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Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Post #17 is seeded 5th, but will be finally at full strength for postseason
Lane Harvey will be in the lineup for Sidney during District B7 play. Harvey has played much of the summer in a Denver-area league.
Arik Doty will see time at second base and catcher for Sidney in district tournament play this weekend.
As the Sidney American Legion seniors prepare to host the district tournament at Legion Field beginning on Friday, they will attempt to make their way through the bracket as an underdog.
Considering the balance in District B7, however, it just may be that there are six underdogs.
Post #17 enters the double-elimination affair as the No. 5 seed and will open up against the second-seeded Chadron Nationals at 7 p.m. on Friday. Ogallala has been awarded the top seed and will meet sixth-seeded Alliance in the tournament opener at 1 p.m. The second game on Friday will match No. 3 Gering against No. 4 Hershland at 4 p.m.
Should the locals top Chadron, they would meet the winner of the Gering-Hershland contest on Saturday at 7 p.m. An opening-round defeat would send Sidney on the longer road to a potential district title that would begin against the loser of the Ogallala-Alliance matchup on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Sidney finished its 2015 campaign with a mark of 13-15 overall and 5-6 in the district. Though three seedings higher, the Nats record was only slightly better at 16-15, though they were 9-4 in the district. Post #17 managed a winning record against only Hershland – with three wins in four games.
Against Chadron, Sidney dropped an 11-9 game up north on July 8. Sidney didn't play Ogallala during the regular season and took just one of three games against both Gering and Alliance.
Though Sidney compiled a less than .500 record in its district, three factors should give them a boost as they attempt to capture a district crown.
First, Sidney will have the services of Lane Harvey, who has spent much of the season in Denver. While he is probably Sidney's best all-around player, he also adds veteran leadership to a young team.
Harvey, who is hitting an even .400 in limited duty and has hit the lone home run for Sidney this season, also adds a strong arm to coach Ray Witt's starting pitching staff. He is also an athletic shortstop with good range and makes few errors.
Post #17 will also have a healthy Jake Heeren back. Heeren is a better than .300 hitter and a hard-throwing closer who averages more than a strikeout per inning. If Sidney can get a lead after five or six innings, Heeren has shown he can close the door on any would-be comeback attempts.
The third factor is the home-field advantage.
"I think being here in Sidney is a huge advantage, and we want to make sure we get as many fans out as possible," Witt said. "When friends, family and classmates are out there cheering, it definitely adds something to our team. All year long we've played better at home and having all that enthusiasm in the stands is a big part of the reason."
Sidney will go with a three- or four-man starting rotation that will include Harvey, Kyle Burton and Bradey Holtz. Should Sidney need a fourth arm to start, the call would likely go to Zack Means. In the bullpen, Witt has any number of options he can go to depending on the situation.
Besides Heeren as the closer, Witt can choose from veterans Ben Goble or Jason Hagerman. Among the younger players, Witt will most likely look to Keaton Wakefield or Connor Langrell for relief.
As for the starting lineup, expect the outfield to include Wakefield in left, Mitch Rolls in center and either Goble or Hagerman in right. With Harvey being named as the first-game starter, Langrell will get the start at shortstop with Burton or Heeren at third, Arik Doty at second and Means at first. Holtz will do the catching, while Doty will be behind the plate for games in which Holtz pitches.
Harvey will play short when not pitching, which will move Langrell to third when Burton pitches. With Holtz on the mound, Langrell would move to second with Doty taking over the plate. Additionally, Bret Jaggers has shown defensive versatility with his ability to play both the infield or outfield. He also adds speed to the Sidney nine.
Doty's status for the Chadron game was initially in doubt after he was ejected from the final regular-season game against Buckley – a non sanctioned team in Nebraska. By rule he would also be unable to dress for his teams next contest – the district opener. Doty was cleared to play by the Nebraska American Legion on Wednesday morning without comment.
