The Owensboro American Legion Post 9 Bombers’ time at the American Legion Regional tournament has come to an end after their loss to Eau Claire, Wisconsin 10-8.
“Our kids played with a ton of enthusiasm and put out maximum effort over the past three days at the Great Lakes National Regional,” manager Matt Freeman said. “We came up short of our ultimate goal of winning the championship. But I am very proud of these young men.”
The Bombers opened Regional play dropping a heartbreaker to Evansville Indiana, 1-0 after a throwing error in the top of the 7th inning allowed the only run of the game to score.
The Bombers offense was only able to muster four hits against Evansville and went 0-2 with runners in scoring position. Starting pitcher Noah Cook kept Evansville’s offense off-balanced, striking out five across five shutout innings. He was allowed four hits and walked three, but was able to ease himself out of jams.
The Bombers fought off elimination in the second game, beating De Pere, Wisconsin 2-1. Owensboro took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first thanks to a single by Talan Cartwright which allowed to Joshua Mayes to advance to third and then score on the ensuing throwing error.
De Pere tied it in the bottom of the seventh on a Wild pitch, but the Bombers took the lead right back in the top of the eighth when Aiden Wells grounded into a fielder’s choice. Peyton Cary threw a gem for Owensboro, throwing five shutout innings while allowing only one hit. He did walk five but struck out seven.
In their loss against Eau Claire, the Bombers fell behind 8-0, but remained unfazed, scoring eight runs in the bottom of the sixth to tie it. Easton Blandford was the star of the inning – hitting a lead-off triple and then following it up with a two-run double that cut the deficit to one. The game went into extras, but Eau Claire scored two runs in the top of the eighth and the Bombers were unable to answer.
Freeman credited his coaching staff for the teams sustained success.
“We have a great group of coaches and support staff that work year-round for the program,” Freeman said. “Talent evaluation, recruiting, marketing, and sales are things we focus on to create a winning environment. Our players are dedicated and strive to make Post 9 and our community proud.”
