WASHINGTON, Mo. - The Jefferson City American Legion Post 5 Seniors really took to using wood bats.
Post 5 opened play Friday in the Washington Wood Bat Tournament with a 14-0 victory in five innings against St. Charles in a game played at Borgia High School.
Post 5 totaled 10 hits in the victory. Michael Skinner, Parker Schnieders and Mason Hansen all had two hits for the winners.
Schnieders finished with four RBI, while Hansen and Gage Bax both drove in three runs. Zach Stiles had two RBI.
Hansen, Hayden Hirschvogel and Drew Bax all scored three times. Skinner and Joseph Travis both scored twice.
Post 5 scored five runs in the first and five more in the second to take a 10-0 lead. Two runs in the third made it 12-0 before Post 5 added two more in the fifth.
Josef Kielholz was the winning pitcher, going the distance. He allowed two hits and one walk while recording nine strikeouts.
Post 5 (7-0) will continue play in the tournament today and Sunday. Jefferson City will play Ballwin at 10 a.m. and Manchester at 3 p.m. today to conclude pool play.
The tournament championship game is scheduled for 5 p.m. Sunday.
On Thursday, Jefferson City defeated Eureka 9-8 in a road contest.
It started with Stiles' triple to lead off the game. He would score on a passed ball and Skinner made it 2-0 when Hirschvogel reached on an error.
Travis and Gage Bax each singled in a run to cap the four-run first inning.
Another triple added to Jefferson City's lead in the third. This time it was Connor McKenna driving in Bax for a 6-0 advantage. McKenna ended up scoring when Stiles grounded out.
But Eureka would chip away and eventually tie it at 8 with three runs in the sixth.
Hirschvogel came up with the hit Post 5 needed, smacking a single to right field to make it 9-8 in the seventh. He then took the mound in the bottom half, allowing a hit and striking out two for the save.
Hirschvogel went 2-for-5 with three RBI at the plate. Travis had three hits and an RBI, and Stiles, Bax and McKenna each collected a pair of hits. Bax had two RBI.
Colton Hoelscher got the start on the mound, giving up a run on five hits with a strikeout in three innings.
Ben Robertson was credited with the win, allowing seven runs (six earned) on six hits and four walks in three innings.