The Texarkana Razorbacks got their revenge Monday against Troy Post 70, defeating the local team 7-6 in the semifinals of the Independence Day Classic in Columbia, Tennessee.

Post 70 had defeated the defending World Series champions in the Father’s Day Classic last month to claim the championship.

“In the first few innings they got a three run lead and we were a little sluggish and couldn’t get anything going at the plate.” Said head coach Rush Hixon. “We just went through the motions early…I was proud of the fight we showed in the game.”

Post 70 picked up wins against Terre Haute Post 346 and Florence Post 11 before dropping their first game of the classic against Pulaski Post 60 on Saturday. Post 70 bounced back on Sunday by defeating Tupelo Post 49, setting up their showdown with the Razorbacks.

“This tournament is always a really good one,” Hixon said. “They bring in a lot good American Legion baseball teams from the southeast. That is something that we are going to see if you want to win a regional and a World Series. For us to get that exposure and be able to play them before we get to a regional is great for our team.”

Nathan Light got the start for Post 70 on Monday morning. Light went four innings, giving up three runs, two of which were earned. He allowed four hits and walked a total of six batters.

“Nathan did really good against his first two batters,” Hixon said. “After that he struggled to find the zone a little bit. After he struggled and gave up the two runs, he really settled in. I was pleased with how he responded.”

Graham Wilkes took over and pitched the final two innings and he gave up four unearned runs on three hits.

At the plate, Post 70 outhit Texarkana 9-7 led by Logan Thompson who went 3-4 on the day.

Post 70 fell behind 3-0 in the early stages of the game after they allowed two runs in the first and another run in the third.

Light got the first two batters out quickly in the first inning before walking four straight batters that led to the game’s first run. The second run of the inning came into score on a passed ball. The Razorbacks had an RBI single in the third to bring the score to 3-0.

After a scoreless fourth, Post 70 jumped on the Razorbacks in the fifth by scoring four runs to take a 4-3 lead. Thompson scored the first run of the inning on an error by the second baseman off the bat of Carson Tucker. Casey Henderson drove in the second run on a single to left scoring Joey Wozniak before Post 70 closed out the scoring on an RBI groundout by Hunter Jones and a single by Jackson Tate.

Post 70 seemed to be in good shape after they added two more runs in the sixth to stretch their lead to 6-3 after Gage Herring drove in Wozniak with a single to right and Jones grounded into a fielder’s choice to score Tucker.

With Post 70 leading by three, Hixon elected to go with Wilkes on the mound in the sixth inning. After getting two outs fairly quickly, the Razorbacks touched up Wilkes by scoring four runs after he allowed one walk, two hits and a hit-batter.

John Miller led off the seventh with a walk and attempted to score on a double by Thompson, but was thrown out at home for the inning’s second out.

Post 70 will be back in action on Thursday when they host Tri-County in a double header beginning at 5 p.m.