BELOIT FINISHES 3RD AT LEGION ZONE AA BASEBALL TOURNEY AT LARNED

 

Beloit Legion baseball round up from Larned, Ks.

 

The double AA legion baseball tournament in Larned wrapped up yesterday. Beloit going into the day needing two wins to make the journey to the state tournament played Concordia at 3:00 and came away with the 11-3 victory. Beloit scored their 11 runs on 12 hits. They were led by Michael Peters who went 4-5, Luke Hesting was 1-2 and had 3 base on balls, and scored 3 runs. The 3rd inning was a big one for Beloit. Entering into the inning Beloit held a 1-0 lead. Concordia allows 3 base on balls and Beloit makes them pay with to doubles off the bats of Michael Peters driving in one, and Nick Meier driving in 2. Concordia came back with 2 runs in the 4th to trim the Beloit lead to 6-3. Peters double in the 7th inning that drove in two more for Beloit put the game out of reach and Nick Meier who entered into the game to pitch in the 4th inning got the save for the winning pitcher Dakota Shurts. Shurts goes four and 1/3 innings giving up 3 runs on 6 hits, strikes out 1, and walks 4. Meier pitching well in relief goes 2 and 2/3 allows no runs on 1 hit, strikes out 2, and walks 1.

 

The win meant that Beloit would get a chance to play for state. It didn’t take long for them to find out who that was going to be. Larned dispatched Russell in the winners bracket game in just 4 innings 11-0. Larned gives up one single run in the entire tournament and in fact only plays one complete game and that was against Beloit in the opening round when they downed Beloit 8-1. Russell meanwhile had to re-group because they had to turn right around and play a hot streaking Beloit team that were winners of two straight. Russell scores a run in their top half of the 7th inning and Beloit cannot answer in their half and Russell comes away with the second bid to state by a score of 5-4. Beloit continued to be hot as the sultry steaming temperatures that were ever present in Larned yesterday, at least for the beginning of the game. Beloit went out to a 3-0 lead after the first inning. Luke Hesting singled, Michael Peters reached on an error that scored Hesting, and then Noah Marozas singled. Peters and Marozas score on a Ryan Jackson hard hit ball to short that was scored as an error.

A couple of Beloit errors in the second inning allow one run to score for Russell. Beloit gets even though and scores one of their own in the 2nd. Luke Hesting doubles and scores on a Noah Marozas fielders choice. After two complete Beloit held a 4-1 lead. Russell mounted the comeback by chipping away. They got one run in the 3rd, one in the 4th, and one in the 5th tieing the game at that point 4-4. Russell comes away with an unearned run in the 7th to move ahead 5-4 and Beloit comes up empty in the bottom half of the 7th . Russell wins it 5-4 and advances on to state.

Paxton Harris pitches well for Beloit going 4 innings and giving up 3 runs but only one of them earned. He gives up just 1 hit, strikes out 4 and walks 6.

Braydon Conn had a good game at the plate going 3-4, Luke Hesting was 2-4.

 

The Beloit season ends with a third place finish at zone, and a final season record of 15-11.