Fighting Squirrels fall to St. Louis Sting 6-2 in wood bat title game

CHARLESTON, Mo. - The Charleston Fighting Squirrels became the first team to score runs against the undefeated St. Louis Sting but came up short in its bid to knock off the big-city juggernaut in the title game of the Fighting Squirrels Classic late Saturday night.

The Sting recorded at least one hit in every inning on its way to a 6-2 victory against Charleston in the championship of the two-day 12-team tournament at Hillhouse Park.

"We faced another quality team," Charleston coach Michael Minner said of the championship. "The kid on the mound was tough. He had good velocity and mixed it up. Those are the kind of guys we want to see. Those are the guys that prepare us for the end. These losses will come in handy when it comes tournament time. We could put together a schedule where we could win a lot of games, but we want to challenge ourselves. This weekend we faced four quality opponents and went 2-2. We would have liked to go 4-0, but unfortunately we didn't. But we saw four quality arms and had an opportunity to better prepare ourselves for the postseason."

Derrick Freeman, who has signed to play baseball at the University of Missouri-St. Louis next season, earned a complete-game victory against the Squirrels. Freeman allowed two runs on eight hits, struck out seven and did not walk a hitter in seven innings of work.

Bruce Simmons was the pitcher of record for Charleston. Simmons allowed four runs, six hits, struck out four, hit three and walked two while throwing 106 pitches in three innings of work.

Jason Mattison, a Dexter standout, relieved Simmons at the start of the fourth inning. Mattison allowed two unearned runs, four hits, struck out five and did not walk a hitter in a four-inning relief stint.

"The pitching was pretty good," Minner said. "Bruce was a little wild early and got to a pitch count where we had to get him out to save his arm. Mattison came in and was really sharp and both teams made some defensive plays. We've got to sure up a few things defensively, but for the most part I thought we played really good baseball."

Corson Crosnoe collected both of Charleston's RBIs in the title game.

Crosnoe cut the Sting's lead to 3-1 when he hit a ground ball between the second baseman's legs with the bases loaded and nobody out in the bottom of the second inning.

Crosnoe delivered again with runners at first and third with one out in the bottom of the fourth inning when he reached base on an infield single. The infield hit plated Wyatt Pratt from third base and cut the Sting's lead to 4-2.

"Corson is really aggressive at the plate," Minner said of his No. 7 hitter's clutch performance. "He's a strong kid that put the ball in play in two clutch situations. When you put the ball in play good things are going to happen. I was really pleased with his performance tonight. He's a great kid that's working really hard and we are glad to have him."

The Sting scored in each of the first three innings it batted.

St. Louis loaded the bases in the first and second innings.

Jake Witte drew a bases-loaded walk on a full-count with two outs in the top of the first inning to put the Sting on top 1-0. Simmons avoided additional damage when he got the next hitter Bobby Shallenberger to ground into a 6-3 fielder's choice with the bases loaded for the third out.

Tim O'Leary drove home the Sting's second run when he reached base on an infield single with two outs and the bases loaded in the top of the second inning. The Sting padded its lead to 3-0 when the next hitter Mitch Harris was hit by a pitch on a 3-2 count with the bases loaded.

The Sting added an unearned run in the top of the third inning and two unearned runs in the top of the fifth inning for its six-run total. Leadoff hitter Ryan Clavin had a sacrifice fly in the top of the fifth inning.

Two newcomers for the Squirrels combined for half of its team's eight hits.

Cameron Clark, who played college baseball at Three Rivers College this spring, finished 2 for 3 at the plate with a pair of singles.

"Clark has been a junior college kid for a year and has mainly pitched," Minner said of Clark, who graduated from Holcomb High School. "He hasn't got many at-bats so with each at-bat he gets he is getting a lot better. He has had some really good at-bats and is barreling the ball almost every time he hits it."

Wyatt Pratt, a Sikeston talent, also finished 2 for 3 at the plate with a pair of singles.

"Wyatt is a 16-year old from Sikeston," Minner said. "He's going to be a junior next season and he's a kid we wanted to make sure we snatched up. He's going to be a great player. He just needs experience. He's a kid that can play multiple infield positions and has a great arm on the mound. His upside is really good and he's been sharp for us. We are glad to have him and he had two big hits for us tonight."

The St. Louis Sting, which had six starters committed to play college baseball on its roster, beat the SEMO Pirates of Leopold 8-0 and Sikeston Legion 8-0 in its pool play games Friday. The St. Louis Sting edged the St. Louis Stars 1-0 in its championship semifinal Saturday.

The Fighting Squirrels (6-8) finished the tournament 2-2. Charleston beat Southwest Central, Missouri, 8-2 and lost to Quincy, Illinois, 6-0 in its pool play games Friday. The Fighting Squirrels beat the Riverbend Ducks 9-3 in a championship semifinal Saturday before squaring off against the Sting in the title game.

St. Louis Sting 6, Charleston Fighting Squirrels 2

ST. LOUIS 121 020 0 - 6 11 2

CHARLES 010 100 0 - 2 8 3

WP - Derrick Freeman. LP - Bruce Simmons. Multiple hits - Charleston: Wyatt Pratt 2-3, Cameron Clark 2-3; St. Louis: Kevin Sidney 3-4, Luke Lowry 2-4.