In winning the District 10 and Zone 1 American Legion senior (AAA) championships, Eureka Post 177 advanced to the Missouri state tournament for the first time since 2013.
With just under a week’s worth of rest, Eureka (20-8) faced Oak Grove Post 379 (26-14) from Springfield twice in two days, losing 7-6 on Sunday and 7-5 on Monday at the Hidden Valley Sports Complex in Blue Springs. The second loss eliminated Eureka from state title contention. Post 379 was the runner up to Lee’s Summit Post 189 (13-21-1) in Zone 2.
In Sunday’s game, Post 177 jumped out to a 5-0 lead through three innings. Facing Eureka hurler Jacob Kranawetter, Oak Grove’s Eli Wilkinson smacked a double in the top of the fourth, and a single by the next batter, Caden Gann, drove in Oak Grove’s first run of the game to make it 5-1.
An error in the top of the fifth allowed Oak Grove to plate another run, while Eureka remained scoreless in the fourth and fifth. Brady Kirn relieved Kranawetter in the top of the sixth and lasted only two-thirds of an inning. The first three Oak Grove batters singled to load the bases and after a flurry of Eureka errors, Post 379 was on top 7-5.
Eureka answered with a run in the bottom of the sixth inning when Cole Edmiston doubled to center and came home on a sacrifice fly by Brett Barnett, who pitched the final out of the sixth inning and registered three quick outs in the seventh. But in the bottom half Eureka’s bats fell silent for a 7-6 defeat and Post 177 dropped into Monday’s loser’s bracket.
Kranawetter pitched five innings, giving up two runs on three hits, walking four and striking out eight. Kirn allowed five runs on four hits, walking one and striking out two. Barnett pitched 1 1/3 innings, yielding no runs and no hits, walking none and striking out one. Oliver Orendain and Ty Munk drove in two runs apiece.
On Monday, Eureka beat the Lee’s Summit Outlaws, the Zone 2 champion, 6-1. Facing elimination, Post 177 regained its postseason trend of scoring early and often and capitalizing on their opponent’s mistakes.
In the top of the first, Post 189’s Ealem Combs hit Will Fieser, then walked Luke Fisher and Jackson Skaggs to load the bases. Brodie Hunt drew another walk for an RBI. Orendain rapped an infield single, scoring Fisher, and Skaggs flew home on a passed ball for a quick 3-0 lead.
Edmiston started on the mound for Eureka and made quick work of the Outlaws in the bottom of the first. In the top of the second, back-to-back doubles by Ty Munk and Luke Fisher brought in another run to make it 4-0.
Edmiston shut out Post 189 through five innings. Eureka was scoreless from the third through the sixth, but in the top of the seventh, Orendain doubled to left and drove in Hunt, who had reached on a walk. Orendain moved to third on an error and scored on Nick Fisher’s sacrifice fly for a 6-0 lead.
Edmiston gave up the Outlaws’ lone run in the seventh and went the distance, scattering seven hits, walking none and striking out three.
Oak Grove fell into the loser’s bracket after getting shut out 8-0 by Elsberry Post 226 (41-3), the Zone 1 champion, which earned the top seed and enjoyed a first-round bye. That set up the Monday rematch with Eureka.
This time, Post 177 sent Fieser to the mound. Both teams failed to score in the first, but Eureka erupted for four runs in the top of the second, stringing together hits and capitalizing on errors by Post 379.
Oak Grove tallied a run in the bottom of the second, and both teams were scoreless in the third and fourth innings. Barnett tacked on a run in the top of the fifth after singling to center, scampering to second on an error, advancing to third on a sacrifice bunt from Munk and coming home on a Luke Fisher sacrifice fly.
In the home half of the fifth, Oak Grove’s first two batters singled and Fieser walked the fourth hitter. A passed ball scored a run and Ford Greaves’ single to left brought in two more runs to cut Eureka’s lead to 5-4.
