While Teddy Harrison threw a no-hitter for the Washington Post 218 Junior Legion Monday in Sullivan it’s the offense people will be talking about for some time to come.
Washington (23-5, 17-3) rolled in a five-inning victory over Sullivan, 41-0.
Yes, that’s not a typo. The game actually ended in a 41-0 Post 218 victory.
“We had all three aspects of our game going tonight in Sullivan,” Post 218 Manager Phillip Kleekamp said. “Teddy Harrison led the way by tossing a no-hitter in a five inning rout of Sullivan. Teddy has been progressing every time he takes the mound. He was great tonight making hitters look foolish at times. His velocity was good, and his curve ball was really moving especially late in the game. Teddy only allowed two balls to leave the infield.”
Washington took advantage of what it was given in the contest. Post 218 managed 35 hits and Sullivan helped matters with 13 errors and five walks. Post 218 did make one error of its own.
Washington put seven runs on the board in the top of the first, but that was a mere warmup for a marathon second inning.
During that second inning, Post 218 added 23 runs, erasing any doubt about the game’s final outcome.
Washington scored six runs in the third and five runs in the fourth to close out the scoring.
“I don’t know if it is possible to overshadow a no-hitter, but our bats just as may have been just as much of story tonight,” Kleekamp said. “We were hitting the baseball all over the field. It seemed everyone was driving balls into the gaps. Sullivan didn’t have their best game defensively, but we took a lot of quality at bats and were hitting the cover off of the ball all night. Every single player contributed in some way. We had a slow start in our previous game against Sullivan, but we came out with a vengeance tonight. I hope we have some hits left in us for our final three games of the regular season.”
Harrison didn’t give Sullivan a chance to do much offensively. He threw 68 pitches, of which 44 were strikes. Of the 15 outs, 11 came on strikeouts. He did walk one batter.
“Our defense was solid tonight as well,” Kleekamp said. “Teddy originally was slated to come out of the bullpen throughout this season. With all the games we have had, we have had to move him into the rotation at times. Teddy is doing a great job and will be a valuable asset down the stretch.”
Offensively, several Washington players had career games.
Two batters, Sam Katzung and Tyler Straatmann, each had five hits in the game.
Four-hit batters were Ross Seitter, Brian Trigg and Garrett Schoenfeld.
Todd Kleekamp, Anthony Chance, Justin Schuler and Grant Ruediger each ended with three hits.
Scott Byrne had one hit.
Seitter, Katzung, Kleekamp and Schoenfeld each doubled. Trigg and Kleekamp tripled.
Straatmann led the way with six runs scored. Trigg, Katzung, Schoenfeld and Schuler each crossed the plate five times. Chance scored four runs while Seitter, Kleekamp and Byrne scored three runs apiece. Ruediger and Luke Knight each scored one run.
Seitter and Chance drove in five runs apiece. Trigg, Katzung, Schoenfeld and Straatmann each had four RBIs. Kleekamp, Schuler, Byrne and Ruediger drove in two runs apiece. Knight had one RBI.
Byrne walked twice while Chance, Schoenfeld and Schuler also drew walks.
Chance contributed two sacrifice flies. Chance, Straatmann and Knight were hit by pitches. Chance stole a base.
Kleekamp felt the team’s desire to bounce back from a loss in the second game Sunday at Elsberry drove the team.
“I think our loss to Elsberry the previous night really fueled our performance tonight,” Kleekamp said. “We lost a game we should have won, and it seemed Sullivan’s pitching had to pay the price tonight.”
Post 218 plays North in a league game at Francis Howell North High School Thursday at 5:45 p.m.
On Friday, Post 218 plays a nonleague game against De Soto at Rotary Recreational Complex - Ronsick Field at 8:30 p.m.
And the team closes out the regular season at C&H Park Sunday against Daniel Boone. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. Daniel Boone has beaten Post 218 twice in three meetings, although those wins came in tournament games.
“Hopefully, we can keep the momentum up through the rest of the season as we try to get our hands on the number one seed in the district,” Kleekamp said. “We have to go up to St. Charles County for another game with the North Knights on Thursday before coming home for a non-district matchup with De Soto. The season will conclude with another tough test against Daniel Boone at C&H Ballpark. If we can pick up victories against North and Daniel Boone, we should be in the driver’s seat heading into the district tournament.”
