By Jacob Mayer
The Sparta Jr. Legion team was able to capitalize on Metropolis miscues early and came away with a 7-2 victory in the Jr. Legion District 25 tournament championship game in Chester Tuesday night.
Sparta (23-11) jumped ahead 3-0 in the first before Metropolis (9-22) could record an out. Sparta had only two hits in the inning, but capitalized on an error, three walks and four wild pitches to end the inning up 4-0. Metropolis starting pitcher Stefan Rehlmeyer lasted just one-third of an inning before giving way to Cordon Hight, who pitched the next 3.2 innings and allowed two runs.
Hight struck out the side in the second, but Sparta was still able to push across two more runs on a double by second baseman Trevor Morgan and a triple by center fielder Darius Jackson.
Sparta maintained a 6-0 lead until Metropolis mounted a charge in the fifth. As starting pitcher Nathan Hinkle began to tire, the Metropolis offense got back-to-back RBI singles by Rehlmeyer and starting catcher Josh Wetzel to close the gap to 6-2.
Metropolis would not get any closer, however, as Sparta brought in Aaron Rushing for the final two outs of the innning.
Sparta then tacked on a run in the sixth when third baseman Seth Shevlin reached on an error and came around to score.
Rushing would finish the game for Sparta, pitching the final 2.2 innings without allowing a hit and striking out five.
On offense, Morgan got things started for Sparta, going 2-for-3 with two runs scored and a stolen base. Jackson drove in Morgan twice and went 1-for-2 with three runs batted in.
For Metropolis, Rehlmeyer and Wetzel went a combined 2-for-5 and each had an RBI.
Sparta head coach Tim Baum said winning the district tournament was a goal the team had since the beginning of the season, and he was proud his players came through.
“This was a big win for us,” he said. “This is what we played for since day one, getting this District 25 championship.”
Baum said his team was in a good position coming into the game because of the work it did to get through the early rounds of the tournament.
“We were sitting good, better than other teams, because we had only played twice,” Baum said. “We knew we just had to take care of business, get on top and then enjoy this victory.”
On the other side, Metropolis head coach Chris Luna said his pitching staff had been used heavily to get to the championship game, and he had to start his regular catcher to start the game on the mound to try and conserve innings.
“I thought he could handle it for at least two innings, but the plan fell through,” he said.
Had Metropolis won the first game, another game would have had to been played because of the double-elimination format of the tournament.
Luna also said several defensive lapses early in the game hurt the team’s chances.
“We make one or two errors, and it seems like our heads go down and we’re done,” he said. “We tried to chip away, but we were done.”

The team will only lose three or four players because of eligibility next year, and Luna was happy his team went far into the tournament this season.
“I’m very proud of my boys,” he said. “All in all they fought great all year.”
Sparta will move on to the Division 5 tournament at Pinckneyville, and Baum is confident his team can succeed at the next level.
“I think we have the guys to do it,” he said. “We’re real competitive and had a great year. We look to compete very well in that division tournament.”
Sparta will begin play in the Division 5 Junior Legion tournament Friday at 5 p.m. at Pinckneyville.