Comeback falls short, Post 210 settles for 3rd in state

Aug. 2—AVISTON — Reaching the state tournament is a goal for most teams, but not the Post 210 Speakers.

For the second year in a row, Post 210 fell short of their own expectations with an 8-5 loss to Moline Post 246 in a elimination game at the Illinois American Legion State Tournament at Aviston City Park.

With the loss, the Speakers secured a second straight third-place finish, but it's also back-to-back years that the Post 210 squad has failed to reach the Great Lakes Regional.

"Getting to state is the goal for most programs, but start each year wanting to win state," said Post 210 manager Allen Shepherd. "Third place in the state out of more than 100 teams is not something to shake a stick at.

"Over the past six years, we have a couple of thirds, a runner-up finish (2017) and three state titles (2016, 2018 and 2019) and obviously the Final Four finish in 2019."

But a pair of losses to Moline, 7-2 on Thursday and 8-5 late Friday night, kept Post 210 from extending its season another week.

"Obviously, we wanted this team to get to the Great Lakes Regional," Shepherd said. "But, this group accomplished everything that I wanted them to accomplish this year. We won our sixth straight Division Tournament, we advanced to state and we had an opportunity to advance in our final game.

"I think in a week or two, we will look back on this year and the past six seasons with six straight top-three finishes and be pretty damn proud of what we have accomplished four our little old county."

After falling behind 8-1 to Moline, thanks in part to a four-run first inning highlighted by a two-run single from winning pitcher Davis Hoffstatter, Post 210 put together a serious comeback in its final two at-bats.

"They came out really hot," Shepherd said. "Dawson Dodd didn't do anything wrong, they were just finding barrels.

"I was really proud of the way that my kids came back and fought. We were just a little too short."

The Speakers (32-9) started its comeback with an RBI single from reserve Jacob Spear with one out in the sixth inning.

"We weren't going to give up," Spear said. "We were going to give it our best shot and we gave it all we had."

Brody Sexton followed with a two-run single and Andy Onnen had a run-scoring hit that pulled Post 210 within 8-5.

"(Moline) did a good job of putting together some hits early in the game," said Onnen, who was playing with a broken nose suffered earlier Friday in a 11-1 win over Wheaton. "We just had to be patient and hit good pitches."

Post 210 actually had the go-ahead run at the plate in the sixth but Moline pitcher Carver Banker got out of the jam with his only strikeout of the night.

In the seventh, the Speakers would threaten again as Blake Norton and Conlon Moore drew walks to bring the tying run to the plate against Moline's next relief pitcher Noah Harrison, who got out of the jam with a pair of fly-ball outs.

"Obviously, the first inning killed us," Shepherd said. "We had a lot of energy and emotion at the start. We just needed to calm down and we did that in those last two innings."

Admittedly, Post 210 was a little too anxious and aggressive at the plate.

"We have been very aggressive since the start of the Division Tournament," Shepherd said. "To an extend, it's what I love to see. But, when you face really good pitching that can mix it up, it's difficult to play that way.

"We had played 40 games this season and I wasn't going to change everything up now."

Spear also pointed out that Post 210 had a handful of fielding miscues that cost them some unearned runs.

"We needed to defend better," he said. "Instead of it being an 8-5 game against us, it could have easily been a 5-4 game for us.

"Defense is everything in baseball and it's the key in the postseason."

The host Aviston Post 1239 Express claimed the state title on Saturday with a 4-1 victory over Moline in the championship game. Both Aviston and Moline advances to this weekend's Great Lakes Regional in Midland, Mich.

Friday's contest was the final game for Shepherd as the Post 210 manager. He leaves the Speakers with a career record of 346-88, that's a .797 winning percentage.

"We are losing a big piece of our puzzle," said Brent Hart, who will take over next season. "He built this from 2 teams and 20 players to an absolute monster."

And how does the future look?

"We have good guys coming up through our program," Hart said as the Post 210 Junior Speakers claimed its second straight state title on Sunday.

Friday's game was the final game for eight players on the Post 210 roster — Dodd, Ethan Edwards, Onnen, Isaiah Ruch, Sexton, Spear, Brody Winge and Josh Young.

"Most of us, if not all of us, are going to continue playing baseball in college, but there's nothing like Post 210 baseball in the summer," said Spear.