By MATT KING\Daily Journal Sports Writer

Published: Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Updated: Wednesday, May 3, 2006 11:49 AM CDT

PARK HILLS - The Central baseball team made sure that its second clash with the Ste. Genevieve Dragons would not unfold like the first. The Rebels played strong defense and manufactured some early runs on Tuesday for a 6-2 victory in the quarterfinal round of the MAAA Conference Tournament.

Single tallies by the Rebels in each of the first three innings proved to be enough support for pitcher Justin Forsythe, who struck out seven batters and overcame five walks by allowing just four hits in the complete game.

Ste. Genevieve hurler Jake Donze was haunted by five walks and a flurry of wild pitches in the loss, allowing four earned runs over five innings with seven strikeouts.

Central (12-6) used a single from Ryan McFarland and a sacrifice bunt by Bryce MacBride to score in the first inning, as Ronnie Calvird grounded a RBI single through the middle.

Calvird crushed his second home run of the season to left field while leading off the third to give the Rebels a 3-0 cushion after Todd Lee scored on a passed ball in the second. Calvird finished the day 2-for-3 plus a walk.

Ste. Genevieve (7-9) stranded the bases loaded in the first inning, and had another promising rally erased on a double play in the third before finally breaking through in the fifth.

Brad Schweigert blasted a double to the fence in center, and scored easily when Jacob Greminger ripped another long double that nearly left the park. A sacrifice fly from Zach Bauer brought the Dragons to within 3-2.

Central immediately countered with three crucial runs in the bottom of the fifth. Forsythe and Jimmy Thompson executed a double steal to put runners at second and third, and Mike Barron brought them in with a two-run single to finish the game 2-for-3.

The Rebels added another insurance run on a misplayed ground ball at first base with two outs in the fifth. The Dragons put two men on base in the seventh, but Forsythe closed out the game with back-to-back strikeouts.

Sophomore Aaron Bates had a single and two walks in three plate appearances, and also stole two bases for the Rebels.

Central will face top-seeded North County today at 4:30 p.m. in semifinal action at Wilson-Rozier Park. The Raiders suffered their lone conference loss at the hands of the Rebels in Bonne Terre.

Ste. Genevieve will take on Valley in the fifth-place bracket this afternoon at North County. The Dragons ousted the Vikings in the opening round of last year's league tournament on a no-hitter by Donze.

Ste. Genevieve 000 020 0 - 2 4 3

Central 111 003 x - 6 7 1

WP - Forsythe 7i 2r 4h 7k 5bb 1hb.

LP - Donze 5i 5r 4er 7h 7k 5bb.

Hitting:

Ste. Genevieve - Greminger, Bauer, V Wolk, Schweigert. 2b - Greminger, Schweigert.

Central - Calvird 2, Barron 2, McFarland, Thompson, Bates. HR - Calvird (2).

Potosi 3, Valle 0

PARK HILLS - The second-seeded Potosi Trojans continued an outstanding turn-around season on Tuesday, collecting their eighth consecutive win in a 3-0 quarterfinal triumph over Valle in a rare meeting between the two schools.

Senior Andy Aubuchon was a dominant player both on the mound and at the plate. Aubuchon recorded nine strikeouts and needed just 71 pitches to fire an efficient, two-hit shutout for the win. He also belted a solo home run to center field in the third inning to highlight a 2-for-3 day.

Potosi (11-6) received a gift run in the second inning when a long fly ball was dropped in right field. Kyle Heifner made the mistake prove more costly with a two-out RBI single to build a 2-0 lead.

Tim Pashia doubled in the third after Aubuchon went deep to start the frame, but Valle starter Kellen Basler struck out two straight batters to escape further damage.

Basler allowed one earned run on four hits in three innings of work after pitching the Warriors to a first-round victory over West County on Monday. Scott Jokerst was excellent in relief with three scoreless and hitless innings, but the Valle (11-4) offense provided little support.

Colby Schilly had the only two hits for the Warriors with singles in the first and sixth innings to finish 2-for-3.

Potosi will face No. 3 Farmington tonight at 7 p.m. in the semifinals at Wilson-Rozier Park. The teams have split two previous meetings this season by one-run margins.

Valle will also battle Arcadia Valley for the third time this season in the fifth-place bracket today. The Warriors lost 4-1 to the MAAA Small-School champs eight days ago, but defeated them in the rematch on Friday by the same score.

Valle 000 000 0 - 0 2 3

Potosi 021 000 x - 3 4 0

WP - Aubuchon 7i 0r 2h 9k 1bb.

LP - Basler 3i 3r 1er 4h 4k 1bb.

Hitting:

Valle - Schilly 2.

Potosi - Aubuchon 2, Pashia, Heifner. 2b - Pashia. HR - Aubuchon.