MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Bridgeport Post 68 had everything going its way through six innings of Wednesday’s matchup with Rockport (Ind.) Post 254 in an American Legion Great Lakes Regional Tournament matchup at Dale Miller Field.
The seventh inning, however, couldn’t have gone any worse.
West Virginia’s state champion allowed eight runs in the top of the seventh inning, including a run-scoring single off the bat of Jackson Raaf that broke a tie and sent Indiana’s state champion to an 11-10 victory.
“Batter after batter went up there and got a good pitch and hit a hole somewhere,” Rockport manager Jim Haaff said. “Really there’s no explanation. It’s unbelievable that happened.”
The loss moves Post 68 (16-7) into Thursday’s 9:30 a.m. elimination game against Barrington (Ill.) Post 158, while Post 254 (21-7) meets Midland (Mich.) Post 165 in a winner’s bracket contest at 4 p.m.
With Post 68 starting pitcher Ben McDougal at 101 pitches threw six innings, he was lifted for Connor Blake. By the time Blake recorded his first out, Rockport was to within 10-7 as it capitalized on a leadoff walk, four singles and a pair of wild pitches to get back into the contest.
After Garrett Scamahorn drew a walk to put the tying run at the plate, Post 68 came undone and committed a costly error allowing Ashton Tindle to reach and Rockport to load the bases with one out.
“Connor came in and I don’t know if he was a little nervous or whatever,” Bridgeport manager Edward Oliverio said. “The first couple guys got on — so what? You still have a big cushion and the few guys on at the beginning didn’t mean anything. You have to execute after that and when they hit balls that should produce outs, we have to produce outs. We’re not an overpowering pitching team.”
Post 68 third baseman Grant Lowther momentarily saved at least one run when he made a nice play at third that resulted in a fielder’s choice for the second out, with Diond’er Jacob scoring on the play.
Noah Brunner followed with a run-scoring single to plate Tindle and make it 10-9.
Jake Stuteville, who was at second base representing the tying run, took off for third and the throw from catcher Aidan Paulsen got away, allowing Stuteville to score the tying run and Brunner to reach third. He scored moments later on Raaf’s single to right, giving Rockport its first lead since 3-2 in the third inning.
“If I could explain that, I could write a book and me and you could get rich on how things like that happen,” Haaff said. “Only in baseball can it happen like that.”
Paulsen drew a one-out walk in the home half of the seventh, but Stuteville retired the next two batters to seal the verdict.
“In the bottom half of the inning, we’re supposed to take until we get a strike and the execution just wasn’t there,” Oliverio said. “The seventh inning was just a brain lapse all the way around.”
Post 68 started in strong fashion and built a 2-0 lead through one inning after Cole Peschl led off with a single and came around to score and Xavier Lopez connected on a solo home run.
Post 254 responded in the second inning and went on top after Jalen Johnson drew a bases loaded walk and Raaf followed with a two-run single.
Paulsen led off the third with a double and scored the tying run on an error and Hogue’s fiedler’s choice plated Lopez to put Bridgeport on top, 4-3.
McDougal helped his cause with a run-scoring single in the fifth that made it 5-3 and Post 68 doubled its lead in the fifth after Austin Mann drove in a run with a fielder’s choice and Peschl delivered a run-scoring single up the middle.
Post 68 appeared to be in complete control after its three-run sixth, which came courtesy of Hogue’s fielder’s choice, Lowther’s run-scoring double and a Connor Buffington RBI single.
“We played great baseball for six innings,” Oliverio said. “Even through the state tournament, we didn’t hit it all that well. We actually hit it pretty well today.”
McDougal overcame his second-inning struggles by allowing only one hit over the next four innings, while retiring 12 of the 14 batters he faced. He struck out six and scattered two hits, while walking five in six innings. Blake suffered the loss and was charged with eight runs — four of which were earned — in one inning.
Despite allowing three runs in the sixth, Tanner Jennings recorded the win after coming on for starter Houston Compton. Stuteville’s scoreless seventh allowed him to earn the save.
Post 68 finished with 16 hits, which was double the total of Post 254.