Charleston Squirrels ease through first round test at Regional

OSKALOOSA, Iowa -- The Charleston Fighting Squirrels picked up right where they left off.

After rolling to a Senior Babe Ruth Missouri state championship just over a week ago, the Squirrels kept things going with a victory during the opening game of the Midwest Plains Regional tournament in Oskaloosa, Iowa.

Charleston defeated Fargo, N.D. 9-1 Thursday. The winner of the 8-team tournament will advance to the Senior Babe Ruth World Series.

The Squirrels, who are now 47-9, played Ottumwa, Iowa this morning at 10:30 a.m. in the second round.

Charleston started the game on a tear. They scored three runs on three hits in the first inning, which started with a single to center from Chase Young.

Caleb McCord followed that with a single of his own, which was tailed by a run-scoring double off the bat of Tyler Anderson. Ryan Fortner scored McCord on a sacrifice fly and Anderson eventually scored on a wild pitch during Brad Potts' at-bat.

Two more runs crossed the plate for the Squirrels in the third inning giving them a 5-0 lead. A bases-loaded single by Fortner made it 6-0 after four innings.

The Squirrels, who are riding a 7-game winning streak, blew the game open in the bottom of the sixth when Fortner smacked a home run to give Charleston their 9-1 advantage.

Trey Tigart pitched the complete game win on the mound giving up three hits and one walk. Tigart also struck out four.

The Squirrels had nine hits as a team and was led at the plate by Fortner who went 3 for 3 with a double, a home run and six RBIs. Tigart added two hits and Anderson added a double and one RBI. Young, McCord and Potts all had one hit in the win.

Fargo 000 010 0 -- 1 3 2

Squirrels -- 302 103 x -- 9 9 2

WP -- Trey Tigart. Mulitple hitters: (S) Ryan Fortner 3-3, Tigart 2-3. 2B: (S) Tyler Anderson, Fortner. HR: (S) Fortner.