ACH American Legion 18U ready for playoffs

COULEE CITY – The ACH American Legion 18U baseball team concluded a successful weekend of competition. Across two doubleheaders and a single game Sunday, American Legion went 4-1. Head coach Mike Correia said he is pleased with his team battling injury bugs.  

“The fact that we got through three double headers and then another single on Sunday last week, with really six guys that have a lot of pitching experience, and then we had to put in some guys that didn't have a lot of pitching experience, I'm pretty happy with it,” Correia said.  

Last Thursday, they played their first doubleheader against the NE 49ers AA 17U baseball team. In the first game, they engaged in a defensive battle through the first three innings. In the top of the fourth inning, the American Legion erupted for six runs and took an 8-1 lead. 

After the 49ers scored four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning, the American Legion would shut them down on defense. In the sixth and seventh innings, they strung together six more runs and secured the win with a final score of 14-5. According to Correia, Max Grindy pitched a strong game against the 49ers. Grindy struck out seven batters and did not allow any earned runs.  

However, game two was a different story. The American Legion gave up seven runs to the 49ers in the top of the first inning. They struggled offensively and could not score until the bottom of the fourth, with one run scored. The 49ers eventually secured a 13-1 victory over the American Legion team.  

“With our pitching situation, we kind of went up there with the mindset of, ‘Okay, let's for sure get one.’” Correia said. “So, I went into the second game thinking, ‘Okay, maybe we got a shot here,’ and we fell apart. So,the  first inning kind of solidified our fate there pretty early in that game.” 

According to Correia, they had to lean on some players who had minimal pitching experience in game two. He praised players like Kaysen Pryor for their efforts despite lacking experience in the role. He said Pryor stepping up saved more experienced pitchers for the games in the upcoming weekend.  

On Friday, the American Legion was set to play the Mead Panthers AA team in another doubleheader. In their first game, it was a low-scoring affair with pitching led by Harvest Parrish in all seven innings. Parrish only allowed one earned run and struck out four batters.  

After the third inning, they led the Panthers 3-1 and continued to rely on Parrish’s pitching to keep them from making a comeback attempt. They would put the final nail in the coffin in the top of the fifth inning by scoring two more runs and increasing their lead to 5-1. Parrish held the Panthers scoreless in the sixth and seventh innings, and they secured their first win of the day.  

“Going into Friday against the Panthers, honestly, we were going to that one with just a couple arms, and got a great start from Harvest Parrish. In that first game, he was able to go the distance,” Correia said.  

In game two, it was a highly offensive game between both teams. In the first inning, both teams strung together five runs. In the top of the second inning, the Panthers scored four more runs and took a 9-5 lead over the American Legion.  

In the bottom of the third inning, Grayson Beal took over the pitching duties from Brody Pitts. After holding the Panthers scoreless in the top of the third, the American Legion began mounting a comeback by scoring three runs.  

Beal held the Panthers scoreless once again in the top of the fourth inning. American Legion capitalized in the bottom of the fourth by scoring six runs and taking a 14-9 lead. After holding them scoreless again in the top of the fifth, they sealed their win by scoring five more runs and securing a 19-9 win over the Panthers.  

“Guys are stepping up and doing what they can for the team, and doing a little more than they typically do, and has put us in a pretty good position going into the playoffs,” Correia said.  

On Sunday, they played the Summerhawks for third place in their league. From the beginning, the American Legion maintained a strong lead throughout the game and prevented any comeback attempts by the Summerhawks.  

In the top of the first inning, the American Legion scored four runs and held the Summerhawks scoreless in the bottom of the first. They would score one more run in the top of the second, and the Summerhawks would get on the scoreboard with two runs of their own.  

From the third inning to the fifth, both teams went scoreless. Pitching was led by Tanner Orestad, who struck out three batters and only allowed one earned run against the Summerhawks.  

In the top of the sixth inning, the American Legion scored seven runs and increased their lead to 12-2. The Summerhawks responded with four runs to cut the lead to 12-6. In the top of the seventh inning, the American Legion put the game out of reach with three runs and secured a 16-6 win over the Summerhawks.  

Correia praised his players' ability to be patient throughout competitive games like the Panthers and Summerhawks.  

“I think it's guys understanding that in baseball, sometimes you just have to be patient. Not getting too panicky when you know we're not getting the runs when we think we should be and just stay on the course and wear teams down, and then finally getting that inning where we kind of blow it open,” he said.  

Looking ahead, the American Legion baseball team begins their playoffs today and will host in Ephrata, since the Legion A team will host in Hartline. They will play in another doubleheader. According to Correia, they play British Columbia at 2:30 p.m. and Ferris at 5 p.m.