Published: Thursday, May 07, 2009
Updated: Thursday, May 7, 2009 9:21 AM CDT

ST. LOUIS -- Sophomore shortstop Blake Pinnon belted a pair of solo home runs and Richie Stanley delivered a perfect 3-for-3 performance on Wednesday morning, as fifth-seeded Mineral Area College commenced the Region XVI baseball tournament with a 6-5 victory over host Meramec.

Pinnon greeted hurler David Williams with a towering blast to left field during the opening frame, and connected once again in the third for his fifth homer of the spring. Pinnon scored his third run of the contest on a RBI single by Stanley that produced a 6-2 margin in the fourth.

The Cardinals netted three crucial runs after a two-out error prolonged the third inning. Infielder Korey Domenick ripped a two-run single to center with the bases loaded, and Drew Pixley made it 5-0 with a RBI hit that brought home Jimmy Thompson.

Meramec (28-29) responded against left-hander Aaron Blunt in the bottom of the fourth. A throwing error and passed ball enabled two runs to score around a RBI double from catcher Monty Cooper.

But Mineral Area relied on strong relief pitching to maintain the lead. Isaac Armstrong stranded runners at the corners in the fifth, and Chance Cleveland notched the save by striking out three batters over the final two frames.

Blunt collected four strikeouts while allowing five hits through four innings, and picked up his fourth win despite giving three walks and plunking three other batters.

Justin Wilson finished 3-for-3 and Brett Nelson was 2-for-2 with a double and two walks to pace the Magic, which stranded nine men on base and had another picked off at third. Benny Camona provided 3 2/3 solid innings out of the bullpen.

Mineral Area (22-31) will face either top-seeded Maple Woods or North Central today at 4:30 p.m.

Mineral Area  104 100 0 - 6  7  2

Meramec  002 300 0 - 5  8  1

WP - Blunt 4i 5r 3er 5h 4k 3bb 3hp.

LP - Williams 3 1/3i 6r 3er 5h 5k 4bb.

SV - Cleveland 2i 0r 1h 3k 1bb.

Hitting:

Mineral Area - Stanley 3-3, Pinnon 2-3, Domenick 1-3, Pixley 1-3. HR - Pinnon 2 (5).

Meramec - Wilson 3-3, Nelson 2-2, Matos-Bernard 1-2, Cooper 1-3, Humphrey 1-4. 2b - Nelson, Cooper.