Rangers advance to another Class 2A regional final

Benton advanced to the championship game of the Du Quoin Regional on Thursday with a 6-3 victory over Waltonville/Sesser-Valier.
The Rangers, 23-11, will face host Du Quoin in Saturday's championship game at 10 a.m. The Indians dispatched Chester, 7-0, in another semi-final on Wednesday.
After spotting the Spartans a 3-0 lead, the Rangers scored two runs in the third on back-to-back dingers from Zach Avery and Tyler Butler and then put together a four-run inning in the fourth.
A two-run double off the bat of leadoff hitter Gehrig Wynn ignited the rally. Ian McMahon also plated a run with a single up the middle.
McMahon was sensational on the mound in a relief role. He faced just one batter over the minimum through 3 2/3 innings. He was hitless while striking out seven Spartans.
Zach Avery was Benton's starter and gave up a three-run homer to Tyler Winchester in the opening frame for Waltonville's only runs. He issued five hits and had three strikeouts. Hamilton Page faced just one batter in the seventh, yielding a hit, and freshman Kael Pearce got the final out of the game on a strikeout.
Benton had nine hits in the contest and committed two errors. Waltonville had six hits, including a pair from Tyler Eubanks. The Spartans finished 10-11.