MORGANTOWN — And then there was one – hoping for two.
Describing the American Legion Baseball Great Lakes Regional Tournament championship Sunday as a David and Goliath matchup between host Post 2 and Midland, Mich., would not be considered a stretch.
Morgantown, at 16-9, didn’t win its own area tournament, let alone the state title, while Post 165 boasted a gaudy 37-3 record, and as a program, captured a whopping nine regional crowns. However, while Midland had yet to lose in the tourney, the only team to give it a reasonable battle was Post 2, who had pushed the powerhouse to the final at-bat and had the tying run at the plate before losing on Friday, 7-3.
So Post 2’s job was clear, even if the muggy, and unfortunately stormy weather wasn’t: Win the 1 p.m. game, then win again, and it’d advance and earn its first trip to the Big Dance in program history.
But the quality arm of Post 165 starter (and Jacob DeGrom doppelganger Max Coughlin) and the quality bats up and down the Midland line up proved too much for a solid, determined, but ultimately depleted Post 2 team, as the Michigan state champs again punched their ticket to Shelby, N.C. — home of next week’s Legion World Series — with a definitive, 10-1 victory.
As the game began in the midst of rain that quickly turned from a sprinkle to a soaker, Midland jumped ahead 3-0 in the top of the 1st on a pair of two-out RBI hits before the umpires halted the action. After a 4 ½ hour delay — yeoman’s work from the grounds crew restored the playing conditions of Mylan Park’s Dale Miller Field — Post 165 tacked on another three runs in the second on a hit batsman and four straight singles.
Morgantown’s Aaron Forbes launched a long double to start the bottom half of the 2nd and later scored on Jake Spearen’s sac fly to begin the long climb back into the game. But Midland scored an unearned run in the third to restore their six-run lead 7-1, then added on with a pair of two-out hits to make it 8-1 in the fourth.
In the 6th, catcher Al Warner stroked his third double of the game, knocking in run No. 9, and a final inning wild pitch accounted for the game’s final score.
After the awards ceremonies concluded, Post 2 general manager Tyler Barnette was equal parts exhausted and proud.
“To have pulled this off in such a short turnaround time, and with all the weather issues – for all of it to lead to this,” he said, pointing at the impressive regional runners-up trophy, “is such a big moment for this young team and this program. And I don’t feel like we are anywhere close to peaking. Baseball in Morgantown is on the rise, and I think that hosting the Mid-Atlantic Regional for the next two years can really be a catalyst for Post 2.”
Morgantown manager Andy Altemus summed up Sunday’s game and his team’s year with his usual succinctness.
“Midland’s just really good,” he said. “They have a lot of experienced, college players, and you saw what they did to everyone in this tournament. But we hit the ball well — right at them four or five times — and we competed and never quit, the whole week.
“I told them how proud I was of them, and to enjoy and remember this time you spent with your friends — your Post 2 family. This group has made great strides for us, and they’ve moved the program forward, and that’s what it’s all about. We have young kids watching them today, and we are adding teams at younger ages, and they’re all learning how we do things, what it takes to be successful. And even though the scoreboard is still on, the team is already talking about next year, so the excitement is there, and that’s the best part of all.”
Walking off the field, bat bag over his shoulder, third baseman Aaron Forbes, who pounded a pair of doubles on the day, agreed with his skipper and GM.
“Man, that team was good,” he said. “I think they’ve got a shot to win it all next week. You know, I think this week showed us just how close we are to being that good, too. We found out that we really can do it, and now we know what to expect, and what it takes. Sure, we wanted to win today, but we’re all pretty excited about next year, and we can’t wait to get started again.”
