The Arlington Junior Legion baseball team was outscored 32-5 across two Class B Area 3 Tournament games at Elkhorn Mount Michael.
Those back-to-back losses, however, were not 100-percent indicative of the Post 71 Eagles' 9-9 season.
“Overall, it was a successful summer for the Juniors,” said coach Tyler Stender on Sunday after his team's 20-5, season-ending loss to Lincoln Christian.
The campaign ended rough, but Arlington had success along the way.
“We stared off hot and we were finding ways to win games,” the coach said. “Then, about halfway through the season, we had guys missing a lot for this and that.”
Those ever-changing elements created new challenges as the Eagles moved forward.
“A lot of guys were playing out of position, and it was hard to gel and get into a good rhythm. Especially defensively,” Stender said. “The kids were resilient, though. They did everything we asked, learned a lot about new positions and kept a good attitude even through our struggles.”
Against Lincoln Christian, one lopsided inning was the Eagles' downfall. Ahead 5-0, Post 71 watched as their opponent scored 19 runs during the bottom of the third frame.
“They just found all the holes,” Stender said.
Lincoln Christian finished with 15 hits to Arlington's six. Tanner Kyllo walked twice for the Eagles, too.
Defensively, Grange Suhr struck out four batters during his team's season-ending loss at Mount Michael.