With the Nationals first up, Sidney will face a formidable lineup that includes five regulars who hit over .300. Two of them boast a better than .400 average including leadoff hitter Jackson Dickerson. He's a state placed sprinter who leads off for Chadron and hit .453 this year. He has stolen 21 bases and been caught just four times. Jayden Stack (.432), Jake Bargan (.333), Michael Gieseler (.327) and Andrew Smith (.304) are the others that hit over .300.
"We're aware of (Dickerson's) speed and Bradey may have to pitch out on occasion," said Witt.
As of Tuesday, Colby Ellis was named by Nats' skipper Jake McLain as their starter for Friday's game. He went 8-3 with an ERA of 3.75. Oddly enough, he pitched against Sidney in their only meeting this season and went the distance to get the win despite surrendering nine runs to Post #17. By prior design, Sidney countered that day with a patchwork of pitchers who went short stints.
"We had two big innings against (Ellis) and hit the ball very well that day," Witt said. "Pitchers can have off days so I can't put too much emphasis on that. Neither of our lineups were fully stacked for that game so it could be a very different look for both of us."
Should Ellis not get the call, Stack, who was on both the junior and senior roster, is the next likely answer. He started the second-round game against the Sidney juniors at districts and went all the way for the win.
"It all comes down to how we play and I don't think there's anything out there we can't handle," Witt added. "Our chances to win will come down to what we do. If we play the kind of baseball we know how to play, we have as good a chance as anyone."
SIDNEY POST #17 SEASON STATISTICS
# Player Hits/At-Bats (Avg.) BB SO RBI SAC HBP
2 Arik Doty 17 for 79 (.215) 10 11 7 0 2
4 Ben Goble 6 for 26 (.230) 6 5 4 0 1
6 Bradey Holtz 22 for 70 (.314) 13 3 17 3 3
7 Lane Harvey 16 for 40 (.400) 11 2 16 0 2
8 Mitch Rolls 16 for 63 (.253) 17 26 4 1 0
12 Kyle Burton 24 for 73 (.328) 8 13 15 1 1
13 Jake Heeren 14 for 42 (.333) 4 6 11 0 2
18 Keaton Wakefield 20 for 75 (.266) 11 16 13 0 1
23 Jason Hagerman 10 for 38 (.263) 4 4 8 0 2
33 Zack Means 26 for 81 (.320) 2 3 16 1 0
34 Connor Langrell 15 for 58 (.258) 9 9 10 3 4
35 Bret Jaggers 13 for 51 (.254) 12 12 8 2 2
GAME-BY-GAME
2015 Sidney American Legion
Senior team (13-15)
May 26 Sidney 19, Gordon 3
May 27 Hershland 6, Sidney 5
May 30 Alliance 3, Sidney 0
May 31 Buckley 10, Sidney 1
May 31 Sidney 12, Hershland 0
June 2 Westco 13, Sidney 1
June 3 Gering 6, Sidney 0
June 7 Buckley 6, Sidney 3
June 9 Sidney 14, Alliance 6
June 12 Pleasant Dale 14, Sidney 3
June 13 Sidney 15, Crete 8
June 14 Malcolm 12, Sidney 3
June 17 Sidney 9, Gordon 1
June 18 Sidney 9, Westco 4
June 21 Laramie 9, Sidney 3
June 21 Sidney 2, Laramie 1
June 22 McCook 8, Sidney 0
June 24 Sidney 15, Hershland 6
June 26 Buckley 8, Sidney 6
June 27 Sidney 15, Gordon 0
June 27 Sidney 4, Gering 3
June 28 Sidney 7, Hershland 4
June 30 Gering 8, Sidney 0
July 1 Alliance 13, Sidney 5
July 7 Sidney 9, Torrington 1
July 8 Chadron 11, Sidney 9
July 20 Buckley 5, Sidney 4
July 20 Sidney 9, Buckley 4
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