It was there for the taking.
Festus had the bases loaded with one out in the sixth inning of Sunday night’s Zone 4 American Legion baseball championship game against Cape Girardeau Ford and Sons Post 63.
Left-handed batter Jake Leitner dug in at home plate against Cape pitcher Brian McNeely. With a loud ping from his aluminum bat, Leitner slashed a screaming line drive – right into the glove of third baseman Trent Unterreiner, who doubled up Jacob Bridges to end the late threat.
It was just one at-bat among many in the two games and 17 innings Festus and Cape played on a cool night at Yanks Field in Ste. Genevieve. But it was the crucial moment in Post 63’s 2-1 victory, which forced a “winner take all” nightcap of the double-elimination tournament.
“We hit some baseballs well with the winning run at second base and sometimes it doesn’t go your way,” Festus manager Zac Bone said after Post 253 lost 9-7 in 10 innings to Cape (29-9) in the second game. That contest didn’t lack for drama either as Bone’s club fell behind 7-0 and clawed back to a 7-7 tie and extra innings.
If Leitner’s line drive goes a few inches further to either side, Festus (25-10) most likely advances to the state tournament for the second straight season. Instead, Post 253 hit into three double plays in the first game and got outslugged in the second, and Cape will make its first appearance at the state tournament in Sedalia since 1994.
“Our guys are disappointed and I’m disappointed for them,” Bone said. “What a great group of young men. It was a really well-pitched game in the first game on both sides. McNeely was very good attacking the count early on. Christian (Hancock) was so good for us all summer and today.”
Hancock matched McNeely for seven innings, using his curveball as his out-pitch on several occasions. But Cape got the early jump when Hancock walked Cooper Crosnoe and Lane Robinson in the first inning and Crosnoe scored on a fielder’s choice by Trevor Haas for a 1-0 Cape lead. Leitner dropped Austin Dill’s routine fly ball to start the second and Dill came around to score on a base hit by Luke Marcum to make it 2-0.
Shortstop Jacob Bridges tripled with one out in the Festus third and sprinted home on a Crosnoe throwing error as Festus drew closer at 2-1.
Matt Rosen singled to start the Post 253 fifth, but instead of bunting to move Rosen into scoring position, Charlie Pratt grounded into a 4-6-3 double play.
In the sixth, Bridges singled, Collin Mann walked and Michael Brewer was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Festus seemed poised to strike. But Bridges was out at home on a force out and Leitner hit into the double play.
Leitner took the mound in the second game and faced off against Crosnoe, a left-hander.
Dill singled and scored and Marcum reached on a fielder’s choice and scored to give Cape a 2-0 lead. Post 63 added three more runs in the third on singles by Unterreiner and Haas and a two-run triple by Dill, who scored on Marcum’s fielder’s choice to make it 5-0.
Cape added two more runs in the fourth when Crosnoe walked and Robinson singled in front of Joe Baker’s two-run double. Post 63 had two runners on with one out, but Haas hit into a double play.
Energized after the defensive stop, Post 253 climbed back into the game in the fourth. Brennan Pryor opened the frame with a double. After a ground out, Crosnoe walked Pratt and Gunnison Heine to load the bases. Bridges delivered a two-run single and Turley walked. With two on and two outs, Brewer smacked a two-run double to cut Cape’s lead to 7-4.
Baker relieved Crosnoe after he walked Leitner to load the bases with two outs. Pryor grounded to Marcum at shortstop, who got Leitner on the force out at second.
In the Cape half of the fifth, Brendon Smock came in to relieve Austin Bearden, who had relieved Leitner in the fourth. Smock pitched around successive singles and didn’t allow a run.
Baker plunked Rosen in the head with a pitch to start the fifth. Rosen came around to score aided by a wild pitch and a stolen base. Baker walked Smock and Bridges and Turley got aboard via a fielder’s choice. A double by Mann cleared the bases to make it 7-7, but Mann was thrown out at home on a close play for the third out after Brewer reached safely on an error by Marcum.
“We dug a hole in the second game,” Bone said. “You use words like grit and toughness, which are almost cliché, but they’re true when you see the way we rally and tie the game. A couple things didn’t go our way at the plate and we had the winning run in scoring position for five straight innings and didn’t get the hit.”
That’s because Baker settled down and pitched five straight scoreless innings to earn the victory. It was the second straight year Baker pitched against Festus in the zone championship game.
Post 253 had its best chance to end Cape’s season in the sixth when Leitner led off with a single. A two-out double by Pratt put two runners in scoring position. Smock walked after a 3-2 count to load the bases. Unfortunately, Leitner, thinking the bases were already loaded, trotted toward home plate and got tagged out.
In each of the next three innings, Post 253 moved runners into scoring position for a chance at a walk-off zone title. But Baker got out of trouble each time.
“His fastball velocity was excellent and he found the strike zone as he got into the game,” Bone said of Baker. “He settled in nicely and Cape has quite a few legitimate arms.”
Cape took a 9-7 lead in the 10th on singles by Crosnoe and Baker, both coming around to score. Jacob Melton relieved Smock with two outs and the bases loaded and struck out Marcum to end the threat.
