Zone 4 American Legion baseball: Rain washes out championship game

The Zone 4 Senior American Legion baseball tournament will have to wait an extra day to crown its champion.

And that won't happen in Cape Girardeau.

Sunday's scheduled championship round of the five-team, double-elimination event at Capaha Field was rained out.

Creve Coeur and Ballwin, both from suburban St. Louis, will play the final some time today at a field in the St. Louis area.

Creve Coeur is undefeated in the tournament and needs to beat Ballwin just once to capture the title and earn a berth in the state tournament that begins Thursday in Sedalia, Mo. Ballwin needs to defeat Creve Coeur twice.

The District 10 rivals already have squared off six times this season, with Creve Coeur (33-12) winning four times. That includes Saturday's 15-5 romp in the zone winners bracket final.

Ballwin (19-17) emerged from the losers bracket thanks to an incredible 13-11 win over three-time defending state champion Festus in a game that lasted about four hours and ended just before 1 a.m. Sunday.

Ballwin's second victory over Festus in the tournament featured a six-run rally in the top of the ninth inning to wipe out an 11-7 deficit. Ballwin earlier trailed 11-5.

The ninth inning included four hits and four walks. Two runs scored on wild pitches, including the tying run. Pinch-hitter Dan Menees delivered the go-ahead RBI single.