Gvillo's three HRs help Alton knock out Pinckneyville-Du Quoin
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[A three-home run performance by Alton designated hitter Ryan Gvillo put an end to Pinckneyville-Du Quoin's Senior American Legion baseball season on Thursday at Rigdon Field as Post 126 ripped 2504/647 13-3 in seven innings. Gvillo's third blast was a three-run shot, ending the game in the bottom of the seventh in walk-off fashion.
The big damage, though, came in the sixth inning when Alton plated six runs - four on a grand slam by Gvillo, who finished with eight runs batted in.
"Big players play big in big games, and that kid had a big game," said Pinckneyville-Du Quoin coach Sean Patrick. "He had a good swing, we threw strikes, and he let us have it. We gave him pitches to hit and he did not miss. That's a good ball player, you tip your hat to a guy like that."
Post 126 got on the board in the bottom of the first on Gvillo's first blast, a solo homer off of P'ville-Du Quoin starter John Goodrich. Goodrich gave up three singles and a walk during the bottom of the third to bring two more Alton runs in for a 3-0 score.
Goodrich singled in the top of the fourth then was put out at second on a grounder by Nate Boss for a fielder's choice. Boss scored following singles by Brett Warchol and C.J. Opp, but Alton got the run back in the bottom half on a double by Shane Mathews and a sacrifice fly from Jason Roberts.
Adam Barcewski doubled in the fifth for Pinckneyville-Du Quoin, then scored on Goodrich's two-out RBI single to make it 4-2 for the time being.
"This was our fourth straight game in the heat, it would have been really easy for us to come out and give up four or five runs in the first inning and we didn't," Patrick said. "We battled with them for five strong innings. It's a long road, and that's what the loser's bracket does to you."
Goodrich, and later Evan Chapman, allowed six Alton hits in the sixth, but none bigger than the bases-loaded bomb by Gvillo, who returned in the seventh to send Pinckneyville-Du Quoin home from the tournament.
"One big inning is usually what gets you," Patrick said. "We got beat in the District (Tournament) 20-8 because we gave up 14 runs in one inning. We got beat today 13-3 because we gave up six in one inning."
"It's one bad inning, whether they earn it or you give it to them. Today I think (Alton) earned it, I think we only allowed one run that we shouldn't have allowed. We kept our mental mistakes to a minimum, but offensively we struck out ten times."
Pinckneyville-Du Quoin did manage eight hits in the game, two apiece from Goodrich (2-4, RBI), Warchol (2-3, 2B) and Barczewski (2-3, R, 2B). Shute (1-4, RBI) and Opp (1-2, BB, RBI) had the others.
"I told them 'you're the last team in southern Illinois still playing," Patrick said. "Name all the other Posts that have teams down here and we're playing longer than anybody, and we're proud of that."
"The pitching was there today, we threw strikes, didn't have too many walks, and I don't think we committed many errors. (Alton) earned it, they were better than us today."
Alton and Edwardsville were scheduled to play in the losers' bracket finals on Thursday evening before rain swept through the region. The game will be played at 1:00 p.m. on Friday with the winner facing Fairview Heights in the championship at 7:00 p.m.
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