Staff report
Sidney Post 217’s state-bound American Legion baseball team tuned up for the Wednesday start to that tournament by playing five games in the Wolverine-Buckeye Classic over the weekend in Toledo.
Post 217 won three and lost two in the tournament. The losses came in their first two games, one by a 3-2 score in the opener to Ida, Mich., which won despite getting just three hits.
Sidney then lost to Ann Arbor Extreme 5-3 in five innings, before beating Toledo Palacios 7-1, a team out of Detroit, 7-4, and Toledo Express 22-3.
Post 217 will take the field in the State Legion Tournament Wednesday at 10 a.m. in Lancaster against Toledo Post 553.
• Against Ida, one of the Michigan team’s hits was a home run, and the other two runs came home on a hit batsman, two errors and a double.
Sidney had just four hits, scoring its run when Brett McEldowney reached on an error, advanced on a passed ball, and scored on Bryant McCarty’s single.
• Against Ann Arbor, Sidney didn’t get a chance to rally back from a 5-3 deficit. The lights at the field where the game was played were on a timer and went out at midnight, with the Sidney-Ann Arbor game only in the fifth inning. When the game was called, Sidney had two on and nobody out.
Josh Nixon pitched the five innings and had nine strikeouts for Sidney, allowing only four hits.
• Against Toledo Palacios, Daniel Kearns pitched a three-hitter with six strikeouts. Sidney got its first three runs on singles by McEldowey, Jackson Hobbs, McCarty, Kyle Subler, Drew Wehrman and Nixon.
The last four runs came on two singles by Austin McLain, one by McEldowney, walks to Hobbs and Dakota Bollinger, and a double by Wehrman.
• Sidney then beat Detroit 7-4, with McCarty doing the pitching. Sidney had 12 hits in the game and got off to a great start with four in the first on five singles, a walk and an error. Post 217 added three more in the sixth on two singles, two errors and a fielder’s choice.
• The final game was a run-rule over Toledo Express, with Jacob Peters allowing just two hits for Sidney.
Post 217 had 12 hits, with the big one being a three-run homer by Nixon in the third.
Sidney and Michigan Dynasty were tied 5-5 in the fourth inning of a sixth game, but the rains came and the game was called.
“I pitched four different pitchers an inning apiece up to that point to get them ready for the state tournament,” said Sidney coach Jim Koewler. “We are now ready for state.”
Sendoff held
The team was treated to a sendoff get-together Monday night at the American Legion in Sidney, and there was a big turnout, with Koewler saying there were 85 people in attendance.
Games on radio
Koewler also announced that the state games will be broadcast live on Fort Recovery radio.
It was arranged by Jeff Hobbs, whose son Jackson plays for Post 217. Jeff Hobbs and Brad Clark will be calling the action.
The site can be accessed at www.fortrecoveryradio.com. Click the “Listen Live” tab on the site.
You can also download Fort Recovery radio for free to your phone by going to the apps store.
State Legion Tournament
Schedule
(All games at Lancaster Beavers Field)
WEDNESDAY
Game 1 — Sidney Post 217 vs. Toledo Post 553, 10 a.m.
Game 2 — St. Clairsville Post 159 vs. Coshocton Post 56, 1 p.m.
Game 3 — Utica Post 92 vs. Sandusky Post 85, 4 p.m.
Game 4 — Circleville Post 134 vs. Pickerington Poast 283, 7 p.m.
THURSDAY
Game 5 — Game 1 loser vs. Game 3 loser, 10 a.m.
Game 6 — Game 2 loser vs. Game 4 loser, 1 p.m.
Game 7 — Game 1 winner vs. Game 3 winner, 4 p.m.
Game 8 — Game 2 winner vs. Game 4 winner
FRIDAY
Winner’s bracket final
Game 9 — Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 loser, 10 a.m.
Game 10 — Game 5 winner vs. Game 8 loser, 1 p.m.
Game 11 — Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 7 p.m.
SATURDAY
Game 12 — Game 9 winner vs. Game 11 loser, 10 a.m.
Game 13 — Game 10 winner vs. Game 11 winner, 1 p.m.
Game 14 (Championship) — Game 12 winner vs. Game 13 winner, 7 p.m.
SUNDAY
Game 15 — If necessary game, 1 p.m.
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Post 217 roster
Manager — Jim Koewler
Assistant coaches — Jacob Lochard, Bill Lonsbury, Jason McLain, Anthony McLain.
Players
No. 8 — Isaiah Beaver, Houston High School, outfield/pitcher
No. 18 — Daniel Berning, Fort Loramie, first base/pitcher
No. 19 — Dakota Bollinger, Riverside, first base/outfield
No. 3 — Cam Clark, Lima Bath, third base/pitcher
No. 10 — Jackson Hobbs, Fort Recovery, first base/pitcher
No. 25 — Daniel Kearns, Russia, first base/pitcher
No. 12 — Bryant McCarty, Russia, second base/pitcher
No. 4 — Brett McEldowney, Versailles, pitcher/outfield
No. 15 — Austin McLain, Sidney, second basde/outfield
No. 13 — Hunter McMurray, New Knoxville, catcher/shortstop
No. 16 — Carter Mescher, pitcher/outfield
No. 17 — Josh Nixon, Minster, pitcher/shortstop
No. 31 — Kyle Noble, Fairlawn, first base/third base
No. 7 — Jacob Peters, Graham, pitcher/first base
No. 6 — Tyler Sanford, Riverside, pitcher/first base
No. 5 — Kyle Subler, Versailles, catcher/outfield
No. 20 — Daniel Wehrman, Fort Loramie, pitcher/outfield
No. 22 — Zach White, Anna, catcher/outfield