Hopewell Post 339 regroups with off day
SHELBY, N.C. » Perhaps everyone should have known the Hopewell Post 339 baseball team was in for big things at the summer’s end.
This Post 339 team would have had plenty of reason for celebration at the end of the season even if it had not made its run to the American Legion World Series.
That’s because five of the players on Hopewell’s current roster celebrate birthdays during the last 24 days of the Legion season.
It all started with Chris DeClerico, who celebrated his 19th birthday on the day Post 339 played its first game in the New Jersey Final 8. Hopewell won that game, 11-1 over Washington Township Post 521.
Three days later, Luke Blair celebrated his 17th birthday when Post 339 defeated Bordentown Post 26, 6-2, in the state semifinals.
When the Mid-Atlantic Regional in Purcellville, Va., began Aug. 2, Drew Brodine turned 17 as Hopewell defeated Rockland, N.Y., 10-3. The next day, J.P. Hunt turned 18 as Post 339 held off Delaware Post 1, 11-9.
If they play their cards right, the Hopewell players could be in for one more BIG double celebration. Andy Blake will celebrate his 17th birthday Aug. 15, the day of the Legion World Series championship game.
It seemed like a good idea at first. Or was it?
After two weeks of failed coin flips, Post 339 manager Mike Coryell finally won one Thursday night and decided to take the home dugout in its first American Legion World Series game.
With most of the people in the 8,000seat Keeter Stadium rooting for their North Carolina opponent, Randolph County Post 45, it would give the Hopewell players a chance settle down in front of the biggest crowd they had ever played.
But Post 339 had won six straight games, including the state final and the entire Mid-Atlantic Region, when playing as the visitors.
“I finally won the flip and thought it would be good if we were the home team for a change,” Coryell said.
The only thing the third-year skipper may have failed to notice was that the first three teams who served as visitors on opening day of the ALWS Thursday won. So did Randolph, 6-3.
After playing the final game of a fourgame, opening-day set, Hopewell had off Friday, which each team gets once during pool play.
Post 339 probably would have rather skipped the free day following a nearmiss against the Southeast Regional champions. Randolph scored five runs in the top of the first, but was only able to add one run over the final eight innings.
It took Hopewell four innings before it got on the board when three straight two-out hits by Nick Psomaras, Andy Blake and Cameron Cane led to a run. In the fifth, Luke Blair knocked in Chase Fleming, and the gap closed to 6-2.
Were it not for Post 45’s four double plays, Post 339 might have drawn closer.
“Seven of the last eight innings, we had our leadoff guy on,” Coryell said. “We just couldn’t get a big hit when we needed one.”
That did not keep Hopewell from making things interesting.
In the bottom of the ninth, Blake reached on an error and scored on a Fleming single to trim Randolph County’s lead to three runs.
With two outs, Will Karp and Sam Margulis walked to load the bases with Blair, who hit two home runs in regionals, coming up.
Instead, Randolph reliever Cameron Reid got him to ground out to end the game and spoil Post 339’s home-team hopes.
“The four double-play balls killed us,” said Fleming (3-for-4), who will head south again when Legion ends to attend Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Va. “We did the same thing in districts when we lost our first game to Deptford (Post 133). We know what needs to be done, and we’re looking to do that.”
Hopewell (38-10) faces Bryant, Ark. Post 298 (39-8) at 11:30 a.m. Saturday. The game will be carried live on ESPNU. Both teams are 0-1 in Stars Division play after Mid-South Regional champ fell to Lewiston, Idaho Post 13, 4-0, Thursday.
Rain had been a concern this week in Shelby and interfered with play Friday.
With just two games scheduled to be played, ALWS officials believed they could get those done late Friday, but decided to shorten all remaining World Series games to seven innings in hopes of keeping the event on schedule.