Cobb pitches Post 63 into winner-take-all game

There was the slightest sign of a celebration, an almost-fist pump and a barely there hop off the mound.

And then Cape Girardeau Ford & Sons Post 63 Senior American Legion pitcher Skylar Cobb put his head down and marched swiftly to the dugout, the biggest Dunklin County threat in his team's 5-1 win Sunday night ended.

With the bases loaded and the count full in the bottom of the sixth inning, Cobb struck out Dunklin County pinch-hitter Joe Campbell on a high fastball to end the inning.

"It was relief mainly," Cobb said of his reaction to preserving his team's 4-0 lead at the time. "Just to get out of that and go back in the dugout."

Cobb gave up a double, single and walk in the inning before feeding Campbell fastball after fastball.

Post 63 players congratulate teammate Skylar Cobb, right, on scoring a run Sunday during their District 14 tournament game against Dunklin County at Notre Dame Regional High School. (Laura Simon)

"He's a really good hitter," Cobb said. "That last pitch he actually helped me out. That was ball four. It was just fortunate for us that he swung at it."

With the win, Post 63 forced a final tournament game against the previously unbeaten Dodgers to decide the American Legion District 14 tournament champion at 7 p.m. today at Notre Dame Regional High School. Both teams already have qualified for the zone tournament later this week.

"Skylar went out and showed that he can be the ace on this squad," Post 63 coach Todd Pennington said. "He did a great job competing [and] showed that he can move the ball around on the plate against very good hitters."

Cobb pitched seven innings and struck out 11 batters. He gave up five hits and one run, which scored after he exited the game.

"The key to the game was just location," Cobb said. "I could locate a pitch. I could put it in a certain spot inside, outside. I just kept them off balance and that was the key."

Post 63's Blake Smith lines up a pop fly for an out against Dunklin County Sunday, July 18, 2010 during the District Legion Tournament at Notre Dame Regional High School. (Laura Simon)

Post 63's offense got back-to-back RBI singles from Josh Compas and Logan Morris in the second inning to take a 2-0 lead. Cobb added another run with an RBI single in the third.

Compas helped quell a Dunklin County rally before it started in the fifth inning from his catching position.

Dunklin County's Tyler Thompson reached base to start the inning and No. 9 batter Cameron Lincks was sent up to sacrifice bunt with his team down three runs.

Compas, who also threw out a would-be base stealer at second base in the game, picked Thompson off first base, which changed the complexion of the inning.

"His back-pick to first, he's been doing that all year," Cobb said. "They tried to bunt and he was off and [Compas] just threw a perfect throw right to [first baseman] Ryan [Grigaitis].

Post 63's Skylar Cobb pitches to a Dunklin County batter during Sunday's District 14 tournament game.

"They're coming back to the top of the order, which is dangerous. That was a huge out. We got that, and then I think I struck out a guy, so just like that we went from having no outs to having two outs."

With no one to sacrifice for, Lincks struck out, and Cobb faced the top of the Dunklin County order with two outs and no one on. He struck out Dodgers leadoff batter Garret Stockton to end the inning.

"It takes a lot of pressure off [Cobb]," Compas said of the play's impact. "It makes him feel better because there's no one on base, and he's more at ease."

Post 63 added a run on Cobb's sacrifice fly in the fifth and another on a Dunklin County error in the seventh. All of the runs came off Dunklin County starter Heath Horvath.

"I think we can do that all the time," Pennington said. "Sometimes we don't get the job done, but against good pitchers like Heath, we've just got to fight for every run. That's what we did today. Five runs? That's great for a pitcher like Heath.

Post 63 base runner Ryan Grigaitis advances to third base during Sunday's game against Dunklin County.

"He's throwing pretty hard, and he knows what he's doing up there. We just took advantage of when he made a mistake and he didn't make a ton of mistakes, but we got him when he did."

With both teams' pitching staffs depleted from the double-elimination tournament, Pennington said the offenses likely will decide today's outcome.

"We're just going to go out there and battle it out. Dunklin County feels the same way," he said. "We're just going to see who can hit the ball the most."