VFW baseball: Alex 16s tops Willmar I

MORRIS -- The Alexandria 16s scored seven times in the first inning and Willmar I couldn't recover Monday as Alexandria went on to collect an 11-4 win in the title game of the District 5 VFW baseball playoffs.

Evan VanDenEinde scored on a Adam Nibaur single in the top half of the first to give Willmar a quick lead, but Alexandria answered with a vengeance.

Alex sent up 13 batters to the plate in the home half of the opening frame and needed just four hits to put seven runs on the board. Another four runs in the third gave Alex a comfortable 10-run lead.

Willmar did crank out nine hits, two shy of Alexandria's total, but all of them were singles. Tyler Stegeman and Zach Horman had two hits each.

Alex starter Jake Booth pitched into the sixth to earn the win, while Stegeman got the loss after recording just two outs.

Horman and Stegeman laid down back-to-back drag bunts in the fifth before Nibaur hit a bases-loaded grounder that allowed Horman to score. Willmar added two more runs in the final two innings when Stegeman singled in Trey Tollefson in the sixth and Carter Sack's fly ball allowed Tony McCleary to tag up from third base in the seventh.

The state tournament is Aug. 10-12 in Mankato.

Alexandria 16s 11,

Willmar I 4

Willmar I 100 011 1 -- 4 9 5

Alexandria 16s 704 000 x -- 11 11 0

HITTING - Willmar I: Tyler Stegeman 2-for-4, rbi; Tony McCleary 1-for-3; Adam Nibaur 1-for-3, 2 rbi; Cole Christensen 1-for-1; Carter Sack 1-for-4, rbi; Trey Tollefson 1-for-3; Austin Smith 1-for-3; Zach Horman 2-for-3 ... Alexandria 16s: Toby Helgeson 3-for-5, 2b; Kaden Anderson 2-for-4; Cody McLaughlin 1-for-4, 2 rbi

PITCHING (ip-h-r-er-bb-so) -- Willmar I: Stegeman (L) 0.2-4-7-7-3-0, Evan VanDenEinde 2-3-4-4-3-0, Bryce Broman 3.1-4-0-0-0-1 ... Alexandria 16s: Jake Booth (W) 5.1-7-3-3-2-1, Chris Leary 1.2-2-1-1-1-4