A Sunday afternoon road trip ended in two walk-off losses for the Arlington Legion baseball teams.
“Although the final scores did not go our way, there was a lot to be happy about at the same time,” assistant coach Tom Shearer said.
The Post 71 Seniors led 4-3 at Valparaiso going into the final inning, but lost 5-4. The shortcoming, which included a 30-40 minute weather delay, dropped their season record to 4-8 overall.
Arlington initially trailed the game 3-1 before taking its one-run advantage with a three-run top of the fifth frame. Burke Quinn led off the inning with a single before Wes Monke singled to score him, pulling the Eagles within one.
Tyler Ott later tied it with a single before Liam Shearer's sacrifice fly to centerfield, according to Valparaiso stat-keeping.
Arlington pitcher Jackson Stosich kept the 4-3 lead through the bottom of the fifth and six innings, but the home squad ultimately pulled out the victory in the seventh.
Shearer said the game ended on a controversial call by the umpiring crew. On a grounder back to the mound with one out, Stosich opted to go for the game-ending double play, throwing to Luke Sharp at second base to turn it.
Shearer believed Sharp drug his foot on the bag and successfully threw it to first base for the win. Post 71's players did, too, celebrating a one-run victory.
The umpires, however, saw the play another way, allowing two Valparaiso runners to score on the play.
“My shortstop tells me he clipped the bag. My first baseman thought he clipped the bag,” the coach explained. “I thought he clipped the bag, but the only person's opinion that matters is the umpire. And he has to make a judgement call that happens in a split second.”
It was a deflating end to what Shearer thought was a game filled with good signs for Arlington.
“We don't have the luxury of instant replay,” he said. “So, unfortunately, we were just on the losing end of the decision.”
Valparaiso similarly won the Junior Legion game, 7-6. Arlington led it 6-0 going into the bottom of sixth inning and still led by three runs, 6-3, going into the seventh.
The bottom half of the final frame, however, came down to a two-out rally by the home team. Still trailing 6-4, Valparaiso doubled, walked, was hit by a pitch and scored the game-tying runs on a single. Another hit won it shortly thereafter.
Overall, Shearer pitched four innings of no-hit baseball with help from his defense, while Quinn and Luke Ott had two hits apiece. Trenton Hansen had an RBI double, too.
Post 71 starts Class B Area 4 Junior Legion Tournament play today in Wahoo.
POST 71 SENIOR LINE SCORE
Sunday
Valparaiso 5, Arlington 4
ARLO (4-8) 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 — 4
VALPO 2 1 0 0 0 0 5 — 5
