Legion baseball: Post 217 rallies to beat Troy Legends 5-4

SIDNEY — Sidney Post 217 lost a lead in the top of the seventh but rallied in the bottom half of the inning to earn a 5-4 victory over Troy Post 43 Legends at Custenborder Field.

Troy trailed 4-3 going to the seventh inning.

With one out, Nathan Wooley singled and Kale Francis reached on a dropped fly ball. Casey Kelley drilled a RBI single, then Dalton Dawes drove in a run on a sacrifice fly to give Troy a 4-3 lead.

But, in the home seventh, defense was costly for Troy.

Jordan Lessing reached on an error and Derek Meyer and Xavier Phlipot followed with bunt singles to load the bases. Evan Eilerman drilled a ball in the gap to score Lessing and Meyer and give Post 217 the win.

Sidney is scheduled to travel to Lancaster Post 11 for a tournament this weekend. The team is scheduled to travel to Greenville Post 140 on July 5 before returning to Custenborder Field to host Piqua on July 12.

The Legends had taken a 2-0 lead lead in the top of the fourth.

Tucker Miller walked and Jake Kramer reached on an error. One run scored when Garrett LeMaster reached on an errors.

Kale Francis drilled what appeared to be a two-run double to make it 3-0. But, one runner was called out for missing third, ending the inning and leaving the score at 2-o.

Sidney took the lead back in the home fourth, taking advantage of two Troy errors.

Phlipot had led of the inning with a single.

He would score when a pop fly was dropped in the infield with two outs and Gavin Roberts would hit a two-run double to give Sidney a 3-2 lead.

Troy had a golden opportunity in the sixth inning.

Jaxon Hill reached on an error to start the inning and Tucker Miller followed with a double.

But a strikeout and a line drive that turned into a double play ended the threat, setting up a wild seventh inning.

Hill allowed just one unearned run and combined with Garrett LeMaster for an eight-hitter, striking out three.

Phlipot, Eilerman and Johnny Nixon all had two hits for Sidney.

Ryan Caulfield pitched six and two-third innings, before Phlipot came in to get the final out in the seventh and got the win.

Only two Troy runs were earned as they combined on a seven-hitter, striking out five and walking four.

Sidney Post 217 pitcher Ryan Caufield throws a pitch during an American Legion baseball game on Monday at Custenborder Field. Caufield pitched 6 2/3 innings and gave up two earned runs on seven hits while striking out five batters and walking four.
https://www.sidneydailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/47/2022/06/web1_sidney.jpgSidney Post 217 pitcher Ryan Caufield throws a pitch during an American Legion baseball game on Monday at Custenborder Field. Caufield pitched 6 2/3 innings and gave up two earned runs on seven hits while striking out five batters and walking four. Rob Kiser | AIM Media Midwest
Eilerman drives in game-winning runs in bottom of 7th

By Rob Kiser

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Miami Valley Today sports editor Rob Kiser can be reached at [email protected].