Marissa-Coulterville 13
Red Bud 2
Marissa-Coulterville scored multiple runs in every inning en route to a 13-2 victory over Red Bud Monday.
The Meteors scored 13 runs on 14 hits, while holding Red Bud to just two runs on two hits.
Marissa-Coulterville scored three runs in the top of the first inning, two in the second, three in the third, three in the fourth and two in the fifth for the short game victory.
Red Bud’s two runs came in the bottom of the fourth.
Casey Pitchford’s hot bat continued to do damage as he went 2-for-3 with a home run, three runs batted in and three runs scored. Other top hitters for the Meteors included Logan Tabor (2-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored), Kevin Galle (2-for-2 with one RBI and two runs scored) and Brett Gilley (2-for-4 with three RBIs and a run scored).
Elijah Burton tossed all five innings allowing two runs on two hits with three walks while striking out three.
Marissa-Coulterville improved to 7-2 with the win.
Pinckneyville 6
Anna-Jonesboro 2
Pinckneyville scored six runs on 12 hits to knock off Anna-Jonesboro 6-2 Monday in the conference opener for both teams.
“We did a nice job of coming out and playing a solid all-around game today,” said Pinckneyville coach Alan Engelhardt. “At the plate, we attacked the ball and did a nice job of hitting line drives.  In the field, we played very solid, not giving Anna-Jonesboro free outs to work with.  And on the mound, C.J. Opp did a really nice job of pitching to contact and using his defense.  It seemed as if every time C.J. needed a pitch, he made it today.  Again, I am happy to see some growth from this team as we are getting better fundamentally, and we are starting to pick each other up.  It was big to go on the road to get the first conference win, as AJ is not an easy place to win.”
The Panthers scored three runs in the second, one in the third and two in the fifth.
Opp went the distance allowing two runs on six hits with four walks while striking out six.
The Pinckneyville offense was led by Landon Candler (3-for-4), Drew Dudek (2-for-4), Michael Rakers (1-for-4 with an RBI), Matthew Nichols (2-for-3 with two runs batted in), Adam Barczewski (2-for-3 with an RBI) and Brandon Long (1-for-3 with a run batted in).
Pinckneyville improved to 5-5 with the win.
Du Quoin 7
Sparta 6
Du Quoin scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to escape past Sparta 7-6 Monday in the conference opener for both squads.
The game saw four lead changes, but Tyler Shelton’s bases-loaded single in the sixth was the difference in the game for Du Quoin.
The Bulldogs scored two runs in the top of the first inning, one in the second, two in the fifth and one in the seventh.
Du Quoin tallied runs in the first, third, fourth and sixth.
Jordan Thompson picked up the loss for Sparta, while the offense was led by Chris Theobald (2-for-4) and Darious Jackson (1-for-3).
Pinckneyville 2
Carbondale 1
Pinckneyville only managed to pick up three hits against Carbondale Friday but the Panthers took advantage of five errors to sneak out a 2-1 win in a nonconference baseball battle.
“It was good to see us compete even when we weren't getting hits to drop in,” said Pinckneyville coach Alan Engelhardt. “Earlier in the season, if we weren't hitting, we let it affect the other aspects of our game, but today we battled through it.  Drew Dudek was having some problems locating, but he gutted through it, and made enough pitches to get out of some trouble, and Bryant Shute did a nice job coming in to shut the door.  It was good to see us pull out a low scoring affair.  Hopefully the guys understand now that we can win that way; we don't have to score 10 runs a game if we continue to make pitches and play solid defense in the field.”
Michael Rakers and Christian Shopinski each drove in runs in the top of the third inning to give Pinckneyville a 2-0 lead.
Carbondale added a lone run in the fifth for its only run of the game.
The Panthers improved to 4-5 on the season with the win.
Pinckneyville 12
Steeleville 2
Pinckneyville exploded to score five runs in the third and six in the fifth for a 12-2 five inning win over Steeleville Thursday.
“I really have to give our guys credit for taking some of the problems we had in our first few games and trying to make adjustments to them,” said Pinckneyville coach Alan Engelhardt. “Our pregames have been good the last couple of days and have led to much better approaches in all aspects of the game.  Noah Hepp did a nice job of throwing the baseball today, keeping the ball down, and getting several ground-ball outs, and Taylor Beninati did a nice job of coming in to get the last two outs of the fifth to keep Steeleville out of striking distance.  We did a nice job of turning three double-plays in the game to thwart Steeleville scoring attempts.  It was good to see our bats keep going at the plate, getting production up and down the lineup.  I like our new-found aggression at the plate, on the bases, and on the mound.  If we can keep playing aggressively and stay focused, we will continue to have good outings and improve as the season moves forward.”
The Panther attack was led by Brandon Long (3-for-3 with three runs batted in), Michael Rakers (3-for-4 with a double and an RBI), Matthew Nichols (3-for-4 with a double and an RBI) and Christian Shopinski (1-for-2 with a home run and two runs batted in).
Dustin Risinger picked up the loss on the mound for the Warriors, while Andrew Pokrzywinski and Nick Potter each had two hits to pace the offense.
With the win, Pinckneyville improved to 3-5 on the season.
Sparta 3
Trico 2
Kyle Wall tossed a no-hitter to lead Sparta to a 3-2 win over Trico Thursday in prep baseball action.
Wall, while not giving up a hit, did hit one batter, walked one and struck out five, while the Sparta defense had three errors in the game.
The Bulldogs scored a lone run in the bottom of the first inning and added two more in the third for a 3-0 advantage.
The Pioneers fought back scoring lone runs in the fourth and the seventh to fall just one run short.
Wall also drove in two runs for Sparta, while Chris Theobald also drove in a run.
The Bulldogs improved to 6-1 on the year with the win.
Jesse Smith took the loss on the mound for Trico.
Marissa-Coulterville 2
Breese Mater Dei 1
Casey Pitchford hit a two-run walk-off home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to lift Marissa-Coulterville to a 2-1 win over Breese Mater Dei Thursday.
Casey Pitchford, who also tossed two scoreless innings, had Marissa-Coulterville’s two lone hits in the game.
Kevin Galle pitched one inning allowing one run on two hits to notch the win. Starter David Parkinson pitched five innings allowing no runs on no hits while striking out nine.
The win snapped a two-game losing skid for the Meteors as they improved to 5-2 on the season.
Trico 15
Chester 4
Trico scored multiple runs in each of the first four innings to pull away for a 15-4 victory Wednesday.
The Pioneers cranked out the 15 runs on 17 hits, while Chester was held to four runs on two hits.
Trico scored four runs in the bottom of the first, two in the second, three in the third and six in the fourth. Chester scored two runs in the fourth and two more in the fifth.
Junior Matt Bunselmeyer was the hero for Trico as he picked up the win on the mound and went 3-for-4 with a double and three runs batted in as the Pioneers notched their first win of the season.
Dylan Witthoft went 3-for-4 with a double and three runs batted in and Dennis Froemling added two hits in the win.
Justin Eggemeyer was 1-for-2, while Matt Heberlie was 1-for-1 with a run batted in. Heberlie took the loss for Chester.
Trico improved to 1-1 on the year, while Chester fell to 4-4.