| American Legion Post #200 | ||||||||||||||
 |
Rock Island reigns ! |
|||||||||||||
 |
Drizzle, deficit fail to dampen Post #200's desire as R.I. squad takes state Legion Championship |
|||||||||||||
|
" I was very pleased |
 |
||||||||||||
Mike Bell, |
||||||||||||||
 Special Thanks to the Argus/Dispatch |
||||||||||||||
|
 By Jeff Wendland |
Evanston - It's been a while since the Rock Island
Legion Post 200 baseball team has had to play from behind in a game. And it's been since last year's state tournament that they've looked up at a four-run deficit. That's what Post 200 faced Saturday against Danville Post 210 and the Rock Island club answered any questions as to how they'd react in resounding fashion by rallying for a 10-4 win in the title game of the Illinois State Tournament at Northwestern's Wells Field. |
"It was tough in that fourth inning because they
shouldn't have had any of those runs. But instead of getting down, I came into the
dugout really pumped up and ready to have a great game." While the rain delay may not have bothered Britton, it seemed to have an effect on Danville's Josh Paddock. In the seventh, Paddock walked the bases loaded with two outs and after a visit to the mound from his coach, promptly yielded a booming three-run double to center field by Brad |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
Rock Island takes a 40-2 record to the
Central States Regional in Midland, Mich., where it will square off against the Michigan
state champion Thursday at 5 p.m. at Northwood University. Playing in a constant drizzle that sometimes turned heavy, Rock Island found itself under the gun in the games fourth inning when Danville used the elements to their benefit to jump on top 4-0. After James Britton yielded his only walk of the day, Danville got back-to-back bunt singles when Rock Island fielders slipped on the wet grass. Then a dribbler rolled through the drawn-in infield to plate two runs and two ground balls plated two more. "I think we all knew the conditions and we knew if you executed, things would happen," said Post 200 coach Mike Bell. "We missed executing a couple of times early and didn't score and they got the bunts down and scored, I wondered how this team would react being down four runs. "I was very pleased to see how they kept their spirits up and never quit battling." Rock Island turned the tables on Danville in the fifth with a bunt single by Zach Vroman, an infield hit by J.J. Tubbs, an RBI single by Jake Nelson and a wild pitch to halve the lead. "I think we were a little worried when they got up 4-0, but no one gave up," said Nelson who added another hit and key sacrifice bunt. We tried to get one run here and two runs there to get back in it." Post 200 got one more in the sixth on a walk, a balk and an error to make it a one-run game before play was halted for nearly a half hour for a rain delay. The delay didn't seem to bother Britton, who mowed down 11 in a row after the four-run fourth and allowed only two more base runners the rest of the day. "These are conditions where you might expect a pitcher to run out of gas or struggle, but James just got better." said Bell. "From the fifth inning on, he was unhittable. He wanted the ball (Saturday) and went out and showed me why." This on the heels of a Friday when Britton didn't know when he'd be ready to throw again. "My arm was tired and my elbow had a knot in it, said Britton. "Then Steve Layer (father of R.I. pitcher Ben and a Q-C physical therapist) gave me a friction rub, told me to drink plenty of fluids and ice it. I felt great. |
Pannell on the first pitch. "The coaches told me to look for a fastball that I could drive," said Pannell. "The guy had just walked a man to load the bases and they told me he probably wanted to get ahead of me right away. That's probably my biggest hit of my career." Said Bell of the blast, "Earlier in the game Brad came up with two on and swung at a breaking ball and hit into a double play. We just wanted him to look for one pitch and he really got all of it." Finally on top, Post 200 put Danville away in the bottom of the eight thanks to a walk, a hit by pitch, Nelson's bunt that loaded the bases when the through to first was high, a Bryce Palar sacrifice fly and Dustin Harksen's three-run home run to left. "I hit the ball on the ground all day," said Harksen, who was awarded a $1,000 scholarship as the Buick Award Winner. "I was looking for something to get into the air and get a sacrifice fly. I guess I got a little more.
" No one panicked when we got behind. We knew no one was going to shut us out
and eventually we'd explode. We scored seven runs the last two innings, that's what
we thought we could do." |
||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Baseball Team History Facts American Legion | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Baseball Nuts | Rocky Baseball | 1997 Roster | 1998 Roster | Rock Island Red Sox Roster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
