MOBERLY - It took them two tries, but the Jefferson City American Legion Post 5 Seniors were finally able to defeat Washington Post 218 on Sunday to claim the Zone 1 Tournament.
Post 5, which had rolled through the double-elimination event without a loss, fell 6-2 to Washington in the first championship game.
Washington jumped out to a 4-0 by scoring two runs in both the second and fourth innings. Post 5 got two back in the top of the fifth, but Washington closed out the scoring with two in the seventh.
Logan Bax had a triple and drove in both runs for Post 5, while Cole Distler had a pair of hits. Corey Beard and Daniel Castillo each had a double for the local club.
Garrett Haslag started and took the loss, working five innings. He gave up four earned runs on eight hits while walking three. Levi Rose finished up and allowed two runs (one earned) on two hits with one walk and one strikeout.
But Jefferson City came back to capture the title by snagging a 7-2 win in the second championship game.
Post 5 came out hot, scoring three runs in the top of the first, then made it 5-0 in the fifth. Each team scored a pair of runs in the ninth inning.
Patrick Schnieders had a double, triple and three RBI for the winners, while Cole Distler had a single, triple and three RBI for the winners.
Also for Post 5, Connor Hager rapped out three hits and Haslag had one hit and one RBI.
Distler picked up the win on the mound, as he threw eight shutout innings of five-hit ball. He walked three and struck out four.
Collin Brinker pitched the ninth and gave up two earned runs on two hits and two walks.
Post 5 is now 39-5 and will advance to the State Tournament, which will be held Friday through Sunday at Sedalia.