Back-to-Back Champs: Post 11 wins Classic Tournament again
LANCASTER – It was championship Sunday for the Lancaster Post 11 baseball team, and they didn’t let the opportunity slip away.
Post 11 had a huge 6-5 come-from-behind win over Sidney Post 217 in the first game Sunday during the 31st Annual Lancaster Post 11 Baseball Classic Tournament at Beavers Field. Alex Miller had the game-winning hit in walk-off fashion in the bottom of the seventh inning, which put Post 11 into the championship game against Crawfordsville Post 72.
Ronnie Rowley went 4-for-4 and hit two solo home runs, the second one coming in the bottom of the fifth inning that ended the game in a 12-4 victory. It marked the second consecutive year Post 11 has won the tournament and the third in the last four years.
Post 11 went 5-1 in the tournament, which began on Wednesday with an 11-3 win over Pickerington Post 283 and a 3-2 win over Waverly Post 142. After beating Troy Post 43 5-1 on Thursday, Post 11 had an off day on Friday before suffering an 18-8 loss against Utica Post 92.
On Sunday, Post 11 fell behind 4-0 in the second inning against Sidney but was able to claw its way back by plating four runs in the bottom half of the second inning.
Post 11 took advantage of five walks, a hit batsmen, and a two-run single by Jakun Akers. Post 11 took a 5-4 lead in the third on an RBI from Owen Conrad to score Conner Schorr, who had reached via a walk.
It stayed that way until Sidney tied it in the sixth inning on a solo home run to set the stage for Miller in the seventh inning. Schoor walked to start the inning and Conrad laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to move him into scoring position. After a ground out, Miller drilled a sharp single into right-centerfield to score the winning run and send Post 11 into the championship game.
It was extra special for Miller, who had walked and struck out in his two previous at-bats, so he knew had to make an adjustment.
“I was swinging too hard and trying to do too much and I just wanted to simplify my approach and was just thinking right side and it worked out for me,” Miller said. “I was in a little bit of a slump, so it felt good to get a hit right there in a big situation. It was a big win for us because we haven’t been put in a position where he had to back like that, so it was nice to see us do that. We knew we could do it, it was just a matter of doing it.
“Getting to the championship game and winning it was big because we know how much it means to coach (Al Beavers) and coach Dana (Rowland), as well everyone here watching. We are playing well as a team. Our pitching is coming together, we are stringing a lot of hits together and our defense is solid. We are in a good position right now.”
Sam Sethna was outstanding in relief duty. Rowley started and pitched one inning before Sethna came in to finish out the game in the second inning. He gave up only one run in six innings of work against Sidney.
In the championship game against Crawfordsville, Post 11 wasted little time jumping all over them. Rowley, a left-hander, hit an opposite-field home run to give Post 11 a quick 1-0 lead in the first inning.
Post 11 scored six runs on six hits in the third inning. Miller, Sethna, Rowley, Owen Pompey, Conrad and Casey Middendorf all had hits in the inning.
Post 11 would put the game out of reach in the fourth inning by scoring four runs on three hits from Rowley, who had a double, while Carsten Deibel and Conrad added one hit each to give Post 11 an 11-4 lead before Rowley ended with his home run blast.
Nick Dolci picked up the win as he pitched all five innings. He also had the win against Waverly as he went the distance.
“In the semifinal game, I was proud of the way Alex battled after having a couple of tough at-bats, and really all of our guys did a great job in that game because we scored all of our runs with two outs,” Post 11 coach Dana Rowland said. “We are thrilled to win this tournament, but we still have things we need to work through, but I like the direction we are headed as we get ready for the district tournament in a few weeks.”
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: Back-to-Back Champs: Post 11 wins Classic Tournament again
