Clayton McCormick, Groppel Come Up With Hit, RBI Each, Thrillbillies Hold Off Post 126 Juniors Rally, Win In Play 9 Tourney

EDWARDSVILLE - Both Clayton McCormick and Fletcher Groppel had a hit and an RBI each, but the Thrillville Thrillbillies under-16 team of Marion held off a late rally from the Alton Post 126 junior American Legion baseball team to take an 8-5 win to win the Play 9 Fourth of July weekend tournament Sunday afternoon at Plummer Park in Edwardsville.

The Thrillbillies under-16 club is associated with the parent Thrillville Thrillbillies club in the Prospect League, where they compete against the Alton River Dragons, and dealt the junior Legionnaires their fourth loss in the last nine games, dropping Alton to 13-10-1 on the season.

The Thrillbillies jumped out to an early lead with two runs in the first and three more in the second to go ahead 5-0. Both sides traded a single run each in the third to give Thrillville a 6-1 lead, then the Thrillbillies scored twice more in the fourth to go up 8-1. Post 126 scored once in the fifth and three more in the sixth, but could not get any closer as Thrillville took the six-inning game 8-5.

To go along with Clayton McCormick and Groppel's hit and RBI each, Chris Rayfield, Max Laird, Auggie Landuyt, and Nolan Pichee also had hits in the game.

Laird was the starting pitcher and was tagged with the loss, going two innings, allowing two runs, one earned, on four hits, walking two and striking out two. Triston Ferguson pitched 0.2 innings, allowing two earned runs on two hits, walking three and fanning none, Rayfield didn't get an out during his time on the mound, allowing two earned runs on one hit, walking two and fanning none, Zach Thornton pitched 1.0 inning, and gave up two earned runs on one hit, walking one and striking out none, and Preston Watson pitched the final 1.1 innings, giving up no runs or hits, walking one and striking out one.

The junior Legionnaires are now 13-10-1, and ends its regular season this week, playing at home at Lloyd Hopkins FIeld in Gordon Moore Park, meeting Jerseyvillle Post 492's junior team on Monday, then hosting Patoka Post 543 on Tuesday, with both games starting at 6 p.m. Post 126 also has a regular season game set for Friday at Trenton Post 778 at Trenton City Park, in a game at 7 p.m., and play in the District 22 playoffs, a double elimination tournament, held at the various district ballparks, July 9-12.

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