Coach TJ Stosich appreciated his Arlington Senior Legion baseball team's approach to Class B Area 3 Tournament play in Blair.
Post 71 went 1-2, dropping a 7-4 game to Waterloo-Valley on Sunday afternoon in its last stand. Prior to that defeat, the Ralph Bishop League team upset Blair 4-3 on July 25 and lost to Omaha Roncalli last Saturday, 11-3.
“Always having the David and Goliath vibes going into the postseason with some of those bigger teams, it was exciting seeing the guys rise up to the challenge,” Stosich stated after Sunday's shortcoming. “To play with and even get a win shows the character that our boys have. I always encourage them to play hard-nosed baseball with class and you’ll come away with a positive, win or lose.”
Arlington (6-10 overall) fell behind Waterloo-Valley 3-0, but battled back into contention with two runs during the bottom half of the third inning. Wes Monke and Liam Shearer singled, setting up Luke Sharp, who notched an RBI single.
Post 71's Luke Ott stepped into the batter's box not long thereafter, delivering his own RBI single to pull Coach Stosich's team within 3-2.
The score remained until Waterloo-Valley added one run during the top of the fifth frame and took control of the elimination game with three insurance runs during the seventh. The victors ended up needing those seventh-inning scores, though.
Down to their last at-bats, the Eagles scored twice. Shearer walked and reached second base on a wild pitch before Sharp logged his second RBI swing of the game. Ott made it to two RBIs, too, before the Wingnuts finally ended the threat and the game at 7-4.
“They fought to the very last out,” Stosich said of his squad. “We went on a little run the last half. That showed they were going to give everything they had to until that last out was made.”
Though Arlington didn't make it to the final two days of the postseason tournament at Vets Field, the coach was complimentary of his shorthanded lineup, which competed with only 10 total players against Waterloo in the late July heat.
“The guys gave 110 percent and played with a lot of heart,” Stosich said.
AREA 3 TOURNAMENT LINE SCORE
Sunday
Waterloo-Valley 7, Arlington 4
WV 0 2 1 0 1 0 3 — 7
ARL (6-10) 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 — 4
