throw got past St. Peters’ Tyler Rutledge, allowing Olendorff to reach safely. Bothe score from second on the play to give St. Charles its three-run edge.

“Seems like it should’ve been a 0-0 game,” St. Peters head coach Marty Clements said. “Their run, it was 0-2, and the kid walked then the next kid hit a double behind him. And our run, we probably shouldn’t have even had. It was just that one inning. I don’t even know how they scored really.”

Fifth-seed St. Peters, who advanced to the winner’s bracket championship by defeating top-seeded West O’Fallon on Friday, will have to do it again Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. A win would set up a district finals rematch with St. Charles.

The winner of the St. Peters-West O’Fallon early matchup must beat St. Charles twice in a row later in the day to win the league crown.

“I already told the guys to get a lot of rest for (Sunday),” Clements said. “It’s going to be a long day. It’s going to be hot. But our guys know what they’ve got to do to be ready, and I think we will be.”

District 9 North Division Championship Tournament:
at Westhoff Park in O’Fallon

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Loser’s Bracket Championship

1 p.m. – St. Peters vs. West O’Fallon

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District Championship Final – Game 1

4 p.m. – St. Charles vs. St. Peters-West O’Fallon winner

District Championship Final – Game 2, if necessary

7 p.m. – St. Charles vs. St. Peters-West O’Fallon winner

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