BASEBALL: Sixers fall to Rockport in Legion state final 4
Jul. 28—The Kokomo Post 6 baseball team saw its run in the American Legion state finals come to an end Monday, but not before the Sixers gave eventual champion Rockport Post 254 a run for its money.
Kokomo led nearly throughout the seven-inning game before Rockport used a late surge to take a 10-7 win at CFD Investments Stadium in Highland Park. That kept Rockport undefeated in the double-elimination tournament, and ended Kokomo's underdog run.
The Sixers led 3-1 after two innings and 4-1 after three innings. Kokomo scored a single run in the top of the fourth to make it 5-1, but Rockport countered with three runs in the bottom of the frame to make it 5-4. The fifth inning saw the Sixers score two runs for a 7-4 advantage, and Rockport score three runs for a 7-all tie.
Rockport had another three-run inning in the sixth to take the lead.
"It was a tough loss," Kokomo sipper Don Andrews said, noting starting pitcher Mason Keller pitched well. "Again, our pitching has kind of saved us here toward the end of the season. All of our pitchers pitched really well, we just haven't been able to get the timely hits that we needed. At this point in the season, you have to score a lot of runs to win a Legion baseball game."
Keller pitched 4 1/3 innings and allowed six hits and six runs (five earned). He struck out four and walked two. Avery Fields recorded the final two outs in the fifth inning. Jace Stoops pitched the sixth inning and took the loss. He allowed three hits and three runs.
Kokomo had eight hits. Cameron Arcari led the way with three hits, including a double and Stoops had an RBI double. Jacob Ward drove in two runs (one each with a single and a sacrifice fly) and Drew Servies drove in a run with a fielder's choice.
The Sixers reached the final four in the eight-team state finals, going 2-2. They finished the season 13-16-1.
"It was a great season," Andrews said. "We started off not as strong as we had hoped, but we finished the season really strong. I think we won six of our last seven games [in the regular season] and then we played very well in the regional to finish second and then we played really well [in the state finals]. To get to the final four in the top eight teams in the state, I was really thrilled."
Rockport beat Crawfordsville 4-2 Tuesday to cap a perfect 5-0 run to the state title. Rockport advances to play in the Great Lakes Regional at Morgantown, West Virginia.
2022 TRYOUTS
The Sixers will hold 2022 tryouts on Aug. 7-8 at CFD Investments Stadium in Highland Park. Players only need to attend one of the two sessions. The 17U tryouts are set for 10 a.m. on Aug. 7 and 11 a.m. on Aug. 8. The 19U tryouts are set for noon on Aug. 7 and 1 p.m. on Aug. 8.
Contact Andrews at andrewsgto@comcast.net for more information.
