SAPPINGTON • Neither the Alton High or Lindbergh High baseball teams were able to use their top two pitchers on Saturday because of games earlier in the week and critical games next week.
That meant a lot of offense as the Redbirds posted 9-8 and 10-8 victories in a nonconference doubleheader at Lindbergh.
In the first game, Lindbergh (16-8) scored five runs in the bottom of the seventh to tie it 8-8, but Alton (21-4) rallied to score the game-winner in the top of the eighth.
The second contest featured plenty of scoring from both offenses.
Alton scored first in the top of the first. Derrick Allen reached on a error and scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Jacob Kanallakan.
Lindbergh scored twice in its half of the first using a hit-by-pitch, two hits, two stolen bases, and three walks. The big hits were RBI singles by Richard Ounanian and Tyler Coleman.
"The first one was exactly like the second," Lindbergh coach Darin Scott said. "We didn't throw any of our top guys because of the games earlier in the week. Offensively, I thought we took a step forward today. We had some really good at bats. We didn't get the win, but it was a really nice comeback in game one. But there's a reason Alton is ranked where they are ranked. They are a very good team."
The Flyers stretched the lead to 3-1 in the second when Ounanian earned a two-out walk and scored on John Halstead's double.
In the top of the third, Alton, the No. 3 team in the STLhighschoolsports.com large-schools rankings, took control of the game.
It put together nine consecutive hits to score seven times and take an 8-1 lead. Sophomore shortstop Steven Nguyen started the uprising with a single and added an RBI after his team batted around.
"We were pretty successful with our offense," Nguyen said. "Lindbergh didn't stop fighting, but we were able to stop them when we needed to the most."
Lindbergh battled back scoring three times in the fourth to shave the lead to 8-6. Alton added two insurance runs in the sixth.
Kanallakan reached on a fielder's choice with one out and scored on a double by Matthew Hopkins. Brandon Phillips followed with another double to make it 10-6.
In the seventh, John Hoevelmann singled in Ben Kelsh and Ounanian followed with a bases-loaded walk to make it 10-8. The Flyers had the bases loaded, but Halstead's drive to center was run down by Allen to end the game.
"It was a nice day for baseball," Alton coach Todd Haug. "It was nice to get away for a little while and play a tough team on a quality field. We have some obstacles still to overcome, but any day you can take two from a team like Lindbergh is a good day. It was a tough, long week. We played five games and some big ones next week too."
