KELSO KWIK-STOP REACHES WINNERS' SEMIS IN KLASSIC

Kelso Kwik-Stop continued its run in the Kelso Klassic Saturday, reaching the semifinals of the winners' bracket with an exciting 4-3 victory over the Springfield Parrots.

Kelso was scheduled to play Bonutti Orthopaedics in late-night semifinal action. In the other semifinal, the Tulsa Gray Sox were scheduled to play the Springfield Mountaineers in a matchup of two strong pitching teams.

Starter Ron LeGrand and reliever Jeff Schott combined to pitch Kelso past the Springfield Parrots in quarterfinal play. LeGrand notched the win and Schott picked up a save.

Bonutti had a more comfortable time reaching the semifinals, pounding the Southern Illinois Masters 11-1. Alan Meinhart recorded the win for Bonutti.

In the other quarterfinals, Tulsa edged Vandalia Guaranteed Air Freight 3-2 and the Springfield Mountaineers blanked Memphis Pomen 5-0. Duane Orchard notched the shutout victory for Springfield.

Springfield had posted another shutout victory in the first round, defeating Koerner Miller Light of Metropolis (Ill.) 2-0. Tulsa blanked the Kelso Travellers 7-0 in the first round.

In other first-round game Saturday, Memphis upended defending tournament champion Kohlfeld Distributing 5-4. Jim Butler recorded the win for Memphis while Mike Essner suffered the loss for Kohlfeld.

In other first round games, Vandalia beat the Belleville Stallions 1-0; Bonutti topped the Montclaire Bowl Outlaws 6-3; the Springfield Parrots shut out the Pinckneyville (Ill.) Celtics 5-0 behind the three-hit pitching of Doug Gardner; and 62-year-old Pete Kulenkamp hurled a three-hit, nine-strikeout gem as the Southern Illinois Masters topped B&H Drilling 2-0.

In loser's bracket games, Montclaire eliminated Tri-State 8-0 and then ousted B&H Drilling 2-1. The Kelso Travellers rebounded to defeat Belleville 5-2 and the Last Stop Trailblazers eliminated Pinckneyville 4-3.

Play resumes today at 9 a.m. and is scheduled to conclude with the 3 p.m. championship game.