Monday's SIRR baseball: Du Quoin whips Chester, conference hopes remain
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Du Quoin High School kept its hopes for a repeat River-to-River Conference baseball title alive Monday, trudging its way past Chester 8-3 at the Bud Cohen Complex.
The Indians, now 4-3 in SIRR play and 12-7 overall, host Pinckneyville at 4:30 Tuesday.
Chester's records are 0-7 and 5-10.
J.C. Davis and Trent Bigham combined to throw a five-hitter on the mound, teaming up for 10 strikeouts.
Davis (3-2) worked the first four innings and was credited with the victory. Bigham tossed the final three frames for his second save.
Du Quoin jumped ahead in the first inning on Jake Stanhouse's RBI single and strethced the lead to 2-0 Seth Baxter's basehit in the second.
Chester plated three unearned runs to go ahead 3-2 an inning later before a bases loaded walk to Tyler Shelton knotted the score.
In the fifth, DHS pulled in front to stay in its half of the fourth when Bigham doubled and scored on Baxter's bunt ingle. Davis then sent the second run home with a sacrifice fly.
Ahead 5-3, the Tribe then added three insurance runs in the seventh to salt things away.
With the bases loaded, Davis sent home the sixth run with an RBI grounder.
Shelton then singled home the final two tallies.
Sam Gossett was 3-for-3 and scored three runs with Baxter adding three hits and two RBI.
Shelton and Davis each knocked in two runs with Stanhouse going 2-for-4.