Effingham Junior Post 120 Goes 1-1 in Opening Play of Mattoon Firecracker Classic

MATTOON -- American Legion Effingham Post 120 Juniors dropped a 6-0 decision to Moultrie-Douglas at Lakeland College Monday in the Mattoon Firecracker Classic Tournament.

Zach Hrvol got it done on the bump on the way to a win. He tossed four innings of shutout ball. He struck out five, walked one and surrendered one hit. James Kabbes was the game's losing pitcher. He allowed six runs in four innings, walked three and struck out three.

Moultrie-Douglas tacked on another four runs in the third. Nick Bales singled, bringing home Dalton Hoel to start the inning.

Shelby County Post 289 didn't stand a chance as Effingham Junior Post 120 captured a blowout 11-5 win in five innings in the second game for Effingham in the Classic. Effingham Junior Post 120 scored three runs in the fifth on a sacrifice fly by Michael Woltman and a groundout by Zach Bateman. Bateman racked up four RBI on two hits.

Woltman got the win for despite allowing five runs over four innings. He struck out five, walked four and surrendered just five hits. Zach Monroe ended up on the wrong side of the pitching decision, charged with the loss. He allowed eight runs in 3 2/3 innings, walked four and struck out one. Effingham closer Colby Utz put away the final three outs to record the save.

Effingham’s Bryar Jansen scored in the first. He cam across on a hit batsman, two steals and a passed ball. Effingham put up three runs in each of the third, fourth and fifth innings.

In the third, Post 120 scored on a two-run double by Bateman, scoring Lane Koenig and Woltman. Two runs in the bottom of the third helped Shelbyville Post 289 close its deficit to 5-2. A sacrifice fly by Monroe and a groundout by Devin Deremaiah set off Shelbyville Post 289's rally. Finally, Woltman got Jordan Hoedebecke to ground out to end the threat. After pushing across three runs in the bottom of the fourth, Shelbyville Post 289 faced just an 8-5 deficit. A two-run triple by Monroe and an RBI single by Nic Hutchinson gave Shelbyville Post 289 life. Post 120 stopped the rally after Woltman got Deremaiah to fly out.

Effingham Post 120 dropped a 6-0 decision to Moultrie-Douglas at Lakeland College Monday. Zach Hrvol got it done on the bump on the way to a win. He tossed four innings of shutout ball. He struck out five, walked one and surrendered one hit. James Kabbes was the game's losing pitcher. He allowed six runs in four innings, walked three and struck out three.

At Mattoon

Game One

Effingham Post 120          000    000    --    0-3-1

Moultrie-Douglas              114    00x    --    6-7-1

WP -- Hrvol. LP -- Kabbes.

Effingham Post 120 -- Kabbes, single; Woltman, single; Osborn, double

Moultrie-Douglas -- Hoel, single; Boechy, single; Bales, single, 1 RBI; Clayton, single, 2 RBI; Jefferie, 2 singles, 1 RBI; Williams, single; Knight, 1 RBI

Game Two

Effingham Post 120          113    33    --    11-10-3

Shelby County                    002    30    --       5-  6-1

WP -- Woltman. LP -- Monroe.

Effingham Post 120 -- Kabbes, 2 singles, 1 RBI; Jansen, 2 singles; Woltman, double, 1 RBI: Koenig, single; Bateman, 2 doubles, 4 RBI; Osborn, single, 2 RBI; Barnes, single, 1 RBI

Shelby County Post 289 -- Overbeck, single; Monroe, triple, 3 RBI; Hutchinson, 2 singles, 1 RBI; Deremiah, 1 RBI; Easton, single; Kemper, single

Mattoon Tournament

Monday, June 23 Scores

Macon County 7, Shelby County 6

Moultrie-Douglas 6, Effingham 0

Newburgh, Ind. 6, Rantoul 0

Danville One 8, Robinson 1

Danville Two 16, Mattoon 1

Macon County 4, Mattoon One 3

Moultrie-Douglas 11, Robinson 3

Effingham 11, Shelby County 5

Danville Two 8, Macon County Two 3 (8 innings)

Macon County One 11, Rantoul 8

Danville 11, Newburgh, Ind. 5

Toledo 3, Mattoon Two 0

Mattoon One 8, Toledo 0