Post 17 Baseball Drops Three in a Row

The Post 17 American Legion Baseball team has had a fine early summer of play, with a winning record of 18-13-1 as they headed into their final two games of the regular season in Ogallala on Tuesday, July 9.

After the Sidney boys tore through the Bridgeport Bombers junior and senior teams on July 1, winning both contests by lopsided scores of 20-to-2 and 17-to-0, on July 2 they split two games against the Chadron Valley Bank juniors and seniors, 12-to-0 and 3-to-5. The squad then traveled north on Saturday, July 6, for two games against the Westco Zephyrs. The Sidney bats didn't pack enough punch to get any wins, giving the Sidney squad three losses in a row going into their regular season finale in Ogallala on Tuesday.

The first game on Saturday against Westco featured a slow start for the Sidney bats, as the Zephyrs took a 2-to-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning, as three singles in a row plated two runs for the Westco early lead. In the top of the third, Jaxon Biesecker singled and then scored on a double to right field by Conner Schumacher. Westco limited the damage to just one run and held a 2-to-1 lead going into the bottom of the third inning. Westco started with two batters aboard via a hit-by-pitch and a single, then after a strikeout, a walk loaded the bases with one out. A passed ball plated one run then a double brought in another run to give the Zephyrs a 4-to-1 lead. A ground out plated another run, then a single brought in Westco's sixth run before Sidney retired the Zephyrs.

Down 6-to-1, John Meza started things off for Sidney with a walk. But Reese Dorcey grounded into a double play to erase Meza and give the Post 17 team two outs. A single and a walk followed, but the runners were stranded when Will Gillham grounded out to third base to end the top of the fourth inning. With Schumacher on the mound, Westco went down in order in the bottom of the fourth, and Sidney followed up in the top of the fifth inning with three runs to narrow the score to 6-to-4. In the top of the sixth with two outs, the Sidney boys were able to string three singles together and a hit batsman to plate another run, narrowing the lead to 6-to-5 going into the bottom of the sixth.

The bottom of the sixth started with eight batters notching singles, followed by an intentional walk. Another walk plated the seventh run of the inning, giving Westco the 13-to-5 win. Westco feasted on the Sidney pitching, with four pitchers giving up 13 earned runs while striking out only three. Connor Hurt went 3-for-3 at the plate and Jonathan Meza and Reese Dorcey each drove in two runs in the loss.

The second game found the Sidney boys in a big hole early on as Westco chopped away in the bottom of the second inning for eight runs. After picking up a run in the bottom of the first, a combination of hit batters, walks, and a few timely singles had eight Zephys cross home plate and score. Westco tacked on another run in the bottom of the third to give the Zephyrs a 10-to-0 lead. Sidney finally got a run on the board in the fifth inning when Kyle Jaggers hit a grounder to third that couldn't be corralled, giving Sidney an unearned run. That was all the Sidney offense could muster in this contest, and the Post 17 boys fell 10-to-1.

Starting pitcher John Meza bore the brunt of the damage, giving up eight runs, but only two were earned. He managed to strike out two batters in his 1.2 innings on the mound. Sidney managed only two hits in the game, one by Meza and the other by Conner Schumacher. Westco's Moises Panduro dominated on the mound for the Zephyrs, pitching three innings and striking out seven while giving up no hits or walks.

The Post 17 squad finished up their regular season in Ogallala on Tuesday and will find out about their post-season scheduling after the games are completed.