St. Clair Division

The Semi Final Round games were completed on Thursday evening with the following results:

In the first game between the #2 seed St. Louis Spikes and the 3rd seeded Fairview Heights Redbirds, the Redbirds came out victorious in a pitching duel by the score of 1-0.

Marcus Lee of St. louis and Adam Hill of Fairview Heights battled the entire evening. Both pitchers threw complete games. The game was scoreless into the top of the 6th. A one out single by Bill Boeser and a two out walk by Jake Bayers put runners on 1st and 2nd with Andrew Donovan at bat. Donovan drilled a single to left to drive in the runner from second base to put the Redbirds up 1-0. Lee had a one hitter entering the 6th and finished with a 3 hitter while fanning 9 and giving up 1 walk.
Hill picked up the victory while giving up 4 hits, 5 strike outs and walking 2 and also pithed around 3 Redbird errors in the process.
Congratulations to Manager Jay Davis and the Spikes on a great year as they picked up their first St. Clair Division Title and finished the season with a record of 16-8.
Good Luck to Manager Ed Emge and the Redbirds as they advance to the Best 2 out of 3 Championship Series.

In the nightcap between the defending champion and top seeded Waterloo Buds against the #4 seeded Millstadt VFW, the Buds outlasted Millstadt by the score of 5-0.
The Buds picked up single tallies in the 1st and 2nd, and added 3 more in the 5th to solidify the win.
Millstadt threatened early - with two out, Jay Francois and Kenny Weston delivered back to back singles to put runners on 1st and 2nd. Greg Steen drove the ball to the left centerfield gap, but the shot was caught by Centerfielder Travis Dawson with a diving catch to end the inning.
In the bottom of the 1st,  Dawson drew a one out walk and advanced to second on a base hit by Craig Ohlau. Brian Fuess was hit by a pitch to load the bases and Eric Caby picked up a sacrifice fly RBI to left field.
In the bottom of the 2nd, Jake Hurst went deep to left with a towering home run to make it 2-0 Waterloo.
Jordon Harris of Millstadt and Brandon Musso locked up in a duel until Waterloo scored again in the 5th. Jake Friederich led off with a base hit and after consecutive walks to Dawson and Ohlau to load the bases, Eric Caby drove in his second run of the game with a one out base hit. Bobby Dugan came in to relieve Harris and gave up RBI singles to Pat Hardin and Chaz Wigger  to close out the scoring with the Buds leading 5-0.
Harris took the loss for Millstadt with a valient effort.
Musso picked up the win with a complete game 4 hitter while fanning 11 and issuing 1 walk.
Congratulations to Manager Lenny Voelker and the Millstadt ballclub for an outstanding season. They finished with a 15-9 record and a tie for second in the Monroe Division.
Good Luck to Manager Vernie Moehrs and the Buds as they advance to the Championship Series.

The final round of the 2006 Mon-Clair Playoffs will take place on Saturday, August 5t with a 1:30 PM game time for the first game, with the second game beginning 15 minutes following the first game at Long Acre Park in Fairview Heights. The format is a best 2 out 3 series between the #3 seeded Fairview Heights Rebirds and the #1 seeded Waterloo Buds. If there is a split between the teams on Saturday, a final Championship Game will be held on Sunday at 1:30 at Long Acre Park.