By Ryan Harless
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Sidney Legion Post 217 18u had a good showing in the Best of Ohio Showcase this past weekend finishing with a 4-1 record over the four-day tournament. The tournament was held at various locations in the Dayton area.
The squad kicked the weekend off by beating Silver Sox Elite 14-4 in six innings on Thursday at Carleton Davidson Stadium in Springfield. Post 217 scored five in the third to take control.
Jonny Heitkamp was 2 for 4 with 2 RBIs and one triple. Brayden Monnin was 3 for 3 and Ben Subler was 1 for 1 with three runs. two walks and one double. Aj Griesdorn picked up the win; he pitched 2 1/3 innings and gave up one earned run on four hits while striking out three batters.
Sidney Post 217 followed by beating Mars Invaders 17u 6-1 on Friday at Cedarville University. The team was able to jump out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first off of a double from Monnin that scored Hayden Boeckman.
Monnin came around to score later in the inning when Devin Delzeith grounded out to the second baseman.
The Invaders showed some fight in the third inning when right fielder Joel Gehret misplayed a fly ball allowing the batter to come around and score, cutting Sidney’s lead in half.
Sidney got their run back in the bottom of the fifth when Heitkamp scored on a passed ball stretching its lead back to two.
The hitting didn’t stop there as Sidney was able to add two more runs in the bottom of the sixth on back to back doubles from Monnin and Aj Griesdorn, making the score final 6-1.
Alex Dues threw a complete game for Sidney, striking out five and walking one while only allowing three hits. The team had 10 hits and Monnin and Griesdorn had two RBI each.
In their first game on Saturday at Newton High School, Sidney faced off against the Legends Emerson 17u in a high scoring affair.
After Heitkamp reached as the first batter of the game on an error, Boeckman ripped a double to left field that scored him making the score 1-0 just two batters in.
Later in the top of the first, Sidney would add another run as Boeckman crossed the plate while the Legends Emerson got double play.
Legends Emerson would strike back in the bottom of the second when a bases loaded hit-by-pitch (HBP) brought a run in. This was immediately followed by a single that scored another run and knotted the game up 2-2.
Sidney struck back in the third after they had the bases loaded on two walks and another HBP. Monning launched a triple into center, scoring three and re-taking the lead 5-2.
They didn’t stop there as Gehret slapped the second triple of the inning to right and brought in Monning. After the triple, Delzeith stepped into the box and gave the team another run on a sacrifice fly making it a 7-2 game.
Legends Emerson was able to start closing the gap in the bottom half of the inning with a double that scored two.
After holding Sidney scoreless in the fourth, Legends Emerson tacked on another run on a wild pitch. Sidney held a 7-5 lead heading into the fifth inning.
Monnin singled to start the inning and was then brought around again, this time on a double from Griesdorn that stretched their lead to 8-5. Later in the inning they would add two more on an error that let Griesdorn and Delzeith score.
Jerry Anthony got in on the fun in the fifth too, adding another run for Sidney with a double that scored Ben Lavey making it an 11-5 game.
Sidney was able to hold on to their six-run lead en route to their second victory in the tournament.
Lucas Clune started on the mound for Sidney and went four innings giving up five runs on six hits and three walks.
Sidney was 3-0 heading into Sunday and started the day by battling Warhawks Games 17u.
Striking early again, Sidney got out to a one-run lead in the first when Boeckman punched a single into center that scored Heitkamp giving them another early 1-0 lead.
Sidney starting pitcher Delzeith only needed one run of support, throwing a complete game shutout on four hits and three walks as well as nine strikeouts.
Despite not needing any more help with runs, Sidney decided to add another in the third inning when Heitkamp scored on a wild pitch, giving them a 2-0 lead that they took through the rest of the game.
On Sunday evening at Newton, they faced off with Ohio Baseball Club Warhawks 17u in an exciting game.
Sidney got out to another early lead when Heitkamp scored on a Boeckman groundout. Later in the inning they scored another on a Griesdorn single that scored Monnin giving Sidnay a 2-0 lead after the first.
The game was quiet for a few innings until Sidney struck again in the fourth, inking another run on a Monnin single that brought Griesdorn home for a 3-0 lead.
Sidney scored again in the top of the sixth when Griesdorn hit a solo shot to left making it a 4-0 game with two innings to play.
The Warhawks started to show signs of life in the bottom half of the inning, scoring four runs on four hits, two walks, and an error from Monnin that tied the game up 4-4 heading into the final inning.
Sidney went down 1-2-3 in the top half of the inning, bringing the still rallying Warhawks back to the plate with a chance to win.
The first batter was walked by Jake Felts who then hit another batter after the Warhawks advanced a runner with a sacrifice bunt.
Following a double steal from the Warhawks, they laid down another sacrifice bunt that brought across the winning run and walked the game off and ending Sidney’s weekend with a 3-1 record.
Reach Sidney Daily News assistant editor Ryan Harless at 937-538-4651.
