Summer Prep Baseball: Du Quoin two-peats as SIBCA champion
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[For the second consecutive year, Du Quoin High School is champion of the Southern Illinois Baseball Coaches Association (SIBCA) Summer Tournament.
Thursday night, the Indians held back Carterville 4-3 to claim the title at Herrin's Memorial Park and finished the abbreviated summer schedule with an 8-1-2 record.
Du Quoin scored all four of its runs in the opening inning and then quashed two Carterville rallies during the final two frames.
"It wasn't the prettiest game we played," DHS coach Tim Craft admitted. "But it was a win and the kids found a way. I think we got a little too comfortable with that early lead."
In the first, Kegan Robbins led off with a single and moved up on a bunt hit by sophomore-to-be Brenden Fred.
Robbins went to third on the play and scored when Trent Bigham grounded out.
Brandon George tripled into rightcenter fieldto push Fred across and Sam Gossett bombed a home run over the leftfield wall as the margin reached 4-0.
Sam Kuhnert was sharp as Du Quoin's starting pitcher, working one out into the sixth inning. He struck out three and didn't issue a walk before Fred relieved.
A pair of defensive gems by Austin Mansker-another soph-to-be-at third base, helped secure the victory. With the score 4-3 and a runner on, Mansker dove to this left to snare a line drive for the second out.
He then threw out Carterville's next batter after charging hard for a ground ball to end the inning.
Fred worked around a single and outfield error in the seventh to save things for Kuhnert.
"Sam threw strikes and Brenden made some really good pitches,' Craft said. "And the defense was very good all game. "
Besides Mansker's defensive heroics, the Indians turned a double play and Bigham threw out a Carterville runner trying to stretch a single into a double leading off the seventh,
Travis Chapman had a pair of doubles for the Indians with Seth Baxter and Kuhnert joining the hit parade along with Robbins, Fred, George and Gossett.
The win avenged the lone SIBCA loss defeat of the summer for the Indians.
"We would have liked to play more games," Craft said. "But I felt like we had a good summer overall. A lot our kids are continuing to get better."
Du Quoin handled Class 1A state runner-up Goreville (6-2) to open the tournament Tuesday before ousting host Herrin (9-3) in the semifinal round.
Last year, the Indians defeated Carmi-White County and Fairfield before dowing host Eldorado for the title. They scored 43 runs in those wins.
Du Quoin 4, Carterville 3
C'ville 001 011 0-3 7 2
DHS 400 000 0-4 8 1
Kuhnert, Fred (6) and Chapman, Hamlin (4). WP-Kuhnert. SV-Fred. DHS HITTERS: Robbins 1-3, Fred 1-3, Bigham 0-3 (RBI), George 1-2 (3B, RBI), Gossett 1-2 (HR, 2 RBI), Bennett 0-2, Baxter 1-2, Spencer 0-2, Chapman 2-2 (2-2B), Dorsey 0-2, Kuhnert 1-2, Kelly 0-0. FINAL RECORD-Du Quoin ends 8-1-2.