ELM GROVE — After starting the season 4-3 in a very good tournament in Grove City, St. Clairsville had fallen upon some rough times lately in American Legion baseball action.

First there was a stretch of four games that were postponed for one reason or another, with none due to inclement weather. Then came a three-game losing streak over the weekend that left Post 159 with a sub-par 4-6 mark.

Manager Mike Muklewicz was waiting on his talent-ladened squad to finally snap out of its funk. Tuesday night was it as the visitors touched home plate eight times in the second inning and never looked back in posting a memorable, 14-3, decision over Wheeling Post 1 (9-6) in a game that was halted after five innings due to the 10-run rule.

“We had a week off and it really showed the last couple days when we didn’t hit so well, but tonight was one of those nights,” Muklewicz said. “We came out and the bats were smokin’ hot, but, at the same time, that program across the field can do the same thing every night. (Post 1 manager) Mark (Delbrugge) does a heckuva job, but we just came out hitting the ball top to bottom in that second inning.”

Shadyside grad Billy Johnson gave himself a nice 18th birthday present as he came up a homer shy of hitting for the cycle. He had a single, two-run double and three-run triple as he led Post 159’s 11-hit attack.

“He had a day on his birthday,” Muklewicz advised. “He was really smokin’ the ball today. He was hitting ropes.”

Nik Bilyeu, a Union Local graduate, added a pair of two-run singles in the second and fourth frames, while diminutive catcher Jakob Jarvis slugged a two-run homer in the third.

“He’s about a 150-pound and that’s the last thing I expected out of him was him hitting a ball 325 down the line,” Muklewicz added. “Nik comes every day ready to play.”

While his teammates were hanging crooked numbers on the board with regularity, Bassa, won pitched Martins Ferry to the Division III regional finals this spring, was holding the Post 1 batters at bay. He allowed Chad Harper’s sharp RBI single in the first and a two-run, two-out hit to Tyler Riedel in the third. The right-hander struck out four (all looking) and walked a like number. He scattered three hits and was the beneficiary of a couple of defense gems.

“We made the plays behind Austin even when he got a little shaky in that one inning,” Muklewicz said of the third when Post 1 scored two runs. He had a great outing against a very good hitting team.”

With two outs in the second, Wheeling’s Ross Salvatori hit a slow tapper to the right side of the infield that deflected off first baseman Kaden Blomquist to second baseman Zac Clark. Clark then flipped a strike to Bassa as he just beat Salvatori to the bag. Then, on Riedel’s base hit to left, Butter Murray was thrown out trying for third on a laser from Jarvis to Johnson to end the threat.

Dustin Carrothers had two singles, scored four runs and knocked in one for St. Clairsville. Blomquist had an RBI.

Brian Shaw started and took the loss for Post 1. He fanned three and walked three before giving way to Riedel in the third. The lefty finished with four Ks and a pair of base-on-balls.

“In my four years we’ve never been mercy-ruled,” Post 1 skipper Mark Delbrugge admitted. “They took advantage of every mistake we made. Our pitcher’s made some bad pitches and they hit them. St. Clairsville hit the ball as well as any team has hit it on us up here in my four years.

“They hit it on the button all night, and we contributed to it with our mistakes,” he added. “I hand it to them. They came ready to play and we didn’t. That’s been one of our issues all year is that we’ve been very inconsistent.”

Both teams are back in action tonight as St. Clairsville remains on the road at Cadiz, while Wheeling travels to Weirton. Both games have 6 o’clock starts.

Cambridge 14, Cadiz 2

AT CAMBRIDGE, the hosts broke open a 4-2 game with 10 runs in the bottom of the fourth inning Tuesday night at Don Coss Field.

Logan Elliott singled in a run for Post 34 (1-7). Will Brown knocked in a run and Ian Saho doubled.