Eureka stranded three in the top of the sixth and gave up the lead in the bottom half as Post 379 scored three runs aided by multiple errors. Oak Grove shut down Eureka in the seventh to preserve a 7-5 win.
Fieser pitched five innings, giving up four runs on eight hits, walking three and striking out nine. Barnett pitched one inning, allowing three runs on three hits and a walk with no strikeouts.
Oak Grove played Moberly Post 6 Tuesday, after the Leader deadline, for a chance to meet Elsberry in the finals.
Romp caps zone title
Eureka advanced to the state tournament with an impressive three-game run in the Zone 4 tournament at Yanks Field in Ste. Genevieve.
Post 177 doubled up the host club, Ste. Gen Post 150, 4-2 in the zone opener July 20. The next day, Eureka won by the same margin, 5-3 over the Jackson Tribe. Jackson came back through the loser’s bracket to outlast Festus Post 253 15-12 and earn another shot at Eureka for the zone title, but the Tribe offense ran out of gas as Eureka breezed to an 11-0 five-inning, mercy-rule victory July 23 for the championship.
Manager Noah Baker said he wondered if Jackson had run out of bullets after the shootout with Festus.
“We saw them get 15 runs (against Festus) and I didn’t want their bats to get hot today,” he said.
Eureka starting pitcher Jacob Kranawetter and reliever Sean O’Brien limited Jackson to six hits and one walk and let their defense do the rest. Kranawetter pitched four innings, struck out four and allowed four hits. O’Brien allowed two hits in the fifth, but closed out the title with a fielder’s choice and groundout.
“Our defense was really tight,” Baker said. “The pitchers did a great job finding spots, especially getting out of jams. Jacob Kranawetter did a great job starting for us.”
Eureka’s bats, meanwhile, tattooed Jackson pitching for 13 hits. Post 177 batted around in the first frame, going up 3-0 on RBI hits by each of the Fisher brothers, Luke and Nick.
In the second Brett Barnett, Eureka’s top hitter this summer, led off with a single and scored on a pair of Jackson errors.
Kranawetter walked the leadoff batter in the third, and a single gave Jackson two runners on with no outs. But Post 177 turned a double play and with a Tribe runner at third, Kranawetter ended the threat with a strikeout.
Post 177 broke the game open with four more runs in the fourth. Luke Fisher drove in Barnett with a hit and Eureka feasted on more Tribe errors as Will Fieser, Ty Munk and Luke Fisher each scored.
In the bottom of the fifth, Thomas Werner slapped a leadoff single. Barnett drew a walk, and after two teammates struck out, Luke Fisher swung hard on a 1-0 pitch and launched a deep fly to left field.
“I just thought it was a double that was going over his head and would bring the runs in,” Fisher said. But the ball carried over the fence for runs nine, 10 and 11, constituting a walk-off win on the 10-run mercy rule. Fisher finished three-for-four with six runs batted in. Barnett, Munk and Jackson Skaggs each had two hits.
The win propelled Post 177 to the state championship tournament for the first time in 11 years.
“I can’t speak enough about how hard these guys have worked,” Baker said. “They put together their own practice (on July 22) going down to the cages to hit, just because they wanted this so bad. It means a lot to them having that Eureka across their chest.”
In the zone opener against Ste. Gen, Eureka led 3-1 after one inning to set the tone of the game. Barnett and Luke Fisher each had three hits in three at-bats and Fieser and Jake Ollar each whacked a double, while Barnett, Oliver Orendain and Brodie Hunt had stolen bases. Fieser was the starting pitcher and allowed three hits and a run in three innings. Drew Nichols yielded an unearned run and three hits in four frames. He gave up two singles to start the seventh, but shut the door with three flyouts.
In the first win over Jackson, Post 177 plated three runs in the first, highlighted by a Barnett double and stolen bases by him, Munk and Fieser. Righthander Cole Edmiston fired a complete game, allowing eight hits, walking one and striking out three. He retired the Tribe in order in the seventh.