Staff report
Sidney Post 217’s American Legion baseball team is set to open the season Saturday with a doubleheader at Custenborder Field against the Olentangy Aces starting at noon.
Jim Koewler is back as the head coach/manager, and will be assisted by Jacob Lochard, Jason McLain, Tony McLain and Cole Proffitt.
“I have several players returning from last year,” said Koewler. “I’ve added newcomers to fill out the roster, and the roster is so full that we did not have any tryouts this spring. It’s one of the luxuries I’ve been looking forward to. I only have to replace a small number of players and I was able to do that through recruiting.
“With the talent I have returning and the talent I’ve added, we should be very competitive this season,” he added. “We were successful last year and I look forward to improving on that.”
He said the team’s main goal is to win the district tournament and earn a berth in the State Legion Tournament in Lancaster. “I think it’s a possibility with this group.”
The roster is led by three players from Fort Loramie. There are two apiece from Versailles and Riverside.
The pitching staff will be deep, with players like Dakota Bollinger from Riverside, Josh Nixon from Minster, who will play at Dayton next season; Brett McEldowney of Versailles, and Jackson Hobbs of Fort Recovery, which is playing in the regional tournament this week.
The roster includes the following and their home school:
Sidney — Austin McLain
Anna — Zach White
Fairlawn — Kyle Noble
Fort Loramie — Daniel Berning, Drew Wehrman, Carter Mescher
Houston — Isaiah Beaver
Jackson Center — Jacob Francis
Russia — Bryant McCarty
Versailles — Kyle Subler, Brett McEldowney
Minster — Josh Nixon
Riverside — Dakota Bollinger, Tyler Sanford
Graham — Jacob Peters
New Knoxville — Hunter McMurray
Fort Recovery — Jackson Hobbs
Lima Bath — Cam Clark
Waynesfield — Cheyne Tate
Post 217 has Sunday off but will play on Memorial Day at home against Toledo Whitehouse in a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m.
There will also be games Tuesday and Wednesday, then three straight doubleheaders Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Tuesday’s game will be the annual “alumni game.” It will start at 6 p.m. and last nine innings.
“The former players really enjoyed this last year, so we plan to continue it,” Koewler said.
The team will play in a few more tournaments this year. First is the Ottawa Tournament June 10, 11 and 12. Then June 17, 18 and 19 will be the Nischwitz Tournament in Dayton, then June 23, 24, 25 and 26 will be the Northcoast Elite Tournament in Akron.
On July 1, 2, 3 and 4 will be the Fourth of July Tournament, with games in Dayton, Springfield and Xenia, and after the distric tournament July 12-16 in Troy and Greenville, Sidney will play in the Wolverine-Buckeye Classic in Toledo July 20, 21, 22, 23 and 24.
Mixed in are the home-and-away games with league rivals Piqua, Troy and Greenville.
Following is the 2017 Post 217 baseball schedule
May
28 — Olentangy Aces, doubleheader, noon.
30 — Toledo Whitehouse, doubleheader, 11 a.m.
31 — Alumni game, 6 p.m.
June
1 — Springfield Armory, 6 p.m.
3 — at Pemberville, doubleheader, 5 p.m.
4 — at Fostoria, doubleheader, noon.
5 — Ashland, doubleheader, noon.
8 — Ottawa, 7 p.m.
9 — Napoleon, 6 p.m.
10, 11, 12 — At Ottawa Tournament
13 — at Springfield Armory, 6 p.m.
14 — at Piqua, 7:30
16 — Muncie, 6 p.m.
17, 18, 19 — at Nischwitz Tournament at Wright State
21 — Greenvile, 6:30
22 — at Findlay, 7 p.m.
23, 24, 25, 26 — at Northcoast Elite Tournament, Akron
28 — Piqua, 7:30
30 — at Troy, 7 p.m.
July
1, 2, 3, 4 — at Fourth of July Tournament (Dayton, Springfield, Xenia)
5 — at Greenville, 6:30
7 — Troy, 6:30
8 — Michigan 3 Oaks, 6 p.m.
9 — Fostoria, doubleheader, noon
10 — Findlay, doublehader, 1 p.m.
12, 13, 14, 15, 16 — at District Tournament (Greenville and Troy)
20, 21, 22, 23, 24 — at Wolverine-Buckeye Classic, Toledo
