MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — The Morgantown Post 2 American Legion baseball team fell to the loser’s bracket Friday, following a 7-3 loss at Dale Miller Field against powerhouse Midland (Mich.).
Midland was expected to be to make it this far.
At 35-3 on the season, Midland has advanced to nine American Legion World Series and already had two impressive wins in this Great Lakes regional.
Post 2 (15-8) represented the scrappy junkyard dog, but could not keep pace with the Michigan champion.
Post 2 kept it interesting, sending the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning, but the magic did not continue.
Post 165 jumped out to a quick lead on a bunt hit and error, then an errant pick-off throw, but despite the shaky fielding start, Morgantown starter Zach Harman worked out of trouble to limit the damage to a single run. Post 2 responded after Midland righty starter Dylan Thompson plunked a pair of hitters (on consecutive pitches), followed by Anthony Marsh’s RBI single to tie it up.
History repeated in the second, as each team scored a single run, Morgantown’s coming on a Cody Thomas RBI single. Post 165 took a 3-2 lead on a walk, balk, and single to left, Jacob Kennell’s strong throw nearly nailing the runner at the plate.
Thompson pitched out of mini-jams in the third and fourth, while an Avian Rivera run-scoring double to left center plated Midland’s fourth run in the fifth. Post 2 hopes for an offensive response rose in the fifth on consecutive singles from Zach Owens and Aaron Forbes, but Anthony Marsh’s sharp grounder up the middle was converted into a slick, 1-4-6-3 inning-ending twin killing.
Midland added on in the sixth with another classically efficient Legion-type offensive effort — lead-off walk, sac bunt, and RBI single — to extend its lead, then scored two more in the seventh to make it 7-2.
Morgantown quickly loaded the bases with none out, then scored one on Owens’ RBI single. Representing the tying run, Forbes just missed a 3-2 pitch, skying a major league pop-up in front of the plate for the first out. Then suddenly, a tailor-made 6-4-3 double play ended the game, and Post 2’s comeback fell short.
Disappointed but certainly not bowed, Post 2 manager Andy Altemus knew his team had every chance to win this one.
“Too many mistakes,” he said with a rueful smile, “and a good team like Midland will make you pay. Just look at the score by inning. We walked the lead-off hitter four times, and made an error as well – and all of them scored. And the one inning that we got the first batter, they didn’t score. So we kind of made the game a little harder for ourselves.”
However, there was no doubt that the moment wasn’t too big for his young team, especially his sophomore lefty starter.
“We were just hoping Zach could get through the line-up one time and eat some innings for us,” the former Post 2 standout mentioned. “He gave us a lot more. He really competed well, limited damage, and kept us in the game.
“Even though we were chasing the game the whole night,” he continued, “we never got down, and they battled down to the last swing – and Aaron was on that pitch, too. One centimeter lower, and it’s a different game. I’m very proud of them, and I hope they realize that they can play with anybody here this week. No question.”
With the loss, Post 2 faces Rockport, Ind. at 4 p.m. Saturday with their tournament life and season on the line.
