West Jaguars Roll Past St. Charles, Fall in Legion Title Game

LINDENWOOD UNIVERSITY–When things aren’t going well for the West O’Fallon Jaguars senior American Legion baseball team, they often turn to center fielder and clean-up hitter Robert Figueira.

A two-time all-GAC performer in his days at Fort Zumwalt West High, and the senior member of this summer’s West Jags squad, Figueira was at his absolute best on Saturday night in a game where his teammates needed him most.

West found itself on the brink of elimination in the AAA Legion Zone Tournament against rival St. Charles Post #312 at the Lou Brock Sports Complex.

But Figueira came up huge, going 3-for-4 with three runs and five RBIs in a 12-5 West win over St. Charles.

“I love it,” Figueira said. “They know what I can do, and they expect me to do it. And I trust myself. I trust my skills, if you will. And I love to be the guy to help our team win.”

And on Saturday, he was definitely that guy. However, not even Figueira could fend off the charge from Washington (Mo.) Post 218 in Sunday's championship as the Jags saw their summer season conclude.

But, the memory of Saturday's success should leave West with a positive feeling following its solid summer.

Figueira got the Jaguars on the board in the first with a line-drive single that drove in teammate Tyler Markum.

Then in the third, Figueira launched a double that rolled to the wall and scored Markum and fellow teammate Mike Wilkinson. He then scored himself on a hit by Jeremy Koenig.

Heading into the fourth inning, it was Figueira 4, St. Charles 0.

“I feel like I’ve been there before,” Figueira said. “This is my fourth year on this team, and fifth of high school baseball, so I’ve been in those situations. I know what to do. I know how to approach it.”

In the fifth inning though, it was St. Charles that figured how what it needed to do.

Post 312 strung together two walks, a West fielding error and three base hits that turned into five runs to grab the lead.

Sam Chambers (Duchesne) and Michael Eimer (St. Charles West) drove in two runs apiece for Post 312, which had already pulled off one dramatic comeback earlier in the day. They rallied in the bottom of the ninth to beat Moberly Post #6, 10-9, in an elimination game at Lindenwood.

“After the celebration, I was a little worried about how much we had left,” Post 312 head coach Kurt Denningmann said about his team’s energy level against West.

“But it’s just typical of these guys; they gave me everything they had. I couldn’t be more proud.”

But Figueira and his mates made sure, in the bottom half of the fifth, that there would be no second miraculous St. Charles victory.

The 2010 Fort Zumwalt West grad, who played last season at Harris-Stowe and plans to transfer to Labette Junior College in Kansas this fall, walked to lead off the inning. He then scored on a wild pitch to make it 5-5.

After teammates Tyler Kummer, Danny Biggs, and Mike Wilkinson drove in runs, Figueira delivered the big blow with another two-run double that made the score 11-5 West.

Koenig, who had four hits, drove Figueira in again for the final run as West earned a berth in Sunday’s Zone 1 Championship finals against Washington, which earned its spot in the finals by defeating West, 10-6, earlier on Saturday.