Clinton Lumber Kings

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. — The Clinton LumberKings (10-6) swept the Alton River Dragons (6-10) in a doubleheader played at Roy E. Lee Field on Thursday afternoon.

The LumberKings earn their first walk-off victory in game one thanks to Cougar Cooke's RBI single in a 1-0 shutout victory. In game two, the LumberKings narrowly won in a 4-3 victory with a sac fly RBI by Chase Womack scoring Noah Gordon.

The LumberKings, playing as the home team in game one, relied on a standout performance from pitcher Brenden Martin, who threw 5.2 innings of two-hit, scoreless baseball while striking out three. Reliever Sam Lavin secured the win with 1.1 innings of perfect relief.

Offensively, the game was a battle of attrition with both teams struggling to generate runs. Alton's pitching, led by Gavin Kinworthy's six innings of three-hit ball, kept the LumberKings in check for most of the game.

However, the decisive moment came in the bottom of the seventh inning. Rayth Petersen reached on a walk, advanced to second on a sacrifice, and scored the game's only run on a single to right field by Cougar Cooke. The LumberKings' defense held strong, with a key double play turned by second baseman Cougar Cooke. The final score stood at 1-0 in favor of Clinton.

In the second game, the Alton River Dragons played as the home team but fell to the Clinton LumberKings in a more offense-driven contest. Clinton took an early lead in the third inning when Noah Gordon scored on a wild pitch. Alton quickly responded in the fourth with a sacrifice fly from Erik Broekemeier, which tied the game.

Clinton regained the lead in the fifth inning thanks to a clutch RBI single from Chase Womack, scoring Gage Franck. Alton once again leveled the score with an RBI single by Javi Alvarez in the bottom of the fifth.

The back-and-forth continued as Clinton's Jaden Hackbarth singled in RJ Sherwood in the sixth to make it 3-2. Alton tied the game again in the bottom of the sixth on a passed ball that squeaked through Gordon's legs behind the plate.

Noah Gordon led off the top of the seventh hitting a fair ball for a double down the third base line. Gordon would advance to third on a grout out. The decisive blow came in the top of the seventh inning when Chase Womack hit a sacrifice fly to left field, allowing Noah Gordon to score the go-ahead run. Clinton's bullpen, highlighted by a scoreless inning from closer Rayth Petersen, secured the 4-3 victory.

The Clinton LumberKings play the O'Fallon Hoots on Friday at Car Shield Field. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. Fans can tune into the game on 100.3 WCCI-FM or on PLTV.