Brewer’s three-run bomb gives Washington improbable 4-3 win over St. Charles

Josh Brewer knew it was gone as soon as he hit it.

Brewer’s three-run homer in the top of the ninth gave the Washington American Legion Post 218 baseball team an improbable 4-3 victory over St. Charles Post 312 Thursday night at Blanchette Park.

The home run was even more improbable considering that, prior to the at-bat, the Washington cleanup hitter was 0-for-3 with three strikeouts. Those Ks were against St. Charles starter Connor Brett. The home run came off southpaw reliever Spencer Pugh.

“I didn’t want to get down in the count,” Brewer said. “I just wanted to hit the first good pitch I saw. I got a good fastball inside and just drove it.

“I’ve always hit well off of lefties and I’ve always been a good first-pitch hitter.”

The St. Clair High graduate and Meramec Community College player admitted that he had been struggling and said the homer was “pretty big” for his confidence. Washington manager Mike Gardner said he never considered pinch-hitting for his catcher.

“That’s unusual because he doesn’t strike out a lot,” Gardner said. “We thought he was taking good swings and was fouling the ball back. We figured it was just a matter of time, didn’t expect the home run, but that ball was crushed. It was hit hard.”

The game had been a pitcher’s duel between Brett and Washington starter Brendan Kleekamp, who took a no-hitter into the fifth inning. Despite the no-no he still found his team trailing 1-0.

Kleekamp, who tossed a complete game and allowed just three hits, walked Zack Jones in the first inning. Jones, an Orchard Farm graduate and Class 3 all-state selection last spring, then stole second and third. He scored when Washington third baseman Jack Kopmann was unable to cleanly field a Mike Eimer ground ball.

Post 312 (24-7) didn’t get its first hit until Sam Melliere’s blooper to shallow right field to lead off the fifth. While Kleekamp didn’t allow any hits through four innings, Brett gave up nine hits over 7 2/3 innings, but he didn’t allow a run until the eighth inning.

“We thought we were the better team the first six innings, it just didn’t show on the scoreboard,” Gardner said. “We hit the ball better than they did. That’s just kind of the way baseball is. You’ve got to keep battling and keep fighting. It just happened to be in the ninth inning when we finally came through.”

The run Washington (21-1) got in the eighth came after Mic Fox led off the inning with a double to the right-center gap. Fox, who went 4-for-5, was moved to third on a sacrifice fly by Trent Leimkuehler and scored on Justin Zimmerman’s two-out RBI single.

St. Charles manager Kurt Denningmann then made the change to Pugh, who got Mike McGilvray to fly out to left. Denningmann said Brett was at 123 pitches when he pulled him.

With two tournaments over the next two weekends followed by the District 9 Tournament, Denningmann didn’t second-guess the pitching change.

“(Brett) was on pace to throw 150 pitches and I just don’t like that,” Denningmann said. “If it would have been a 3-3 game, he would have stayed out there. But we had a two-run lead with two outs and I wanted the lefty-on-lefty. Spencer did his job and got the out.”

The Washington score made it a 3-1 game. St. Charles had scored twice in the sixth after Jones beat out an infield single, stole second and then scored on a Michael Pundmann grounder. Eimer, who had walked, then scored on the second of three Washington errors.

Kleekamp, who struck out six while walking three with a hit batter, said he wasn’t frustrated by the score despite the disparity in hits.

“You have to have a lot of trust in the offense and believe they’re going to come through for you,” Kleekamp said. “It’s a long ball game. You’ve got plenty of time to do what you need to do. I just had to believe in my teammates and it worked out.”

The Washington run in the eighth snapped Brett’s scoreless inning streak at 27 2/3. He entered the game with a 3-0 record and 1.25 ERA.

“I haven’t used him as much as I should, being my No. 1,” Denningmann admitted. “I save him for the big games. He’s just as valuable in the field on with the bat.”

Brett had seven strikeouts to three walks in Thursday’s no decision. Pugh walked Kopmann to lead off the ninth. Brett Backhaus then hit into a fielder’s choice as St. Charles third baseman Dustin Fuller threw Kopmann out at second for the first out. Phil Landwehr then flew out for the second out, bringing up Fox. The Washington first baseman smacked a grounder to Fuller, who bobbled the ball and then threw high to first. It was Post 312’s only error of the game.

“It was a hard-hit ball, he stayed with it and then the throw sailed on him,” Denningmann said. “It was really no big deal at the time.”

Brewer was the next batter and sent Pugh’s first pitch over the left field fence.

When reminded that the groundball would have ended the game and preserved a 3-1 victory Denningmann joked, “Oh come on, we can change the rules.”

He then added, “You get 27 outs. I wouldn’t have changed anything with what we did. We played a good game. Both teams did. They just played a little better and got the big hit.

“I was hoping our kids’ heads would stay up and we could win it in the bottom of the ninth,” Denningmann said. “That blast just took all the air out of them.”

Now the challenge is keeping the team up for this weekend’s Tournament of Champions. Post 312 plays twice today at Longacre Park in Fairview Heights, Ill., and then twice on Saturday. The tourney finals are set for Monday. Washington is off this weekend and both teams will play the following weekend in the Blue Springs, Mo.

“I just hope we keep our heads up,” Denningmann said. “We need to get back on a winning streak.”

WASHINGTON 4, ST. CHARLES 3

Washington    000 000 013 – 4 11 3

St. Charles      100 002 000 – 3 3 1

Washington (21-1) – Landwehr 1-5, 2B; Fox 4-5, 2B; Brewer 1-4, HR, 3 RBI; Leimkuehler 1-5, 2B; Sheldon 1-2; Zimmerman 1-5, RBI; McGilvray 2-4. WP- Kleekamp IP-9 H-3 R-3 ER-1 BB-3 K-6 HBP-1.

St. Charles (24-7) – Jones 1-3, 3 SB; Eimer 1-3; Pundmann 0-3, RBI; Melliere 1-3. LP- Pugh IP- 1.1 H-2 R-3 ER-0 BB-2 K-1 WP-1.