West manager A.J. Koenig said the Jaguars have heard all summer that they’re not as good as their 2009 predecessor that was a win away from capturing the Senior American Legion state tournament.

The Jaguars entered this year’s District 9 Tournament as the No. 3 seed. Washington finished 10-0 in District 9 games during the regular season and entered the tournament as the overwhelming favorite. But Washington was stunned by St. Clair in the second round and never made it back out of the loser’s bracket.

West (33-8) polished off Daniel Boone 4-2 on Monday and because of rain postponements waited for three days to play the District 9 championship. St. Clair continued its surprising run through the tournament and knocked off Daniel Boone 7-2 in a game that took parts of three days to complete.

Rested and confident playing the underdogs from St. Clair, West defended its district title with a clean 6-0 shutout Thursday night at Ronsick Field in Washington.

“We don’t have the biggest or fastest guys but the way we got here was through teamwork and through hard work,” said West shortstop Eddie Sutton, who made a great defensive play behind second base in the eighth inning. “Everybody here loves and wants to play baseball. Last year we could mash the baseball. This year we have to work harder. Whenever we win, it’s an all around team effort.”

Read the rest of this story in Sunday’s St. Charles Journal.

Try as they might, officials for American Legion District 9 can’t wrap up this summer’s AAA baseball tournament. A sudden deluge of rain in Washington Wednesday night at game time forced the postponement of the St. Clair/Daniel Boone game, which had been halted in the sixth inning on Tuesday because of rain.

When action resumes at 6 p.m. today at Ronsick Field, St. Clair leads Daniel Boone 1-0 in the bottom of the sixth. The West Jaguars await the winner in the tournament championship, which is scheduled to begin immediately following the loser’s bracket final.

The American Legion District 9 Tournament has had its share of surprises this summer. Count St. Clair as probably the biggest mystery.

Seeded ninth out of 12 teams going into the tournament, St. Clair beat Elsberry (No. in the opening round then knocked off No. 1 seed Washington. After a loss to Daniel Boone (No. 4) knocked St. Clair to the loser’s bracket, it has won its last two games and is on the verge of reaching the district final tonight.

St. Clair was leading Daniel Boone 1-0 in the bottom of the sixth inning Tuesday night when storms rolled through Washington and forced a postponement until today. The two teams will resume play at Ronsick Field at 5 p.m. The loser is eliminated from the tournament while the winner plays the West Jaguars immediately following the make-up game.

West will defend its District 9 title with a win against either St. Clair or Daniel Boone. If either of those teams beats West, a second winner-take-all game will follow.

Washington entered play in the American Legion District 9 Tournament as the No. 1 seed and was 10-0 against the other teams in the league this summer.

But after Washington was beaten by St. Clair (No. 9) in the first round, Post 218 had to beat the Central Spartans and St. Peters to stay alive for Monday’s game against St. Charles. St. Charles eliminated Washington Monday night, however, Post 218 will still compete in the Zone Tournament because it is the host.

Defending District 9 champion West awaits the survivor between St. Charles, Daniel Boone and St. Clair. Heavy rains are forcing workers at Ronsick Field in Washington to scramble and get it ready for tonight. St. Charles is scheduled to play St. Clair at 6 p.m. and Daniel Boone will play the winner at 8:30 p.m.

As of 2 p.m., Washington coach Tom Schroeder said there was a 90 percent chance Ronsick would host the games tonight as scheduled. If tonight’s schedule holds, West will play the remaining team Wednesday at 6 p.m. in Washington. If West loses that game, a second winner-take-all final will be played right after it ends.

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The annual Mon-Clair / Clinton County All-Star Game will be held at GCS Stadium in Sauget on July 15 at 7 p.m. Tickets are available at the door for $5 each. (more…)

The University of Missouri baseball program made Brett Graves an offer he couldn’t refuse. So Graves, who will be a senior at Francis Howell this fall, made a verbal commitment to the Tigers last week.

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Cameron Biedscheid could wind up a favorite of the Cameron Crazies. (more…)

After posting its most successful season in 24 years, the Fort Zumwalt North baseball team looked within to replace retiring head coach Dan Springman.

Steve Siebert has been a baseball coach at the O’Fallon high school for the past 15 years. He’s coached the Panthers’ freshman and JV teams, and was Springman’s assistant on the varsity. The Panthers finished 24-4 and won their first district title since 1986 this spring.

“I’ve got a lot of plans to build the program,” Siebert said. “The way the districts have been drawn in the past, Zumwalt North was always the underdog because we were the smaller school and now that’s changing around some. I want to make this a program to be proud of.”

Siebert, an Oakville High graduate, was drafted by the San Diego Padres in 1990. He was traded to the Chicago White Sox and after a couple of years in the minor leagues, decided to pursue another career path. He graduated from the University of Missouri with a degree in History and then received his teaching certificate from Maryville University.

Wilfred Charles “Sonny” Siebert began his Major League Baseball career in 1964 as a pitcher for the Cleveland Indians. In 1966, Sonny Siebert pitched a no-hitter against the Washington Senators. In 1974, Siebert was the winning pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals in a 25-inning win against the New York Mets. Siebert was a member of the Oakland A’s when he retired in 1975 with a career record of 140-114 and amassed 1,513 strikeouts.

Growing up as Sonny Siebert’s son exposed Steve to just about every aspect of playing and coaching baseball. That should serve the resurgent Panthers well into the future.