Loutos, Barrington still have shot at state title

Nick Loutos gave host Barrington Post 158 just what it needed Monday in the elimination game of the state American Legion tournament at Kirby Smith Field.

Loutos tossed a complete-game, 6-hit shutout over Elgin Post 57 to keep Barrington alive in the state tournament with 6-0 victory that eliminated Elgin.

Barrington will meet Danville Post 210 in the title round Tuesday at 10 p.m. Barrington will need to win that game to stay alive in the double elimination tournament after losing Monday afternoon to Danville 14-12.

Should Barrington win the 10 a.m. game, it will set the stage for a winner-take-all game at 1 p.m. With both teams running short of pitching due to pitch-count rules, it made Loutos' performance even more important to Barrington.

"I was so mad," said Loutos, who pitched just 45 minutes after Barrington lost to Danville in a slugfest. "I wanted to pitch well for my teammates who battled so hard in the game before mine. It worked out well."

Loutos struck out five, walked one and hit a batter. He ended the best threat by Elgin (34-7-1) with runners on second and third with one out in fifth. Loutos responded with a strikeout and a grounder to end the inning.

"It was nice," Barrington coach Nate Gray said. "It was very emotional coming off that loss earlier. We regrouped and Loutos pitched real well."

Both teams had runners thrown out at the plate in the second. Barrington's Tommy Fitzpatrick was tagged out and Elgin's Aaron Lazovik was cut down as the game remained scoreless.

Loutos got all the runs he would need when John Seagrist belted a 2-run homer to right field in the third, putting Barrington (34-11-2) in front for good.

Seagrist had an incredible day at the plate. He belted 3 doubles and drove in a pair of runs in the loss to Danville. He then went 3-for-3 against Elgin with a double and 3 RBI.

"This is the last tournament I will ever play and I want to make it great one for me," said Seagrist, who is not playing baseball in college. "I want to finish on top. It felt real good today and I saw the ball real well."

Barrington broke the game open in the fourth with 4 doubles, all to right-center, that led to 4 runs.

Luke Kozlowski, Nicholas Nehf, AJ Christoffer and Rayth Peterson all doubled. Seagrist then singled in a run as Barrington led 6-0.

"We scored early," Gray said. "I was really happy for the boys. We get a chance to play for the state title."

Danville (30-6) erupted for 8 runs in the third inning and then held off a late charge from Barrington, which scored runs in every inning.

Peterson had 3 hits, including a home run and drove in 4 runs in the loss. Luc Bressett also homered and had a double and drove in 2 runs, while Johnny Podlesnik also drove in a pair of runs.

Elgin advanced against Barrington when earlier in the day it eliminated Rock Island Post 200 10-8. Cy Kerber had a double and 3 RBI, Dayne Fredrick had 2 hits and an RBI, while Ryan Dominick had a hit and 2 runs scored.

"It was a great season for us," Elgin coach Zach Edgar said. "We just couldn't put it together again because our guys were exhausted."