BETHALTO – Civic Memorial Eagles pulled off a thrilling finish Monday, walking off Waterloo for a 7-6 victory after a seventh-inning error brought home the winning run.
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It was a standout day at the plate for Luke Clouser, who went a perfect 4-for-4. Clouser racked up three doubles—in the first, third, and sixth innings—and added a single in the fifth to power the Eagles’ offense.
Civic Memorial struck first in the opening inning, capitalizing on a passed ball to take an early lead. They added another run in the third when Clouser laced a double to right, making it 2-0.
Waterloo answered in the fourth inning, turning the game around with a four-run surge. A double from Austin Martin, an RBI groundout by Conrad Lindhorst, and a two-run homer from Trey Conrod gave Waterloo a 4-2 advantage.
The Eagles battled back in the fifth, tying the game thanks to a single from Brock Rust and a double by Ryan Lamarr.
Waterloo regained the lead in the sixth, going up 6-4 behind RBI singles from Carter Jones and Trey Breintenstein. But Civic Memorial responded again in the bottom half, as Jacob Flowers delivered an RBI single and Clouser added another clutch double to even the score at six.
In the seventh, the Eagles sealed the comeback victory when a Waterloo error allowed the winning run to cross the plate.
On the mound, Brady Hasenjaeger earned the win in relief, tossing three innings while allowing two runs on four hits with three strikeouts. Chase Butler got the start, giving up four runs over three and one-third innings.
For Waterloo, Cannon Richard started strong, allowing two runs (one earned) over four innings while striking out six. Chase Zimmerman took the loss in relief.