Down to two — Aviston back stop Miles Browne sends a throw to second base in the Express’ 17-4 win over visiting St. Jacob on Friday in the Trenton Gator Classic. Browne had two hits and three RBIs in the victory. PHOTO BY JEREMY CHAWGO The Aviston Express Senior Legion baseball team had another strong week while their only setback was with Mother Nature.
The Express picked up a win over Smithton on Monday before rolling through their first two games of the Trenton Gator Classic to head to the title game. The Express outscored their opponents 47-4 in those three contest.
The Express played Rantoul on Sunday with an 8-8 game halted due to the weather in the fourth inning as the game was settled with a tie for a co-championship.
The Express are now 10-2-1 on the season and will host Salem on Tuesday and St. Jacob on Wednesday.
They will host a round-robin tournament over the weekend with games on Friday and Saturday.
Aviston 8, Rantoul 8: Mother Nature halted the title game of the Trenton Gator Classic on Sunday at Pete Schumacher Field.
The Express’ offense was working on all cylinders, while Rantoul managed eight runs on just three hits.
Post 287 received four walks and a hit batter while Aviston committed a costly fielding error in the opening inning.
Conlan Haar sparked the offense from the leadoff spot with a triple and a bunt single while he added three runs batted in and one scored. Drake Curry had two singles and two runs scored while Browne added two RBI.
Craig Schroeder was 2-for-2 with an RBI and a run scored. Aviston had seven hits and received three walks.
Strong defense — Aviston second baseman Conlan Haar sends a throw to first base in the Express’ blowout win over St. Jacob on Friday night in the Gator Classic. Haar walked twice and scored twice in the win. PHOTO BY JEREMY CHAWGO Rowdy Sussenbach pitched all four innings and allowed four earned runs on three hits, four walks and five punch outs.
Aviston got out to a lead in the top of the first inning when Clayton Gaetti walked and Sussenbach was hit by a pitch. With two outs, Browne sent one to the gap for a 2-0 lead.
Rantoul got three runs in the bottom of the inning with a walk, a single and an error to take a 3-2 lead after one inning of play.
Aviston answered in the top of the second when Curry and Schroeder each singled before Max Albers walked to load the bases.
Haar smashed a triple to the right side to clear the bases for a 5-3 lead. Gaetti chased Haar with a sacrifice fly and a 6-3 lead.
Rantoul regained the lead again in the bottom of the inning with a single, a double, three walks and a hit batter for an 8-6 lead.
Schroeder pounded a two-run single in the third inning to tie the contest at 8-8.
Sussenbach retired the side in order in the bottom of the inning to slow the Rantoul offense.
Haar reached on a bunt single to start the fourth inning before the skies turned dark with the downpour following that halted the contest in a tie.
Aviston 12, Christian County 0 (5 innings): The Express had a solid night in all phases of their victory on Saturday night in Aviston.
Southpaw power — Aviston first baseman Drake Curry sends a ball out to the outfield in the Express’ 17-4 win over St. Jacob in the Gator Classic on Friday. Curry had three walks and scored a run in the home victory. PHOTO BY JEREMY CHAWGO Bryce Wieter battled some wildness with four walks, but tossed a no-hitter in the process with a five-inning, complete-game shutout in 66 pitches.
Meanwhile, leadoff hitter Conlan Haar paced the 11-hit offense with a triple, a single, two runs scored and four batted in. Rowdy Sussenbach had three singles, two stolen bases, one run scored and one RBI.
Wieter was 2-for-4 with two singles, a run scored and two batted in. Clayton Gaetti added two RBI and a stolen base. Miles Browne had two walks, a single and two runs scored.
Wieter stranded the bases loaded in the top of the first inning before the Aviston offense stranded one of those for a scoreless start.
Aviston got four runs in the bottom of the second inning when Wieter, Johnny Hilmes and Max Albers all singled to load the bases. Haar chased all three home with a triple to the gap. Haar scored on a sacrifice fly from Gaetti for a 4-0 lead.
They added a single tally in the third inning when Browne walked and moved to second on a wild pitch and later scored on a single from Drake Curry.
Post 1239 sent a dozen hitters to the plate in the bottom of the fourth inning with a dropped third strike and three-straight hit batters for a 6-0 lead. Gaetti followed with an RBI ground out for the second out of the inning and a 7-0 lead.
Sussenbach singled in a run with another crossing on a fielding error. Benny Lehman walked and Browne singled in the 10th run of the game. Wieter followed with a two-run single to end the scoring.
Wieter worked around a leadoff walk before getting a ground out, a pop out and a strikeout to end the no-hitter.
Aviston 17, St. Jacob 4 (6 innings): The Express’ offense got off to a slow start before getting hot on Friday night.
Post 1239 had trouble early on with the pitching speed of Alex Fritz before getting going down the stretch.
Aviston got a 1-0 lead in the first inning off a hit batter and a ground out from Benny Lehman.
They made it 2-0, despite not garnering a hit in the top of the second inning when Drake Curry walked and later scored on a wild pitch.
St. Jacob got a double and two walks from Aviston starter Ethan Wheelan as they got within 2-1 after two innings of action.
Aviston got singles from Clayton Gaetti and Rowdy Sussenbach before an RBI from Miles Browne on a single to right made it 3-1.
St. Jacob tied the game in the bottom of the inning after a hit batter and a single to start before a single and a double made it 3-3 entering the top of the fourth inning.
Aviston stranded two runners in the fourth inning before St. Jacob took a brief 4-3 lead with a leadoff single from Juju Gaddis and an RBI single from Grady Miller.
The Express went to work in the fifth inning when they sent 12 hitters to the plate when Benny Lehman started things with a leadoff triple and scoring on a fielding error to tie the contest.
Johnny Hilmes followed with an RBI single before Max Albers chased in two more for a 7-4 lead with a shot to left. After the second out, Gaetti singled in a run for an 8-4 lead.
Sussenbach doubled in a run before another error from St. Jacob made it 10-4. Browne doubled in Lehman with a shot to the gap for an 11-4 lead.
After the Screaming Blue Hens stranded the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth inning, the Express ended it with a big sixth inning.
Carter Spaeth led off with a walk and later scored on a single from Albers. Albers and Conlan Haar each scored on a double from Sussenbach. Lehman tripled in two more runs before the game ended.
Albers was 3-for-4 with two singles, a double, three runs batted in and two runs scored. Lehman had two triples, three runs scored and three batted in.
Gaetti was 2-for-4 with two singles, an RBI and two runs scored. Sussenbach was 4-for-5 with two doubles, two singles, three runs scored, three batted in and one walk.
Drake Curry had three walks and a run scored while Browne added a single, a double, a run scored and three batted in. Conlan Haar walked twice and scored twice.
Aviston 18, Smithton 0 (5 innings): The Express played rude house guests with a short-game victory on Monday in St. Clair County.
Aviston scored twice in each of the first two innings before adding touchdowns in the fourth and fifth innings to end the contest.
The Express had eight players with a hit and they were led by Drake Curry with two singles, a double, a run scored and three batted in. Rowdy Sussenbach was 2-for-3 with a single, a double, a walk, an RBI, two runs scored and two stolen bases.
Max Albers had three singles, a stolen base and three runs scored while Carter Spaeth followed with two singles, two stolen bases, two walks, three runs scored and one RBI. Miles Browne had a single, a double, two runs scored and five batted in.
Aviston stole eight bases in the win where they out hit the host team 16-1.
Landon Toennies took care of the rest with a five-inning, complete-game, one-hit shutout with one walk and eight strikeouts in a 73-pitch effort.
