Siatos stays zeroed in, Alton shuts out CM

The final seven innings pitched by Alex Siatos last season as a junior passed without allowing a single earned run. 

His scoreless innings streak to open his senior season with Alton Redbirds baseball reached nine in a row Monday.

With Siatos working five scoreless innings, the Redbirds defeated the Civic Memorial Eagles 8-0 in a nonconference game at the Bethalto Sports Complex. Alton, off to its best start since breaking at 8-0 in 2017, improves to 5-2. CM is 3-5.

The teams have split their last eight games in the River Bend rivalry, but CM failed to put up a run against Alton for the first time since 2015 when five Redbirds pitchers combined for a 5-0 shutout in Alton.

It took three Alton arms to silence the Eagles on Monday. After Siatos gave four runs and walked none with six strikeouts in five innings, Colton Wendle and Will Frasier each worked an inning to complete the Redbirds’ second shutout of the season. 

In Siatos’ nine innings bringing a 2-0 start in March, he has allowed seven hits with no walks and 11 strikeouts. Alton’s offense provided all the support he would require with two runs on two-out RBI singles from Logan Bogard and Logan Hickman in the third inning.

Siatos left with 62 pitches after Alton grew its lead to 6-0 with three runs in the sixth. Leadoff hitter Reid Murray reached base four times with two walks while joining Hickman with two hits Bogard and Siatos with two RBI. Alex Pilger scored three runs for the Redbirds.

Noah Petersen had two hits to lead CM. The Eagles' Andrew Nation got the start and took the loss after pitching five innings.

Following a home game vs. Hazelwood West on Wednesday, the Redbirds' weekend takes them to Tennessee, for one game Friday and two games Saturday in the USA High School Challenge on nine turf fields at USA Stadium complex in Millington.