After three days of action, it will be a rematch for the championship of the Washington Post 218 Freshman Legion Preseason Tournament.
Post 218 (3-0) will meet Jackson Post 158 Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. to determine the title.
The title game will follow the third-place contest, which starts at 6 p.m. Ballwin Post 611 and House Springs Post 783 will play in that game.
“Last year we got by them 11-7,” said Post 218 Manager Kevin Juergens. “They have also rolled through the weekend, defeating Ballwin, Elsberry and House Springs to reach the championship game.”
Washington won its two pool play games over House Springs and De Soto. Each game lasted five innings. The House Springs game was an 11-1 Washington win and the De Soto game ended in a 15-5 win.
Post 218 knocked off Ballwin, 6-0, in the semifinals Saturday afternoon on a no-hitter by Austin Finder.
“The third game of the weekend on Sunday afternoon against Ballwin turned out to be the Austin Finder show,” Juergens said. “Austin making his first start on the mound pitched a no-hitter.
Finder faced the minimum of 21 batters despite having one batter reach base on an error. That runner was erased on a double play.
“Austin was on top of the batters all day,” Juergens said. “Every batter seemed to be trying to hit from behind in the count. He did a great job. It was really a lot of fun watching him pitch.”
Offensively, Finder led the team with three hits, a run and two RBIs. Nate Hillermann had two hits, including a double. Seth Bollmann, Nick Thiel, Justin Baylard and Ryan Becszlko each had one hit.
In Friday night’s opener, Washington controlled play the entire way with House Springs scoring near the end of the game.
Spencer Juergens pitched the first four innings and Logan Holdmeyer closed it out in the fifth.
Juergens went 2-3 with a double and four RBIs. Others hits were Todd Feldmann, Becszlko, Hillermann and Matt Miller.
Post 218 had to rally to beat De Soto Saturday, 15-5.
Washington held a 5-1 lead in the third inning when De Soto scored three times to cut it to 5-4.
Post 218 scored six runs in the bottom of the third and four times in the fifth to end the game.
“We had a bunch of guys step up and contribute offensively,” Juergens said.
Bollmann had a triple, two walks, three runs and two RBIs. John Himmelberg rapped out two hits, including a double, and drove in two. Finder had three hits with a double and two RBIs. Becszlko posted one hit, two runs, two RBIs and two walks. Shawn Mittler doubled and scored twice. Thiel, Holdmeyer, Feldmann, Eric Hasenjaeger and Evan Ayers each had one hit.
Thiel started on the mound for Washington. Miller relieved in the fourth and tossed the final two innings to close out the contest.
Following Tuesday, the Post 218 Freshmen take off until Saturday. Washington plays Florissant in a doubleheader at McCluer North High School starting at noon.
