Centralia cruises past Mt. Vernon


Darren Kinnard
Section618.com

MT. VERNON — A day after Mt. Vernon won at Centralia 10-2 to clinch a share of the South Seven baseball championship, the Rams had a chance to clinch the title outright with a home win over their rivals, but the Orphans had other ideas.

Lane Griffin kept the Rams off balance all afternoon, tossing a 3-hit shutout. Cruz Harlan paced the Centralia offense was on base 4 times with a double, a triple, and three RBIs. Will Graham and Cam Newcomb added two RBIs apiece, and the Orphans cruised to a 10-0 win.

Centralia improves to 13-10, 6-3 in the South Seven. Mt. Vernon falls to 16-11, 7-2 in the conference. The Rams can still win the conference outright with a win over Cahokia Thursday. The Orphans will close league at Marion Tuesday.