St. Mary's legion teams postponed by storms

Had the game been halted in the fifth with the same score Morgan’s team would have been granted a win since games scheduled for seven or nine innings must go four and one-half innings in order to be deemed official.

But as has been the case for several St. Mary’s teams this summer, the inclement weather remained persistently present. The field lights came on at 8 p.m., but visible lightning south and east of the park prompted organizers to continue to delay the possible resumption until 9 p.m., when the game was officially halted.

“It’s a shame we could not play the top of the fifth,” St. Mary’s Post 255 coach Jason Bean said. “The way we were hitting tonight we probably would have had the bases loaded and not scored and then the game would have been official. I have not had a full lineup most of the season. A few guys have been here all summer, but most of the time I don’t have a true leadoff batter.”

Bean’s squad had genuine scoring opportunities against Morgan starting pitcher Seth Massey in each of the first three innings, but on each occasion the left-handed hurler escaped harm. Austin Ford, Andrew Peed and Daniel Knott each worked Massey for walks in the first, but Eli Bean fanned and Riley Whitney grounded out to end the threat.

Then in the top of the second, Cole Eister singled and Cameron Riley had a one-out single before Ford grounded into an inning-ending double play. Peed led off the third with a double and Knott earned a one-out walk. After Bean flew out to center, Whitney reached on an infield single but Peed was erased at home when Morgan’s shortstop threw home to prevent the run from scoring.

“My defense really made some nice plays behind me,” said Massey, a rising senior at Leonardtown High School where he played right field for the Raiders’ 2024 state title team. “My changeup was working well early then my curveball allowed me to get some ground ball outs. Parker has been making plays like that all summer.”

While Massey danced out of trouble in the first three frames, Bean starter Ryan Ludlow was dominant through the first two innings before encountering trouble in the third. Noah Pessagno and Massey both worked Ludlow for one-out walks then Parker reached on a bunt single. Mark Reineke followed with an infield single between short and third that enabled Pessagno to score the game’s only run when thunder arrived.

Ludlow collected seven strikeouts in four innings, but was still on the hook for the loss when the game was halted despite only yielding a pair of singles that never left the infield. Massey departed with the lead despite allowing four hits and walking three batters, but he was not in line for the win since he did not toss five complete innings on Tuesday.