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First it was a pitchers' duel; then it wasn't.
In a tie game in the bottom of the seventh inning, Cissel Saxon Post 41 loaded the bases on a walk, an infield single and an intentional walk. Ricky LaSota had been hitless on the day, but shot a rocket to second base that was too hot to handle, and Cory Beahm touched home to seal the walk-off 4-3 American Legion baseball victory over Laurel Post 60.
"I told the guys all we can do is compete every day and give ourselves a chance, and that's what we did tonight," said Post 41 coach Scott Dunlap. "With the sticks we have in this lineup we're never out of any ballgame."
This game was the last of four in four nights for Cissel; they went 3-1 in those games.
They rebounded nicely after a shellacking at the hands of Gaithersburg Post 104. The win brings Cissel's record to 8-4 roughly midway through the American Legion Baseball season.
Starting pitcher Anthony Hanagan had two runners on in each of the first two innings and had some control issues (two hit batters, four walks) but it rarely came back to bite him, and he allowed one run over five innings.
Laurel starter Kevin Kratochwill was Hanagan's equal on the mound, allowing only one run in his four innings, shutting Post 41 down after they had runners on second and third and one out in the fourth.
Kratochwill was also the offensive star of the game; he went 3 for 3 with a walk and an RBI triple. Laurel's other runs came from Saxon errors, mainly wild pitches. Codi McIntyre walked in the sixth, then advanced to second, third and home on three wild pitches, scoring the go-ahead run at the time.
Post 41 scored two runs in the sixth to tie the game without getting the ball out of the infield. Pinch hitter Mike Schmidt got on with a savvy bunt single. After LaSota flied out, Taylor Miller walked and R.J. Hackley (two walks, RBI, one run scored) got Schmidt – who advanced on a wild pitch – home on an RBI groundout. Greg Keane then brought Miller home on an infield single.
The last time these two teams played, it was a Post 41 victory in a slugfest, 12-11.
"Every day is going to be different," said Dunlap. "Just the nature of the beast."