19U team starts off strong
Published 3:00 am Wednesday, June 10, 2015
The Post 70 American Legion 19U team got their 2015 season under way last weekend in Dothan going 2-2 in their first tournament.
The team defeated North Florida 7-6 and Albany Post 30 by a commanding 11-3 scores.
The two losses came at the hands of Post 12 Dothan 11-10 and to the North Florida Black sox 15-5.
“I thought it was a good start to the season. We didn’t perform as well as we wanted to,” said 19U Team head coach John Rushing. “But that can be expected when you have limited practice time and guys haven’t played together.”
After falling behind early to North Florida 4-0, Post 70 came back strong and scored twice in the bottom of the second inning. After Trace Johnston laced a single, and Brody Wynne reached base on an error, Rush Hixon stepped to the plate and hit a double scoring both Johnston and Wynne.
After North Florida added another run in the fourth inning, Post 70 added to the scoreboard again in the bottom half of the fifth inning, bringing Post 70 to within two runs.
With North Florida up 5-3, Troy plated four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Hixon, Riley Jobin, and Hunter Baggett all had runs in the inning. Hixon and Jobin each had base hits for Post 70 in the inning.
After North Florida scored their final run in the top of the seventh, Post 70 slammed the door to secure the win.
“That was a big win for us,” Rushing said. We were the only team to beat them after they had run ruled all the other teams they played. We definitely have to get better to meet our goals this summer but overall I was pleased with our start to the season.”
Post 70 finished out their tournament with dominating 11-3 win over Albany Post 30.
Keith Johnson had a two-run single in the top of the first inning scoring Jobin and Baggett for the game’s first two runs of the game.
After Post 70 batted around in the inning, Hixon had a big base hit scoring Drew Starling. In all Post 70 scored seven runs in the first inning, putting the game away early.
With the score 9-2 heading into the bottom of the sixth, Post 70 finished off Albany by scoring the games final two runs leading to a mercy-rule win.
Johnston drove in the game’s final run on a double scoring Hartley to end the game.
Post 70’s 17U Black team was also in action on throughout the weekend. They ended the weekend with a 3-1 record. Starting pitcher Clark Logan threw a no-hitter against Dothan Post 12 in a 8-0 win.
The 17U Black Team also secured a win against Bessemer post 149 19U team by a score of 9-2. They beat Albany Post 30 8-5 to secure their third victory of the weekend.
Post 70s lone loss came at the hands of the Tuscaloosa Thunder 7-6.
Post 70 will be in action again tonight when they host the Wiregrass Sports Academy in a double-header. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m.
The Post 70 17U Maroon will face Wiregrass Sports Academy on a doubleheaders starting at 5 p.m. at Charles Henderson High School.