Brock Netter, Staff Writer
HARRISON 199 12, WAVERLY 142 1
CHILLICOTHE — Being the top seed in a tournament means you automatically have a target on your back.
Waverly Post 142 earned that honor, but quickly found out what it’s like being the hunted instead of the hunter. After falling to Circleville Post 134 on Sunday, the Shockers’ season came to an end against Harrison Post 199 on Monday with a 12-1 loss in six innings.
“Definitely not the tournament that we hoped to play,” Post 142 coach Jonathan Teeters said. “Our regional is one of the toughest in the state, and to win it is a huge accomplishment. Unfortunately it wasn’t our year, but we accomplished a lot of things.”
The Shockers had a chance score with the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth with just one out. But Harrison turned a 1-2-3 double play to end the threat.
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
142 managed to drive a run across in the final inning on an RBI double by Tanner Cunningham.
While it wasn’t the ending the Shockers (16-9) were aiming for, this season wasn’t a total loss after they won the SCOL title earlier this summer.
However, with the season coming to an end, it also signals the departure of players such as Ian Gillen, Tanner Cunningham, Shane Vulagmore among others.
“Those guys have been a part of the program for four years and they’ve been great,” Teeters said. “Although things didn’t end how we all wanted, that’s a part of baseball. They’ll be missed and hopefully they’re better off because they played here at 142.”
HILLSBORO 129 10, CHILLICOTHE 757 4
CHILLICOTHE — This summer wasn’t the season Chillicothe Post 757 had aimed for and its final game showed that in a profound way.
Tied 1-1 after the first inning, the Colts (13-20) suffered through a slew of miscommunication and errors, ending their season with a 10-4 loss to Hillsboro Post 129 at VA Memorial Stadium, Monday.
“One team showed up, and it wasn’t us,” Post 757 manager Tom Barr said. “We had no energy from the beginning. We couldn’t throw strikes and didn’t hit the ball. Pretty much the same things that happened [in Sunday’s loss to Portsmouth]. We did a poor job of making adjustments and Hillsboro made us pay for it.”
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
After Hillsboro scored off an RBI single in the top of the second inning, 757’s Harley Patterson answered back with an RBI groundout that scored Chad Ison, who had tripled earlier.
But it was all Hillsboro from that point on. A series of mishandled balls, sloppy errors and mental mistakes led to the next nine runs being scored by Hillsboro.
“We didn’t get any better from the start of the season,” Barr said. “The goal every year is to win this tournament, but more than anything, we want to see guys improve and up their game. That wasn’t the case this time around.”
The Colts scored three in the bottom of the seventh off two passed balls and an RBI single from Ison before tallying the final out of their season.
The end of the season means players like Patterson, Brandon Barker, Caleb Foglesong … among others … suited up in a 757 uniform for the final time.
“Losing guys is always the worst part of coaching,” Barr said. “There’s kids who have been in the program three to five years. They are our best recruiters and played a major role in what we accomplished over the years. It’s hard to replace those types of kids.”