Defense shines, but Cape Junior Legion falls to SEMO Strokers

If anybody can find the silver lining in a baseball loss, Tatum Kitchen can.

His Junior American Legion Post 63 squad dropped a tight 4-2 decision to the SEMO Strokers, a Senior Babe Ruth team based out of Advance, on Wednesday at Capaha Field, but Kitchen refused to dwell on the negatives and instead accentuated the positives displayed by his young squad.

"We've been struggling to hit with men in scoring position," Kitchen said as his squad fell to 7-8 after dropping the first game of a doubleheader. That was borne out by the fact Post 63 left seven runners on base.

But Kitchen's squad came into the game having committed 35 errors over its past seven games, an average of five per contest. On Wednesday, Post 63 played errorless ball, and impressive defensive play -- particularly from second baseman Andrew LeGrand and third baseman Justin Vaught -- kept the score close.

"We really played strong defensively," Kitchen said. "Andrew made a great play up the middle, and Justin, that was his first time playing at third base. They really played well."

Vaught made a diving catch of Preson Hahn's attempted squeeze bunt in the top of the second inning, alertly beat the runner back to third base to complete an unassisted double play and quash a potential rally.

In the fifth, LeGrand made a nice backhand stop of Cole Dempsey's grounder up the middle and gunned him down in a close play at first.

In the seventh, LeGrand again ranged far to his right to snare Austin Teichman's grounder and threw him out at first by an eyelash.

Those plays and more enabled Post 63 starter Gabe Haas to pitch through several bouts of wildness and keep his team in the game. Haas went the distance, allowing four runs -- three earned -- on just five hits, walking four and striking out five. He did uncork five wild pitches and hit two batters.

"Haas pitched well," Kitchen said. "He was a little wild early, but he settled in. I wish we could've gotten a timely hit for him."

For the Strokers, Zane Eggimann also started out a little wild but settled in as well. He got the win after allowing two runs -- one earned -- on six hits, walking three and fanning three.

"He's probably my best competitor," Strokers coach Chris Asmus said. "He'll go out there every day and try to win a ball game."

The Strokers (11-12) also played well defensively behind Eggimann, committing just one error that led to the game's first run.

"That's probably the best defense we put out there all year," said Asmus, noting that several of his players hadn't played together all year. "There's a few guys there who will fill some holes for the rest of the year."

Post 63 took the early lead, scoring once in the bottom of the first. With two out, Jaequan Cummins singled and took second on an errant pick-off throw. He scored on Clayton Reynolds' single to center.

The Strokers plated single runs in the second, third and fourth innings. In the second, Bobby Wright was hit by a pitch, moved to third on two wild pitches and scored on Eggiman's single to left.

Austin Hicks opened the top of the third with a single, went to second on a wild pitch, took third on Teichman's groundout and scored on Timmy Clayton's single to center to put the Strokers up 2-1.

Eggimann's one-out single in the third scored Garrett Walker from second to make it 3-1.

Post 63 pulled within 3-2 in the bottom of the fifth when Kaleb Ward led off with a walk, was sacrificed to second and scored on Reynolds' double to the warning track in deep center.

But the Strokers put the game away in the sixth when Walker's single through a drawn-in infield scored Thomas Trankler from second base to make it 4-2.

Eggimann was 2 for 3 with two RBIs for the Strokers. Reynolds was 2 for 3 with a pair of runs batted in for Post 63.

SEMO Strokers 011 101 0 -- 4 5 1

Post 63 100 010 0 -- 2 6 0

WP -- Zane Eggimann. LP -- Gabe Haas. 2B -- Clayton Reynolds (P). Multiple hits -- SEMO: Eggimann 2-3; Post 63: Reynolds 2-3, Brayden Bennefield 2-3.