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  • Mt. Vernon Post 141 and Landon Thomas face Fairview Heights in the Junior Legion state tournament on Saturday after dropping a game 7-2 to Champaign on Friday night. Powell Latimer/Register-News File

    Post 141 falls at state
July 31, 2010

Post 141 falls at state

By POWELL LATIMER powell.latimer@register-news.com

CHAMPAIGN — Mt. Vernon Post 141 fell to Champaign, 7-2 in the second round of the Junior Legion state tournament Friday at Champaign Centennial High School.

The Mt. Vernon bats found plenty of contact, according to Post 141 coach George Xanders, but most of the Post 141 line drives found the gloves of Champaign.

“We hit line drive after line drive right at people,” Xanders said. “I was proud of the team, it just didn’t happen.”

Post 141, competing against the home team in the tournament, actually took an early lead in the top of the third inning when Jared Anthis doubled to score John Hollingsworth and open the scoring.

But Champaign leveled the score in the bottom of the inning, and neither team managed any more offense until the bottom of the fifth inning.

Champaign led off the frame with a base hit. The next batter bunted, and Mt. Vernon’s play at second base couldn’t get the force out. Champaign bunted again on the next batter, and the ball missed a diving Zane Xanders’ glove to load the bases for Champaign with no outs.

And when a ground ball from Champaign’s fourth batter of the inning ended up leaking into right field on an error, Champaign took advantage, scoring five runs in the inning on Post 141’s error and another base hit.

“The wheels kinda fell off,” Xanders said.

Down 6-1 heading into the sixth inning, Mt. Vernon tried to rally with Quinten Kehrer’s solo homer in the top of the seventh, but couldn’t manage to come back.

Zane Xanders pitched for Post 141, throwing the complete game despite breaking his thumb in the sixth inning. Xanders fanned three batters on the game and gave up only three earned runs.

Mt. Vernon moves on to play Fairview Heights on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. in a rematch of the Division Five championship game just a week ago, and in that game Mt. Vernon was missing one of its better hitters in Zane Xanders.

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