If anyone knows the history of the rivalry between Ste. Genevieve Post 150 and Festus Post 253 when it comes to American Legion baseball, it’s Junie Basler.
After Ste. Gen, the No. 3 seed, swept through the District 13 tournament with a 4-0 record, having beaten Festus twice in three days at Yanks Field, Basler, the former manager of the Post 150 senior team, told the large crowd for both teams that they’ve met to settle the championship at least 15 of the last 20 years.
As American Legion programs have been greatly reduced in the last two decades, the rivalry between Festus (No. 1) and Ste. Gen continues to thrive. And it was renewed this summer after Ste. Gen didn’t have enough players to field a senior team last year.
Post 150 took advantage of two Post 253 errors to score four runs in the first inning off righthander Brennan Ervin. Festus struck back with three runs in the second, but a four-run rally in the sixth helped Ste. Gen hold on to a 9-5 victory Monday night.
“We had some struggles this year, but in the long run these kids showed up when it mattered most in the district tournament,” Ste. Gen manager Brendan Samples said. Samples is a 2016 graduate of Ste. Genevieve High and played for Basler and Post 150. “I’m proud of each and every one of them.”
Ste. Gen improved to 12-8-1 and will host the zone tournament, which starts Saturday. Festus (12-10) beat Post 150 7-1 and 11-6 during the regular season, but lost 5-3 to them in the first meeting in the tournament July 13. Despite finishing second, Post 253 also qualified for the zone. Festus plays Kirkwood Saturday at 10 a.m. and Ste. Gen plays District 10 winner Eureka at 1 p.m.
“With the postseason comes a different level of play, no matter how we did against them in the regular season, no matter what level it is, especially on their home turf,” said Festus manager Alec Kisena. “Everybody knows they’re a good team and will always be competitive.”
Besides the errors in the first, Ervin allowed singles to Wyatt Fallert and Carter Viox and a double to Colin Henderson. Ervin pitched 5 1/3 innings and of the seven runs he allowed, three were earned. Devin Black pitched 1 2/3 innings of relief for 253, allowing three hits and two earned runs. Ervin and Black combined to walk six batters.
“You could tell (Ervin) was tired in that last inning, but he wanted to stay in there and that’s the kind of guy he is,” Kisena said. “He’s resilient and strong and he doesn’t want the ball taken out of his hands.”
Black led off the first with a single off Ste. Gen righthander Jake Seabaugh, who then walked Tanner Duncan, giving Festus two runners with nobody out. With one out, Seabaugh plunked Dylan Black with a pitch to load the bases, but all three runners were stranded.
Ervin walked Andrew Basler to start the second, but his defense erased that mistake by turning an inning-ending double play. A Post 150 error allowed Ty Ortmann to reach first base to lead off the Festus second, and with one out, Nolan Naucke was hit by a pitch. With two outs, Ortmann scored on one of three Ste. Gen errors to make it 4-1, and after a walk to Cole Robinson, Dylan Black cut the lead to 4-3 with a two-run single.
With the score the same in the fourth, 253 loaded the bases with nobody out when Devin Black doubled, Duncan was walked and Robinson was hit by a pitch. But an infield fly and double play kept Seabaugh and Ste. Gen on top.
“And (Seabaugh) worked his tail off and got out of it without a run scored against the middle of their lineup,” Samples said. “We came up and did the same thing and squeaked a run on a passed ball. We’re working for everybody.”
Cannon Wolk scored on a wild pitch and Post 150 added a run in the fifth to lead 5-3. Ste. Gen piled on four more runs in the sixth after three walks, two singles and a hit batter. Festus scored its last two runs in the sixth on an error and bases-loaded walk. Duncan had a two-out double in the seventh but a ground out ended the game.
“We lost to (Ste. Gen) Saturday morning and we were one game away from being knocked out, but our guys played for each other and I told them some of them won’t suit up for a game again if it comes to an end (July 14),” Kisena said. “They did it and I was proud of these guys for getting through the loser’s bracket because that’s tough in this heat.”
Following the opening loss to Post 150 in the tournament, Festus beat the Hillsboro Prospects (3-21-2, No. 5) 12-1 and De Soto SMCI (17-8-1, No. 2) 4-0 July 14. Against De Soto, Dylan Black was the winning pitcher after throwing six innings and fanning 10 batters. The starter in the championship, Ervin fired an inning of scoreless relief after playing third base and going 3-for-3 at the plate.