Following a rain-shortened end to its Frank Riley League American Legion slate, the La Plata Post 82 baseball team has already taken the next steps to defend its state Legion baseball title in the double-elimination tournament at the Parker Sports Complex in Salisbury that got underway on Tuesday.
La Plata had earned the right to defend its title in the state tournament by winning the abbreviated Frank Riley schedule by one game over St. Mary’s Post 255. Those teams were unable to play any games last week, including last Friday when a Post 255 victory would have forced the teams to play another game to determine the league winner.
“We played them [July 19] and then the rains came and neither of us ever got another game in,” said La Plata coach Dave Harris. “We tried to get a field and Tyler [Kimmey] tried to get a field in St. Mary’s and the counties told us neither fields were playable. When I spoke to the Legion president he told us nothing would get played after Friday and whoever was in first place after Friday was the league winner.”
On Wednesday evening in Salisbury, La Plata remained in the winners’ bracket of the state tournament by downing Funkstown Post 211 of Washington County, 5-2.
Austin Simms allowed two runs, one earned, in five innings to get the win and Post 82 overcame an early 1-0 deficit by scoring five runs in the bottom of the second. Funkstown could only counter with one run in the top of the fifth.
Trailing 1-0 heading to the bottom of the second, La Plata drew even initially when Nick Steury hit a solo home run to left field. Later with Zach Harris and Morrison on second and third base, Kavon Wharton scored them both on a single and Wharton later scored on an error that allowed Trevor Drummond to reach. Drummond capped the scoring when he scored on a throwing error and he also tossed two innings of scoreless relief to collect the save.
One day earlier in the opening round of the state tournament, Dylan Bell picked up the win for Post 82 by tossing five scoreless innings as La Plata cruised to a 5-0 victory over Cissel-Saxon Post 40 of Montgomery County.
Bell allowed three hits, walked three and fanned four in five scoreless innings and La Plata supported him by scoring at least one run in three different innings.
In the home half of the second, Morrison doubled and then scored on a single by Matt Schnoor. In the bottom of the third, Drummond singled and later scored on another single by Steury. Simms had reached on a fielder’s choice and eventually scored La Plata’s third run on a wild pitch.
In the bottom of the fifth, Simms helped his own cause with a double and scored when Steury reached on an error. Steury would later score La Plata’s fifth run of the day on a sacrifice fly by Morrison. Jarrod Schmitz tossed two innings of scoreless relief in a non-save situation to close it out for Post 82.
La Plata was scheduled to face Cecil on Thursday afternoon in another winners’ bracket contest.
St. Mary’s (8-2) was one game behind La Plata after Post 82 prevailed, 8-1, in their last meeting last month. Both teams were slated to have makeup games with Clinton and then one with one another, but rains intervened the last week of the season and neither team was able to play any remaining league games and La Plata won the league by virtue of its better league record.
“I don’t know if the weather looks too good to finish,” Kimmey said at the end of the loss at La Plata. “I know I won’t have enough guys for Monday or Tuesday and then if the rains arrive, we may not be able to get on a field.”
