ST. MARYS, W.Va. - A six-run fifth inning, highlighted by a trio of run-scoring doubles, enabled visiting Beverly/Lowell Post 389/750 to break away from St. Marys Post 79 en route to a 12-6 win in the opener of an American Legion baseball doubleheader Saturday afternoon at Dave Wilson Field.
In the second game, Beverly/Lowell completed a sweep with a come-from-behind 8-6 victory. Down 4-3 after five innings, Beverly/Lowell rallied for five runs in the sixth to go ahead 8-4, then had to fend off St. Marys in the bottom of the seventh to notch the win.
In the first game, Beverly/Lowell starter Kordell Antill from Monroe Central pitched his sixth complete game with a six-hitter to improve to 6-0, and kept his ERA right around the 1.0 mark or under.
''He's won every time out, but was pushed today really for the first time,'' said Beverly/Lowell head coach Todd Engle. ''He had a blister later on in the game that we were kind of worried about, but he toughed it out. He's not getting a lot of playing time for me anywhere else. He knows his role - one of those kind of kids you want on your team.''
Beverly/Lowell built a 6-1 lead through the first three innings - getting a run in the first on Landon Kern's RBI single, two more in the second on back-to-back RBI hits, a Wes Hatfield single and a Jordan Satterfield double, and three in the third on a wild pitch, passed ball and Ethan Estes' run-scoring single.
St. Marys knotted the count at 1-1 in the bottom of the first on Mitch Davis' theft of home on a delayed double steal, then added two runs in the fourth on Aaron Tice's two-out, two-RBI single to close the gap to 6-3.
Fact Box
From Saturday
At Dave Wilson Field, St. Marys
1st Game
Beverly/Lowell Post 389/750 12,
St. Marys Post 79 6
Beverly/Lowell (18-4) 123 060 0 - 12 15 2
St. Marys (2-18) 100 200 3 - 6 6 1
WP: Kordell Antill (6-0), 7 IP, 3 SO, 4 BB
LP: Colby Vanoy, 4 1/3 IP, 3 SO, 5 BB
Andy Newhart (in relief), 2 2/3 IP, 0 SO, 2 BB
Beverly/Lowell hitting: Ethan Estes 2-5, 2 RBIs; Eli Lenington double, 2 RBIs; Tyler Proctor 2-5; Landon Kern 2-4, double, 2 RBIs; Clay Ullman 3-5, double, RBI; Jake Ullman 3-5, double; Wes Hatfield 1-1, 3 walks, RBI; Jordan Satterfield 1-2, double, RBI
St. Marys hitting: Tony Brunicardi 2-4, RBI; Ryder Bolin 1-3, 2 RBIs; Jarrod Lough 1-3; Newhart 1-3; Aaron Tice 1-2, 2 RBIs
2nd Game
Beverly/Lowell 8, St. Marys 6
Beverly/Lowell (19-4) 200 015 0 - 8 11 2
St. Marys (2-19) 110 110 2 - 6 10 2
WP: Ben Barnas (in relief), 4 1/3 IP, 2 SO, 5 BB
Dustin Duffey, 2 2/3 IP, 6 SO, 0 BB
LP: Mitch Davis (starter), 5 2/3 IP, 5 SO, 5 BB
D.J. Burgess, 1 1/3 IP, 1 SO, 1 BB
Beverly-Lowell hitting: Ethan Estes 1-5; Tim Grosel 2-5, 2 runs, Tyler Proctor 2-4, 2 RBIs, 2 runs, double; Landon Kern 1-3, 2 walks, run; Clay Ullman 2-4, triple, 3 RBIs; Nick Spurr 2-4; Jake Ullman 1-4
St. Marys hitting: Davis 2-3, 3 runs; Ryder Bolin 1-3, triple, 2 RBIs; Tony Brunicardi 3-4, 2 RBIs; Colby Vanoy 2-4, double; Zack Romine 3 walks; Jarrod Lough 3 walks, 2 runs; Robbie Harper 1-3, double; Aaron Tice 1-4, RBI , run
Next games: Beverly/Lowell at Dresden 1 p.m. doubleheader today; West Virginia Power at St. Marys 5:30 p.m. doubleheader Thursday
But Beverly/Lowell made it 12-3 with its half-dozen run total in the top of the fifth, plating tallies - one each - on Estes' single and an error, Eli Lenington's two-RBI double, Kerns' two-bagger and yet another double, this one by Clay Ullman, to score run No. 6 of the inning.
St. Marys had runners on base in only three of the seven innings, but did score in all three, finishing with a three-run last of the seventh on an RBI single by Tony Brunicardi and two-RBI single by Ryler Bolin.
Brothers Clay and Jake Ullman from Belpre both went 3-for-5 with a double in the first game for Beverly/Lowell while Estes, Lenington and Kern each drove in two runs.
''I really like our team; I think we're headed in the right direction,'' said Engle of his now 19-4 team.
St. Marys head coach Wirt Cook, although suffering through a 2-19 season so far, thought Saturday ''was better because we didn't beat ourselves. We're making strides, but have just lost so many tough games. We need to start showing more life during the middle of games. We went three up and three down (in the first game) four out of five innings from the second through sixth.''
Almost halfway through the season, ''we've got a good team and a bunch of good players,'' said Cook. ''If we can put all three phases of the game together, we're going to start winning a lot of games. But we haven't shown that we know how to win yet.''
