Sullivan Splits Three Games At Home Tournament

By Wyatt Hardy

STL Sidewinders 16U

On Saturday, the Sullivan Post 18 AA clashed and defeated the STL Sidewinders 16U in a close 5-2 victory. The game, held at the Sullivan Bank Ballpark during the Legion Baseball Tournament, continued Sullivan’s 3-game winning streak. They are becoming more comfortable at bat and their opponents are struggling to get past their talented basemen and outfielders.

Dustin Lappe took the mound with great confidence, pitching for six innings and striking out twelve. He also only allowed two hits and two runs. Alex Toews and Cambrian Koch both tied for the most number of base appearances at 4. Then Toews, Koch, Lappe and Nate McReynolds were all able to bring it home.

Sullivan swiftly took control at the beginning of the game with well-placed hits and great steals. While Koch was at bat, Toews rapidly stole second and escaped to third on a wild pitch. Koch hit a fly ball and reached first base on an error. Then he advanced to second on the same error, and Toews made it home for the first score of the game. Lappe stepped up to bat, and Koch safely stole third. Pitcher Seth Nowlin threw a wild pitch, allowing Koch to run it home and Lappe to make second. Already 2-0, Sullivan had no plan to end their high. Nowlin threw another wild pitch, and Lappe secured third. Then Gibson Halbert hit a grounder that left the Sidewinders in a rush to catch it. They tagged Halbert out, but Lappe got the score too early. Sullivan took an early lead, 3-0.

The Sidewinders refused to back down. On a passed ball, Dylan Powell made his way home before Sullivan caught up to him. They rolled along with their second score by Calvin Imbler when Koch and Beau Beckett ground Nowlin out. But Lappe came in clutch and quickly ended their run. This action-packed inning ended with Sullivan barely beating the Sidewinders, 3-2.

In the next two innings, both defenses come into play and put a strong effort toward protecting the scoreboard. But in the top of the fourth, McReynolds finally breaks the drought. Anden Carey swung a ground ball straight to center field, and McReynolds  brought it home for Sullivan’s fourth run. Dylan Jones is not letting his opportunity go to waste, stealing second and then third all in the next two plays. Koch bunts and Jones seizes his moment, bringing up the final scoreboard for Sullivan, 5-2.

The game ultimately hinged on who had the better defense and Sullivan’s maintained the toughest stronghold all game. Because of this, they beat the Sidewinders by three runs, 5-2.

Post 226 17U

Sullivan Post 18 AA took to the field in high hopes of securing a victory, but fell short to Post 226 17U, 7-3. Sullivan has been incredible the past three games, displaying great dominance and determination. Yet they could not pull through against this amazing opponent. Sullivan’s record before this game was 4-3, while Post 226 was 14-3.

Grant Halmick pitched for most of the game, and Skaggs filled in for relief at the end. Lappe, Jansen Loeb, Beckett, McReynolds, Toews, Koch and Halbert each made one hit.

At the top of the first, Brady Eulinger and Trent Albrecht of Post 226 scored 2 runs off of a double. Sullivan got a surprise and Post 226 led, 2-0.

They responded quickly and put their mark on the scoreboard. Their first run came when Lappe delivered a clutch double on a pop fly to right field and Koch made it home. The game was now tight as Post 226 led with a short margin of 2-1.

It turned into a battle of the defenses for the next couple of innings. Both teams were excellent at protecting home plate and the batters struggled to make it onto the bases.

Top of the fourth, Post 226 was able to get a score when Eulinger lined out to center field and Brady Huber got their third run. Then in the fifth, T. Albert strengthened the lead by making it home. Now Post 226 was beating Sullivan, 4-1.

Sullivan didn’t hold back and seized their opportunity to try to come back. Beckett connected with the ball on a line drive and Beckett advanced to second while Jones made it to third. McReynolds then swung and Jones scored for Sullivan. Then Toews swung on a line drive, allowing Beckett to run home. Sullivan left the inning with hope, but still trailed 4-3.

They struggled to maintain the scoreboard. B. Eulinger swung a left drive, and B. Sheppard scored for Post 226’s fifth score of the day.

Post 18 didn’t make it to any of the bases and their opponents continued to dominate. Eulinger singled on a line drive to left fielder Toews. Then Brady Sheppard touched home for the final score of the game.

Sullivan put up a great fight, but could not break through the defense. Despite their great teamwork and unrelenting effort, Sullivan lost to Post 226, 7-3.

Pacific Post 323

On Sunday, Sullivan led a thrilling comeback against Pacific Post 320 AA, but could not hold on to the end. They lost to Pacific in a neck-and-neck matchup, 9-7.

McReynolds pitched for two innings, then Skaggs for three and Koch for the rest. In total, Post 18 collectively had 11 hits for this matchup. Lappe, Smith, Brennan Bouse and Halbert collectively got two hits each.

Pacific started off with an early score by Bennett Parker at the top of the first. Sullivan struggled to start off with any success, getting three straight outs when they went to bat right afterward. Pacific ran over Sullivan’s defense with apparent ease.

Start of the second, Pacific quickly grabbed 5 runs, leaving the defense bewildered. Sullivan was losing by a huge deficit of 6 runs. With their backs against the wall, Sullivan needed to redeem themselves and shut down this blowout. They were refusing to back down and knew that they still had a chance to make a remarkable comeback.

Sullivan then did the impossible and pulled themselves out of this deficit. They finally found their rhythm and managed to take control of the leads. Koch came in clutch, tripling a fly ball far to center field. Jones at third and Toews from second miraculously made it home for Sullivan’s first two scores. Lappe then swung a grounder to right field and Koch tallied up the scoreboard, 6-3. Sullivan’s high-powered offense was getting back into its mojo. Lappe made the fourth run, while Bouse advanced to third and Halbert to second. Skaggs singled a hard ground ball to center field, giving Bouse enough time to touch home. Smith returned to the bat and grounded another ball. Pacific tried to quickly get Beckett and Halbert out, but they both successfully made it home. Sullivan played one of their best innings of the season, taking the lead at 7-6.

In the top of the fourth, Pacific came back with vengeance and tied up this exciting ballgame with a score by Parker. Either team could take the victory now as Sullivan and Pacific were head-to-head at 7-7.

But in the last few innings, Sullivan struggled to overcome the defense and fell behind. At the top of the sixth, Cayden Matthes and Connor Mooney of Pacific both made home plate to tally up the final score of the game.

Sullivan lost to Pacific, 9-7, and fell short in this very intense and exciting match. Post 18’s incredible comeback was the highlight, scoring 7 unanswered runs and taking the lead after being dominated. It demonstrated how, when given the opportunity, this high-powered offense can make big and miraculous plays.