Post 11 shows a lot of grit, finish as American Legion state runner-up
LANCASTER — The Lancaster Post 11 baseball team showed a lot of grit and determination during the Ohio American Legion State Tournament at Beavers Field, and they showed a lot of fight throughout the tournament.
Not once, but twice, Lancaster faced 5-0 deficits in elimination games, and both times rallied for victories, which carried it all the way to the championship game on Thursday against Benson-Yeager Post 199, the defending American Legion champions.
Post 11 fell behind against Benson-Yeager in the title game but rallied late to force extra innings before falling 7-4 in eight innings to finish as American Legion runner-up.
“These kids have not given up since the first game of this tournament,” Post 11 coach Dana Rowland said. “The grit our guys demonstrated is coming from the gut, and I am so happy for them. Guys that haven’t been on the field as much throughout the year came in and stepped up and made a difference.”
So many different players contributed to Post 11’s success throughout the four-day tournament.
Post 11 opened the tournament with a convincing 12-1, five-inning win over Napoleon Post 300, and falling to Benson-Yeager, 8-0 in its second game.
Facing elimination, Lancaster was in a dogfight with Utica Post 92, and with the game scoreless heading to the bottom of the sixth inning, Post 11 plated four runs and came away with a 4-0 victory. Dylan Winkler was masterful on the mound as he pitched a complete-game shutout, giving up just two hits.
Lancaster scored its four runs on sacrifice fly from Malachi Palmer and an RBI single from Riley Poston. Post 11 would two more insurance runs to seal the win.
In the next game against Tiffin Post 165, Lancaster fell behind 5-0 in the top of the third inning before rallying for a pair of runs in the bottom half of the third, and then scored four runs in the fifth inning and held on for a hard-fought 6-5 victory. Connor Schorr pitched six innings to pick up the win and Nathan Hoffman picked up the save.
On Thursday, facing Napoleon once again, Post 11 trailed 5-0 in the second inning before scoring eight runs in the fourth inning. After scoring two runs on bases-loaded walks, Palmer had a huge bases-clearing triple, Poston had an RBI single, Ethan Hyme knocked in a run with a sacrifice fly and Ajay Loke had an RBI double.
Post 11 pushed its lead to 11-5 in the fifth inning. Hoffman had a two-run single, and Locke had an RBI-single.
Heading to the seventh inning, Lancaster held a 12-6 advantage before Napoleon rallied by scoring four runs, but Jude Balser, who came in during a tough situation in the second inning to stem the tide, was able to get the final out to send Post 11 to the championship game.
Rowland was impressed with the way Balser, who pitched most of the season in the Post 11 Juniors, handled himself in an adverse situation.
“To be so young, he is as poised as they come,” Rowland said. “He came in during a high-pressure situation and did his job. He didn’t give free passes, he put the ball in the zone, trusted his stuff and he induced outs.”
Post 11 finished the season with a 26-13 overall record, had a stretch where it won eight games in a row and won the Lancaster Post 11 July 4th Classic Tournament.
“This team had its ups and downs throughout the season, but what I will say about this team is when they get the chips against them, they don’t quit,” Rowland said. “The measure of a baseball team is how they respond when things aren’t going well, and when were down by five runs in two of those games, our guys responded. You can’t ask for anything more form a championship baseball team, which is what we have, regardless of what happened in this last game. We have a championship baseball team.”
Tom Wilson is a sports reporter for the Lancaster Eagle Gazette. Contact him at 740-689-5150 or via email at twilson@gannett.com for comments or story tips. Follow him on Twitter @twil2323.
This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Post 11 shows a lot of grit, finish as American Legion state runner-up
