DMS WINS STATE BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP !
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[ Du Quoin (Middle School) is now a three-time champion in Southern Illinois
Junior High School Athletic Association (SIJHSAA ) Class L Baseball.
Friday afternoon, the never-say-die Warriors stunned undefeated and heavily
favored Harrisburg 6-5 in the finals on Pinckneyville's Rigdon Field.
Garrett Dorsey smacked an RBI single to score Brenden Fred in the last of
the seventh inning, giving DMS the championship and putting the finishing
touches on a 19-2 season.
Du Quoin previously won state titles in 1997 and 1969.
"What an amazing finish to an awesome season," Warriors coach Tim Craft
said. "These kids just never back down. They've refused to lose and its been
that way all year."
Dorsey's hit sent a sliding Fred home and touched off a wild celebration by
the huge throng of DMS fans attending the contest, which was the second
meeting of 2008 between the two rivals.
Harrisburg handled DMS 9-5 in last month's Du Quoin Jaycees Tournament, but
Craft had a good feeling about Friday.
"We didn't play very well that day," he said. "And we didn't show them much.
I knew we could play much better and we had to play that way today."
Du Quoin scratched out an early 1-0 lead against Bullpups ace Ryne Roper in
the third inning, but fell behind 3-1 entering the last of the fifth.
A four-run, two-out rally then pushed DMS ahead for good.
Fred started the inning with a single and quickly swiped second base.
Nate Boss struck out, but reached when the ball eluded Harrisburg's catcher.
Dorsey walked and Fred soon scored on a wild pitch. Trailing just 3-2, the
Warriors tied things on Jonah Spencer's RBI single.
Du Quoin then forged ahead when Austin Mansker's infield grounder was
booted, scoring Dorsey.
Spencer later scored the fifth run on another wild pitch.
"Scoring those four runs with two outs was just huge," Craft said.
"There were so many clutch at-bats. By the third or fourth time through the
batting order, I felt like we would start making good contact. And we did. A
lot of balls in the last two or three innings were hit hard."
Harrisburg pulled within one to start the seventh when Roper tripled and
scored on a basehit. Two outs later, the score knotted at 5-5 after an
errotr by DMS.
Fred started the game-winning frame with a double. Boss drew an intentional
walk ahead of Dorsey's opposite field single.
Boss worked 6.1 innings, allowing five hits and striking out two.
Fred grabbed the pitching win, whiffing one.
"Nate and Brenden threw strikes and gave us a chance," Craft said. "Our
defense was again very good. Jonah (Spencer) made a perfect throw home from
right field to throw out a runner early in the game and (catcher) Travis
Chapman put down a great tag."
Fred went 3-for-4 at the plate. Dorsey, Spencer, Mansker and John Erwin
added safeties for Du Quoin.
DMS 6, Harrisburg 5
Harrisburg 000 300 2‹5 6 3
DMS 001 040 1‹6 7 2
Boss, Fred (7) and Chapman. Roper and Younger. WP‹Fred.
LP‹Roper. TOP HITTERS‹DMS: Fred 3-4 (2B), Dorsey 1-3 (RBI), Spencer 1-3
(RBI), Mansker 1-3, Erwin 1-3.