The Arlington Senior Legion baseball season ended Saturday evening in Fort Calhoun.
Blair eliminated the Post 71 Eagles from the Class B Area 3 Tournament there, 15-7. The run-rule loss dropped coach TJ Stosich's team to 9-9 overall after a summer-long season in the Ralph Bishop League.
“We were scrappy,” the coach said of his Arlington ballclub. “We've fought each pitch, each inning.”
The Eagles certainly did Saturday after falling behind 13-0 through just three frames. After a scoreless fourth, they scored all seven of their runs during the top of the fifth to extend their season by an inning.
Luke Ott, notably, singled to start Arlington's big top half. Burke Quinn came onto the field to run for the infielder before Dallin Franzluebbers reached base and Tanner Kyllo bunted to load first, second and third.
From there, Andy Misfeldt delivered a two-run single. It pulled Post 71 within 11 runs before Tyler Ott's eventual pop fly fell and cut the deficit to 10.
A bases-loaded walk by Jackson Stosich pulled Arlington within 13-4, too, before Wes Monke's single swing plated two more runs. Stosich later scored on a passed ball, too, as Post 71 trailed by just six runs through 4.5 innings.
Blair would, however, recapture the game's momentum and ended it in six frames by run-rule. Tyler Ott, Blaine Vogt and Misfeldt led Arlington at the plate with two hits apiece. Stosich struck out four Post 154 batters from the pitching mound in relief, too.
“I think the boys had fun and got better, and, ultimately, that was my goal,” Coach Stosich said to recap the season. “(My goal was) to have a summer of fun because that's what the game should be.”
He hoped baseball taught the Eagles a little something about life, too.
“Not giving up and fighting through things,” he said.
Down 13 runs Saturday, Arlington fought in its final game of the summer.
Waterloo-Valley beats Arlington
Down 12-2 with the sun beating down on the Area 3 Tournament participants Friday, Arlington's Tim Halley still beat a Waterloo-Valley throw to first base to start off the fifth inning in Fort Calhoun.
The catcher made his way around the bases during the next at-bat and, ultimately, scored on a wild pitch.
“You either play at 110 percent or you don't play at all. That's how I take it,” Halley said afterward. “Hot or not. Catching or not. Pitching or not. You've got to go no matter what.”
Post 71 lost the first-round game against the No. 3 seed a few minutes later, 12-3, but the catcher wasn't taking anything easy.
“If I can make that energy and score that run, maybe we put up a five-spot there and keep that game going,” he said. “It's all about energy. That's all you can control.”
Waterloo-Valley, however, controlled the game and won by run-rule. It trailed 2-0 after the top of the first inning, but scored three times during the bottom half, and five more times in the second as Arlington miscues added up.
Halley eventually ended the Wingnuts' 12-0 scoring run during the top of the fifth inning, but he was also involved in the 2-0 start. After back-to-back outs, he singled to get Post 71 going.
Vogt notched his own single next before Tyler Ott loaded the bases with a walk off of Valley pitcher Colton Willmott, a former Arlington Eagle. That's when Jackson Stosich sent another pitch into the outfield, scoring the Eagles' lone lead of the ballgame.
“We can definitely build on that,” Halley said, complimenting his team's approach at the plate during the inning. “We put up good at-bats.”
The next day, though, the season came to a close.
POST 71 SENIOR LINE SCORES
Saturday
Blair 15, Arlington 7, 6 inn.
ARL (9-9) 0 0 0 0 7 0 — 7 9 5
BLAIR (33-5) 3 5 5 0 0 2 — 15 12 1
Friday
Waterloo-Valley 12, Arlington 3, 5 inn.
ARL (9-8) 2 0 0 0 1 — 3
WV 3 5 0 4 X — 12
