With a storm approaching from beyond the left field fence Monday in Valley, the Arlington Junior Legion baseball team came up to bat with its season on the line.
Ground out.
Line out.
Ground out.
Springfield eliminated the Post 71 Eagles from the B3 Area Tournament, 5-3.
“We didn't play a bad game, which doesn't always happen at this level,” Arlington coach Tyler Stender said.
His team went 2-2 overall during the state-qualifier tourney, beating Waterloo-Valley and Omaha Roncalli before back-to-back, close losses to Wayne and the Trojans.
“Pitching was thin at the end and we had guys step up,” Stender said. “The bats went cold, kind of, the whole tournament — even in the games we won. That happens, but, like I said, we didn't play a bad game.”
Arlington went ahead 3-1 Monday during the first inning, holding the two-run advantage for three frames.
“We just manufactured runs for the most part,” Stender said. “Got a guy on, got him over and did the little things right. We just couldn't get the big hit.”
Springfield notched two, however, during the top of the fourth inning. A two-run double and a two-run single gave the elimination game its final score, 5-3. Killian McIntosh suffered the pitching defeat, while Oliver Ladehoff relieved him.
“Defense played really well,” Stender said. “Kept us in everything.”
The loss, though, cut the Post 71 Juniors' season short of the state tournament. McIntosh, Tim Halley, Andy Misfeldt and Ladehoff were the team's summer-long standouts, according to the their coach.
Post 71 goes 1-1 Sunday
On Sunday, Arlington went 1-1 against Omaha Roncalli and Wayne in Valley.
First, the Eagles knocked off the Pride 7-6 in their second round game. Roncalli led 2-0 through 2.5 innings before Post 71 evened the score during the bottom of the third inning and broke the game open with a five-run fourth frame.
Kolby Tighe went 1-for-2 with a run scored for the Eagles, while Luke Sharp was 1-2 with two runs scored, a stolen base and a sacrifice.
Defensively, Arlington's Tyler Ott pitched 6 2/3 innings. He struck out five in the win.
Post 71 then built a 4-0 lead against Wayne before falling 7-6. A five-run top of the fifth inning propelled the victors.
The Eagles, meanwhile, scored a run during the bottom of the seventh inning when McIntosh hit into an error, allowing Sharp to reach home plate. Wayne held Arlington off from there, though, sending the Eagles into the aforementioned elimination game against Springfield — their season finale.
POST 71 JUNIOR LINE SCORES
Monday
Springfield 5, Arlington 3
SPRING 1 0 0 4 0 0 0 — 5
ARLO 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 3
Sunday
Wayne 7, Arlington 6
WAYNE 0 0 0 1 5 0 1 — 7
ARLO 2 1 1 0 1 0 1 — 6
Arlington 7, Omaha Roncalli 6
RONCALLI 1 0 1 0 0 1 3 — 6
ARLO 0 0 2 5 0 0 X — 7
