Steeleville JR legion edges Red Bud
<p dir="ltr"><span>STEELEVILLE -- R.J. Smith picked up the win on the mound and hit a two-run double at the plate, helping Steeleville Junior Legion Post 480 beat Red Bud, 8-7, on Thursday.</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>Red Bud jumped on Steeleville starter Hunter Fedderke early in plating two runs in the top of the first, but Post 480 rallied to tie the game in the bottom half of the inning.</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>That started a back-and-forth battle between the teams, who combined to use six pitchers in the contest.</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>"We had that tough game against Chester and took three days off," said Steeleville coach Jacob Wente, referring to last Sunday's 7-6 loss to Post 487. "So I was happy with the kids, the way they came out.</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>"It was kind of a little bit sloppy on both sides, you could tell the teams hadn't played in a couple of days. We kind of gutted it out with different guys on the mound."</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>Steeleville (10-4, 6-2 25th District) scored three runs in the third to take a 5-4 lead thanks to Smith's double and Smith later scored on a fielder's choice.</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>But Red Bud (9-2, 9-2 25th District) wasn't done, taking a 6-5 lead in the next half-inning on a walk and two singles. Steeleville responded with a pair of runs in its half of the fourth for a 7-6 lead.</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>"I thought there were a couple of balls that we could have fielded would have gone our way maybe," said Red Bud coach Scott Randle. "I liked our approach with two strikes, I thought we hit the ball pretty well with that.</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>"But, a couple of balls went the other way, close game, that's what happens."</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>After a scoreless fifth inning, Steeleville got the critical insurance run in the sixth when Wittenborn reached on an error and came around to score on a RBI double by Bradley Mevert.</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>"I thought we had good approaches (at the plate) at the end," Wente said. "The guy that they brought in (Griffin Ziebold), I think he's their top guy and we had really good approaches.</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>"We beat them 6-0 up there at their place and hit him pretty well and he's a really good pitcher."</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>Owen Gross, Steeleville's fourth pitcher of the game, came on in the sixth to try and earn the save for Post 480. Red Bud got one run in the seventh on a RBI single by Gavin Braun, but Tyler Wahlman struck out swinging to end the game.</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>"I just like his fastball and his breaking ball," Wente said on what he liked about having Gross in that situation. "That last out is the toughest one to get and I think he's not there yet completely, but I think he's close to where he's a guy that we have confidence in to get the 21st out of the game."</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>Steeleville is off for the holiday weekend before hosting Marion on Tuesday. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.</span>