Saturday, July 1:
GAME 1 - Waterloo 12 , Alton 1
Cory Blackwell tossed eight strong innings and Eric Caby crushed two home runs while gathering six RBIs as the Buds came out victorious in the opening game.
GAME 2 - 11:30 AM - Fairview Heights 1, St. Louis Printers 0 (11 Innings)
This magnificent pitcher's duel pitted St. Louis' Matt Miller against Fairview's Rob Blumberg. Blumberg rose victorious in this eleven inning marathon that saw 23 combined strikeouts. Miller took a no-hitter into the ninth inning, but was eventually tabbed with the loss. Jake Howes pitched a scoreless eleventh for Fairview to grab the save and protect Blumberg's masterpiece.
GAME 3 - 2:00 PM - St. Louis Spikes 10 , Granite City 6
This slugfest came down to 4 runs in the 8th by the Spikes to break a 6-6 tie and the Steelers couldn't answer. Steve Maher led the way for the Spikes who racked up 15 hits in the contest. Player/Manager Jay Davis pitched the final 2-1/3 innings to earn the win.
GAME 4 - 4:30 PM - Millstadt 2, Valmeyer 1
Greg Steen smashed a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 9th to give Millstadt the win. Catcher Ryan Switzer added a homer in the 6th for a 1-0 lead before Ken Mathews drove in a run in the top of the 8th for Valmeyer to knot the game at 1-1. Bobby Dugan threw the final 1-1/3 innings to pick up the win.
Sunday, July 2:
GAME 5 - 9:00 AM - Valmeyer 6, Granite City 4
Ken Mathews highlighted 3 run outburst to overcome a 1 run deficit to overtake the Steelers. Mathews plugged the gap in left center with runners on first and third with two outs for a 2 RBI double.
GAME 6 - 11:30 AM - Alton 6, St. Louis Printers 2
The Redbirds attacked for 4 runs in the bottom of the 1st after falling behind 1-0 and never looked back. Alton advances to the Consolation Championship game against host Valmeyer on Tuesday at 10:00 AM.
GAME 7 - 2:00 PM - Waterloo 4, Fairview Heights 0
Brandon Musso fired a four-hit shutout for the Buds to pick up the win and send his team into the championship game. Musso was pitted in a pitching duel with Adam Hill through 6 scoreless innings until Waterloo tallied 2 runs in the 8th and then added 2 more in the 9th to seal the victory. The defending champion Buds will take on the St. Louis Spikes in the Championship game at 3:30 Tuesday.
GAME 8 - 4:30 PM - St. Louis Spikes 3, Millstadt 2
This nail biter came down to a nub bouncer down the third base line by Kirk Heinschmidt in the bottom of the 9th that scored Chad Lemley to finish the game and send the spikes into the championship game. John Kars threw the final 2-1/3 innings to pick up the win.
Monday, July 3:
No Games Played
Tuesday, July 4:
CONSOLATION CHAMPIONSHIP
GAME 9 - Alton 9, Valmeyer 7
Alton outlasted the host Lakers in this see-saw battle. Andy Sidwell threw the final 2-2/3 innings to seal the victory for the A's.
THIRD PLACE
GAME 10 - Millstadt 7, Fairview Heights 1
The Millstadt offense was in high gear amassing 15 hits led by Jay Francois with a
3-4 game (9-13 for the tournament) and Austin Voelker - also 3-4. Andy Galle picked up the win for the VFW throwing 6-2/3 innings allowing 1 run while striking out six.
Chris Novak and Jerry Hodges picked up two hits apiece for the Redbirds.
TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP
GAME 11 - Waterloo 2, St. Louis Spikes 1
Brandon Waeltz threw 8-1/3 innings of no-hit ball for the defending champion Buds before giving up a double in the left centerfield gap to John Altis in the ninth, followed by an RBI single by Steve Maher to close the scoring gap to 2-1. Chris Otten made quick work of the last two hitters to pick up the save and secure Waterloo's second consecutive tournament title. Brian Fuess picked up an RBI sacrifice fly in the first and the Spike's Trae Lee held the Buds scoreless until Travis Dawson's RBI double in the 7th inning.
TOURNAMENT MVP - Brandon Waeltz
Whew - as expected, this past weekend was loaded with excitement filled, top caliber baseball. Make sure to put it on you calender for next year.
Kudos to Dennis Pieper, Kenny Mathews and the entire Lakers ballclub for an impeccable job in hosting this classic. The field was in pristine condition - thanks again, men.
Also, a tip of the hat to Mel Patton and Art Voelinger for providing everyone with the entertainment and PA for the 3 days. Also, Gary Pieper for providing the crowd with the Ernie Hayes organ renditions.
From this time til next......so long.
