Powell Latimer
powell.latimer@register-news.com
CHAMPAIGN — Just one week after a narrow loss in the Division Five championship, Trevor Flota, Darius Box and Mt. Vernon Post 141 turned the tables on Fairfield Heights to stay alive in the Junior Legion state tournament, 8-6.
Flota nearly put Mt. Vernon ahead in the previous meeting, as his long blast in Pinckeyville fell feet short of a grand slam. On Saturday, Flota instead turned in a gutsy six-plus-inning performance to pick up the win.
Using a combination of off-speed and breaking pitches, Flota pitched around the Fariview Heights lineup for the majority of the game.
"There's a lot of difference between a pitcher and a thrower, and Trevor's a pitcher," Post 141 coach George Xanders said. "When he's hitting his spots, he's really dangerous."
Offensively, Mt. Vernon opened things up with a lucky break when Greg Holt reached in the second inning after the Fairview Heights first baseman was ruled off the bag.
John Hollingsworth followed with a bloop single to put runners on first and second base with only one out — but the real damage came in the five consecutive walks that followed, bringing in four runs.
"A lot of those walks were with full counts," Post 41 coach George Xanders said. "I give those guys credit, it's hard to lay off in that situation and leave it in the hands of the offical."
Mt. Vernon added three more runs in the top of the fifth inning on John Hollingsworth's RBI double and Clayton Reeves pinch-hit two-RBI double to go ahead 7-3.
"Anybody I throw up there, we feel like they're going to get a hit," Xanders said. "It's a nice way to feel."
With an early lead, it fell to Flota to keep the Fairfield bats under control. He responded by allowing only three runs through the first six innings, despite allowing six hits in those frames. Three times, Flota struck out batters to end innings with runners on base, and twice more induced double plays.
"I was trying to limit the damage and not let them get any more than they'd already got," Flota said.
In the sixth inning, Flota had already allowed his third run of the game and had runners at first and second base when he loaded the count for Hughes. Knowing his pitcher was tiring, Xanders yelled out for Flota to "throw whatever you're comfortable with."
Flota responded with a curve ball in the dirt to get Highs to strike out swinging and end the inning with the Mt. Vernon lead intact.
But in the seventh inning, Fairview heights mounted a comeback, loading the bases and scoring three runs. Post 141 went to the bullpen and brought in Box.
Box, who struck out with the bases loaded to end the previous meeting, closed out Saturday's win by striking out Fairview Heights' Devian Cooper and inducing Danny Hughes to fly out.
