Olendorff, St. Charles Bounce Back Against O’Fallon

Austin Olendorff’s start Monday night went much better than his previous outing.

Following a start last Wednesday in which he walked six and hit a batter while allowing eight runs in only 2 2/3 innings in a 12-4 loss to Wentzville, Olendorff got off to a shaky start on Monday. But he calmed his nerves and tossed six shutout innings as the St. Charles American Legion Post 312 picked up an 8-2 win over O’Fallon at Westhoff Park.

“(Monday’s) game helped me get back on track for what I needed to do,” Olendorff said. “From last game to this game was a really big improvement.”

Olendorff said he and Post 312 manager Kurt Denningmann spoke following last week’s loss and fixed “the fundamental things” he had done wrong. Denningmann said he got Olendorff to move his foot in to “open him up” and that made the difference.

“When I warmed up in bullpen before the game I focused on what I needed to do correct,” Olendorff said.

He wasn’t perfect early as O’Fallon’s Chris Backs led off with a single, but was thrown at second trying to stretch it into a double. That was followed by a pair of errors, a strikeout and then a walk to load the bases. Olendorff then struck out Chris McKinzie to end the scoring threat.

“In the first inning, it’s not good to get your pitch count high, but I had to clear my head and not get frustrated,” Olendorff said. “I just had to get it done.”

His teammates got him a lead in the second inning.

Following an error and a double by Michael Pundmann, Dustin Fuller’s two-run single gave Post 312 a 2-0 advantage. St. Charles (17-6) added to its lead in the fourth.

Spencer Pugh drew a one-out walk and consecutive singles by Fuller and Matt Glanzner loaded the bases. Mike Elmer then knocked in a run with a single to right. Fuller then scored on a Sam Chambers grounder. Zack Jones, who had a double in the third but was stranded, then hit a grounder to short that should have ended the inning. Instead Colton Coffey misplayed the ball, allowing two runs to score.

“They showed up ready to play and they beat us,” said O’Fallon assistant coach Josh Henson, who was filling in for manager Randy Michelleti. “They came out and beat us. It’s that simple.”

It was 6-0 after the seventh inning. Jones blasted a triple to the left field fence and scored on Pundmann’s sacrifice bunt. Fuller then knocked in catcher Adam Ricks, who had walked. Ricks finished the day 1-for-4 but reached base in four of his five plate appearances. Fuller went 3-for-3 with a walk and three RBIs.

O’Fallon, which has just one win on the season, got on the board in the bottom of the eighth. Following a single by McKinzie, an error and a walk to Coffey to load the bases, Backs and Steve Vogt each came through with two-out RBI singles.

The win ended a two-game skid for St. Charles, which had not played since Thursday. It also was the first of a tough four-game stretch that includes St. Peters tonight, unbeaten West on Wednesday and then Elsberry on Thursday.

“Our next three games are going to be huge,” Denningmann said. “It’s like a stepping stone each time. I told these guys these next four games are going to determine how successful their season is. … These next three games are going to be fun.”

ST. CHARLES 8, O’FALLON 2

St. Charles      020 400 200 – 8 11 6

O’Fallon          000 000 020 – 2 7 3

St. Charles (17-6) – Chambers 0-4, RBI; Jones 2-5, 2B, 3B; Ricks 1-4; Pundmann 1-3, 2B, RBI; Pugh 1-4; Fuller 3-3, 3RBI; Glanzner 1-4; Elmer 1-3, RBI; Melliere 1-1. WP- Olendorff IP-6 H-3 R-0 BB-4 K-7 HBP-1.

O’Fallon – Backs 3-3, RBI; Vogt 2-5, RBI; Hatcher 1-4, 2B; McKinzie 1-5. LP- Mennimeier IP-7 H-10 R-8 ER-5 BB-3 K-5.