It may have taken nine innings to finish the job, but Belleville East ultimately got the result they hoped for on Saturday. They won by a run and slipped past the Mt. Vernon Rams 11-10. The victory was a breath of fresh air for Belleville East as it put an end to their three-game losing streak.
For Mt. Vernon's part, Diedrich Smith put in work no matter where he played. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run over five innings pitched. Smith has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in eight consecutive pitching appearances. Smith was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-4 with a triple and an RBI.
In other batting news, Alex Kiefer was cooking despite his team's loss, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with a triple. Another player making a difference was Matthew McKinney, who went 2-for-3 with two RBI.
Belleville East's win bumped their record up to 18-13. As for Mt. Vernon, they dropped their record down to 12-18 with that defeat, which was their third straight on the road.
Belleville East will face off against Collinsville at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Belleville East's pitching crew has only allowed 3.6 runs per game this season, so Collinsville's hitters will have their work cut out for them. As for Mt. Vernon, they will be playing in front of their home fans against Teutopolis at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. Teutopolis is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.6 runs per game this season.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
