American Legion team looking to continue hot play in state tournament

  • brian questel
  • July 24, 2012
  • 355
                        
073012 AmericanLegion Promo: American Legion comes up short in district title game, but still earns state berth American Legion team looking to continue hot play in state tournament By Brian Questel Mission accomplished, even if all didn’t go as planned. The Wayne County American Legion battled Steubenville tooth-and-nail for the second time in two games during the District 10 tournament in Toronto. Two runs over the span of 24 innings made the difference between who would win and lose the tournament, with Steubenville holding off the WC Gunslingers 12-11 July 23. Both of Wayne County’s district losses came at the hands of Steubenville. The locals opened with a 9-7 win over Toronto and doubled up Tuscarawas with a 16-8 triumph. The ‘Slingers were knocked into the losers’ bracket after a tough 8-7 loss in 15 innings before sitting three days because of rain. When it got back on the field, WC eliminated Tuscarawas with a 12-10 triumph before getting to face Steubenville again. In the championship game, Wayne jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top half of the first, only to see Steubenville tie it. Wayne moved on top 6-5 after two innings, but trailed 8-7 after six innings. A run in the seventh and three more in the eighth gave Steubenville a cushion and allowed it to hold off Wayne’s 4-run rally in the ninth for the win. “Our goal was to get to the state tournament,” said Wayne coach Barry Craddock, who is pitching coach at The College of Wooster. “They told us at the start of the tournament that both the champion and runner-up would get to go this year. Once we lost in the winner’s bracket game, we knew our goal would be to make sure we finished at least second so we could go and play more. We would have liked to have won two games; we tried hard and it just didn’t happen. “(The rainouts) worked out great for them. After the first two days we were playing our best baseball of the year. Our No. 3 pitcher is better than their No. 3, but after three days of rain, they got their best pitcher back. So did we, which was why it was 3-3 after nine innings and both starting pitchers were out. “If we would have played on Wednesday instead of Saturday, it would have been a different deal. They are not as deep on the mound as we are, so getting their No. 1 back helped them.” Wayne County is 22-15 this season, but Craddock noted, “We’re had a bunch of forfeits and rainouts and different things. We haven’t played that many games because of cancellations, but we count those as wins.” That said, the Legion is on a hot streak, having won 11 of its past 14 games. “We went 3-2 in the tournament and prior to that won 8-of-9 games,” said Craddock. “We’ve been playing better as of late. I think it’s a natural progression over the summer – hitters are seeing more pitches and having a chance to play besides new players and get a feel for that. “It’s still rough. We’ve had games where not everyone has been there. The game we won against Tuscarawas to get to the championship we only had 11 players because a couple of our normal starters had college orientation and another one of our better players had surgery so he’s done for the summer. “We’ve kinda pieced it together,” Craddock added. “We’re allowed 18 on our roster, but one of our kids was coming off arm surgery and only played a couple games before he re-injured his arm and shut it down, so we’ve only had a 17-person roster all summer. Another of our players recently had surgery and is done … so that took us down to 16. As a result, Craddock noted he’s had anywhere from “nine to 16 players” most of the summer. “That leaves little room to maneuver,” he said. “If we change pitchers, the one coming on is already in the game. That’s fine. The kids love to play, but it makes it hard to compete with Steubenville, which has 18 there every game and has more flexibility. Still, we compete well.” Craddock is hoping the Legion can keep its hot streak going. “If I were to pick an MVP players now, it would be Ian Bernier,” he said. “He’s the best catcher we’ve seen. He’s a college freshman. He didn’t play except in JV and intra-squad games, but he’s had a year (at The College of Wooster) and that’s helped. “Brendan Taylor has been a middle-of-the-order guy and probably our best hitter overall,” added Craddock. “He doesn’t have the most power, but he has a lot of doubles and RBI and is in our top three in batting average. He’s a tough out. He’s going into his sophomore year (at Wooster) and I expected him to lead the team. “Luke McGee has been our best pitcher all summer and Corey Brumfield leads the team in ERA. He’s around 1.5 and Luke’s is 2.1. Ryan Hatala’s ERA is around 3.5 and Scott Williams has had a lot of tough luck. His record is not that good, but his ERA is under 3 – he’s pitched well and thrown a lot of innings. Typically he has one bad inning and that usually does him in.” The state tournament will be played in Lancaster July 30-August 2. A banquet will be held Sunday, July 29, where the 12 teams entered in the tournament will find out the tournament draw and who they play. “It’s been another fun year,” said Craddock. “It’s nice to have all the local Legion guys come out and support us and parents come to a ton of games. That makes it a lot of fun.”


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