Elkville Fastpitch Wins Terry Deering Memorial
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[ For the second time in three years, the Terry Memorial Fastpitch Softball Tournament championship belongs to Elkville.
Sunday afternoon-under skorching heat and high humidity-Elkville swept to a pair of victories to again the title.
An 8-6 win over defending champion Belleville Stallions started the day and was followed by a convincing 8-2 triuph against tournament host Pinckneyville (KC/Lee's Sports Falcons)in the final game.
Tournament Most Valuable Player Nathan Hunter cracked a two-run homer to put Elkville (18-7) in front good against KC/Lee's Sports. The blast was Hunter's fourth of the tourney. He ended 11-for-17 (.647) at the plate with 10 RBI. Hunter also scored nine runs and swiped five bases.
Winning pitcher Les Wood tossed a four-hitter with eight strikeouts, whiffing the side in the final inning. He was named Most Valuable Pitcher, an award he also garnered in 2007.
In four games, Wood (4-0)worked 26 innings while striking out 31. After scratching out and earned tally to start the deciding contest, Elkville's 1-0 lead disappeared in the third when Mason Woodside touched Wood for a two-run home run. Hunter answered in the bottom half of the frame, deposting a roundtripper well over the fence in rightfield.
The lead reached 5-2 in the fifth after an RBI double from Tim Herring before N. Hunter put things out of reach with a two-run double.
Herring, Chad Reams and N. Hunter all had two hits with Barry Maynor and Aaron Hunter adding run scoring safeties.
For KC/Lee's, Woodside had two hits. John Kiselewski took the loss.
In Elkville's semifinal victory, N. Hunter and Shawn Hunter homered during a three-run first inning.
The lead reached 6-0 a frame later with consecutive RBI hits from all three Hunter's. Hunter and Maynor pitched in late run-scoring singles as Elkville held on. Wood was the winning hurler, striking out six.
Reams, the Hunter trio and Lance Bedar enjoyed two-hit games.
KC/Lee's Sports pulled ahead 5-2 in the second against Teutopolis (Koerner Miller Lite) in the second semifinal as Haven Hicks smacked a bases loaded double. Kiselweski bopped a two-run triple with Eric Saunders contributing a two-RBI double as KC/Lee's began pulling away.
Hicks and Josh Fisher each had two hits. Mark Radake (2-0) went the distance.
KC/Lee's Sports (22-10) won the Pool A title over Elkville late Sunday, winning 11-4 in five innings. KC/Lee's defeated Scheller (Knight Hawk Coal) DirtBags 5-1 Friday night and beat Pete's Blues of Swansea (10-6) to sweep pool play.
Elkville blanked Pete's Blues 5-0 Friday and beat Knight Hawk Coal 13-3.
In the other Pool a game, Knight Hawk defeated Pete's Blues 9-4.
Another local team, Kuhnert Builders from Elkville was 0-3 in Pool B.