After getting the first two outs in the Festus 10th, Baker reached his pitch-count limit of 105 and was replaced by Derrick Kirn, who promptly hit Pratt in the head with a pitch. Pratt stared down Kirn on his way to first and Bone quickly interceded. Kirn walked Heine to put the tying runs on base, but Bridges struck out to end the game.
It was the second time in a week Smock came on in relief and pitched well enough to win.
“What a tremendous summer for the young man,” Bone said. “He didn’t throw much during high school (with Perryville) because of shoulder issues. But he worked back to 100 percent and competed his rear end off.”
For Bearden, Heine, Mann and Pryor, Sunday marked the end of their Legion eligibility. All four were instrumental in the team’s success the past two years. Mann was the top catcher in District 13 and one of the most feared hitters in the area.
“Collin Mann has been the cornerstone of this program for four years,” Bone said. “Brennan Pryor had big hit after big hit and big pitch after big pitch. Austin Bearden pitched for us tonight and got us out of a tough situation. Gunnison Heine had a tremendous district and zone tournament. Those kids are impossible to replace. Everybody who saw our junior team knows how talented they are.”
Post 253 beats Eureka in semifinals
Pitcher Michael Brewer struck out 10 and catcher Collin Mann’s two-out, three-run double in the second inning punctuated Festus Post 253's 8-2 victory against Eureka Post 177 in the championship semifinals of the Zone 4 tournament on Friday at Yanks Field in Ste. Genevieve.
“Festus put together a string of excellent at-bats in the second inning, ending with the bases-clearing double by Mann,” Eureka manager Alex Wolters said. “Sometimes you just have to give credit where credit is due. They grind and grind and fouled off tough pitches until they got theirs.”
Brennan Pryor led off the Festus second with a single off Post 177 right-hander Nicholas Heine, who then walked Matt Rosen. After Rosen stole second, Charlie Pratt delivered an RBI single to give Post 253 a 1-0 lead. Heine struck out the next two batters but hit Gavin Turley with a pitch before Mann, a dangerous left-handed hitter, sent a towering fly ball to the deepest part of center field to wipe the bases clean.
Turley has been the team’s leadoff batter all season.
“Every time I get on base they just hit me in,” Turley said. “I’m quick, so I want to steal second base every time I get to first.”
Festus manager Zac Bone said Turley’s unselfish at-bat set Mann up for success.
“To load the bases in front of a guy who can really do some damage,” Bone said. “Collin did a nice job of staying within himself and he has as lethal a bat as you’ll see anywhere, the way he can drive the ball to all fields.”
Staked to a 4-0 lead going to the bottom of the second, Brewer walked Heine to start the frame. Heine was out on a ground ball off the bat of Noah Baker, who was stranded at first after Brewer struck out the next two batters. Brewer struck out two more Post 177 batters after hitting Josh Samuel with a pitch to conclude the third inning.
Brewer had four pitches left to complete the state-mandated pitch count of 105 per day after Eureka’s Jacob Schneider led off the seventh. Brewer struck out Schneider on four pitches and left the mound for relief pitcher Brendon Smock.
“What an outing. I thought (Brewer) had command of his fastball and he flashed a couple of breaking balls in there,” Bone said.
Smock faced Samuel with one out and the bases empty and Samuel reached on an error by Turley at second. William Wood singled and moved Samuel to second, but Smock picked off Wood at first base for the second out and got Thomas Burke to ground out to first to end the frame.
Heine pitched six innings, struck out six, walked five, allowed six hits and four of the seven runs he allowed were earned. Ethan Gossman relieved Heine in the seventh and allowed a hit and run and struck out two.
“I told (Heine) after the game I was proud of the way he competed,” Wolters said. “Sometimes in pitching, one swing defines a game and that was unfortunate because (Mann’s double) overshadowed what I thought was a great performance.”
Gunnison Heine hit his second triple in a week to lead off the Festus fourth. Mann drove Heine home with a sacrifice fly to center field. Turley walked, stole second base and scored on an error to give Post 253 a 6-0 lead.
Eureka scratched out its two runs in the fourth and fifth innings. In the fifth, Rett Corley got to first safely on an error by first baseman Jacob Leitner. Baker’s wicked hopper past Turley at second got Post 177 on the scoreboard. An inning later, Wood singled off Brewer and stole second base. Burke’s RBI single made the score 6-2.
Each team made three errors. Pratt was strong at third base for Festus and cleanly fielded and threw to first against three straight Eureka batters between the fifth and sixth innings.
“Huge plays by Charlie at third,” Bone said. “At every single level you’ve got to attack the baseball. You can’t be on your heels on the infield and Charlie did that tonight.”
Mann finished 1-for-5 at the plate with four RBIs. Brewer was 1-for-1 and drew two walks. Turley and Pryor each scored twice. Wood had two hits for Eureka.
Going into Sunday’s championship game, Festus had a record of 11-0 in the District 13 and Zone 4 tournaments the past two summers.
“Each year is its own separate thing,” Bone said. ‘Talk about being defending champions is a misnomer because we’re not playing for the 2017 district or zone championship. It’s a brand-new group and experience for these guys.”