Perryville drops opener

PERRYVILLE — The Perryville Post 133 offense didn't struggle getting on base Thursday against Eureka Post 177 in the Zone 4 American Legion baseball tournament.

Perryville out hit Eureka 9-7, drew three walks, had one batter hit by a pitch and had its leadoff man reach base to begin four different innings.

Still, Perryville struggled with its baserunning and struggled to score, as Post 133 lost to Eureka 7-2 at Perry City Park.

"It's very frustrating," Perryville No. 6 hitter and starting pitcher Cody Kennedy said. "You get runners on base and then you can't get them around."

Perryville will play in today's losers bracket game against either Festus Post 253 or Anheuser-Busch Post 299 in the double-elimination tournament.

Perryville was able to stroke four hits in the first four innings against Eureka starter Matthew Grosch. But Post 177 played strong defense behind Grosch, preventing Perryville from scoring. Post 133 also hurt itself with some bad baserunning.

Perryville's Drew Armbruster smashed a base hit off the wall with one out in the first inning, but was thrown out trying to extend his single into a double.

AARON EISENHAUER ~ aeisenhauer@semissourian.com Perryville's Justin Dailey connected for a base hit against Eureka during the fifth inning Thursday in Perryville.

Luke Ponder singled with no outs in the third inning, but was caught attempting to steal second base on a strong throw from Eureka catcher Devon Myers.

Post 133's Greg Finger singled with one out in the fourth, but was picked off first base by Grosch.

Myers then threw out Justin Dailey trying to steal second base in the fifth inning after Dailey led off the inning with a single.

"I don't know if he was that good of a catcher as if we didn't execute with the bunts and hit and runs and stuff of that nature," Perryville coach Dustin Wengert said. "That makes it easier for their guy to throw someone out."

Perryville's Greg Finger caught a short fly ball in the infield for an out during the first inning.

Grosch pitched the first four innings. Brett Hancock relieved Grosch, tossing the final five innings.

Myers used his strong arm to eliminate another scoring chance for Perryville in the sixth. Darin Yamnitz led off with a double. But Yamnitz was forced into a run down when Myers caught him leading too far off second base.

"Our defense was really great today," Hancock said. "Every time I allowed a runner, they just picked me up and made a great play behind me. My changeup was really good today. My fastball was all right. I had a bit of trouble controlling it once the later innings got here. [Grosch] pitched really good. His curveball [was working] and his location."

While Perryville struggled to score, Eureka jumped on top early against Kennedy.

AARON EISENHAUER ~ aeisenhauer@semissourian.com Perryville second baseman Luke Ponder fields a ball to get an out in the bottom of the third inning of Game 1 of the AAA Zone 4 American Legion Baseball Tournament on Thursday, July 31, 2008 at Perryville.

Eureka took a 1-0 in the first inning. Leadoff hitter James Taylor doubled off the right-field wall. He stole third base and scored when Myers grounded out with one out.

Eureka increased its advantage to 3-0 in the second inning. Kennedy hit leadoff batter Brandon Sarkissian. Eureka's Nicolas Whelehon then bunted. Kennedy fielded the bunt, but threw late to second base in an attempt to cut down the lead runner. Adam Flesner then bunted both runners into scoring position.

Sarkissian scored on a ground out, and Whelehon stole home during a pickoff between first base and second base later in the second inning.

"It started out pretty rough," Kennedy said. "They're just a good team and they just hit it in the holes. ... Their defense wasn't bad. We just made some baserunning errors and just never put everything together."

Kennedy settled down, tossing a scoreless third, fourth and fifth. He retired the minimum nine batters in the three innings with the help of a double play and a pickoff.

But Eureka added three more runs in the sixth inning on three singles and a Perryville error to make it 6-0. Sarkissian highlighted the rally with a two-run single to right.

Matt Hotop replaced Kennedy to start the seventh inning. He allowed one run on two hits and a walk as Eureka increased its lead to 7-0.

The Eureka defense played strong behind its two pitchers until the last two innings. It made two errors during Perryville's two-run ninth inning.

"The first pitcher had a pretty good curveball," Kennedy said. "The second pitcher came in and had a little more speed to his fastball. We just didn't make the adjustment."

Perryville 000 000 002 — 2 9 1

Eureka 120 003 10x — 7 7 3

WP — Matthew Grosch. LP — Cody Kennedy. 2B — James Taylor (E), Darin Yamnitz (E), Justin Dailey (P). Multiple hits — Perryville: Justin Dailey 3-4; Eureka: James Taylor 2-3, Nicolas Whelehon 2-3.