Gazette.Net
Maryland Community News
Published: Saturday, July 23, 2011
Post 295 keeps on winning by Kent Zakour
Staff Writer
Gaithersburg Post 295 is back in a familiar place.
The American Legion Baseball team won its fourth straight Montgomery Division championship on Friday by defeating Sandy Spring Post 68, 3-1, at Seneca Valley High. The victory qualified Post 295 into next week’s Maryland State American Legion Tournament at Municipal Stadium in Hagerstown. Post 68 still has one more chance to advance to the state tournament in Sunday’s play-in game when it faces the Anne Arundel County champion.
“We have different guys each summer,” Post 295 manager Rick Price said. “But for some reason, the guys keep on winning. They deserve all the credit.”
Ace starting pitcher Nick Karis surrendered six hits, struck out five and walked one in a complete game effort.
Post 68’s starter, Evan Snyder, almost matched Karis’ performance striking out three over six innings and allowing eight hits.
The duo held their respective opposition scoreless until the bottom of the fifth inning. With a man on second and two outs, Post 295 shortstop Peter Bowles doubled to deep center to score the initial run of the contest.
Post 68 rallied in the top half of the sixth to tie the game when third basemen Kevin Stein tripled off the wall in right-center to score Tony Ortiz, who led off the inning with an infield single.
With Stein on third as the potential go-ahead run, Karis pitched his best sequence of the game, striking out three consecutive batters to preserve the lead.
“I threw a bullpen session two days ago and I wasn’t feeling great,” Karis said. “So I told Price I would do whatever today, but I definitely wanted the start. My slider ended up really working today and helped me get out of it.”
Karis’ teammates responded during the ensuing at-bat with a two-out, two-run rally. Nick Papillo started it with a single to left. Travis Smith then executed a textbook hit-and-run by hitting a slow ground ball that rolled through the vacated hole at second and Papillo advanced to third.
“That was a thing of beauty,” Price said.
With men on the corners and facing a one ball, two strike count, Pat Burke fouled off several pitches before knocking a pitch to over the center fielder’s head for a bases clearing triple.
“[Snyder] was pitching great, but we felt we had an opportunity to get hits on his first pitch,” Burke said. “Obviously, I didn’t get to do that and I didn’t get anything I liked. He then threw a low slider and I got a hold of it.”
Post 68 loaded the bases with two outs in the seventh on a walk and a pair of Post 295 errors, but failed to score.
“We just didn’t get it done today,” Post 68 manager Jeremy Hannan said. “The good thing is we will regroup and have another shot Sunday.”
kzakour@gazette.net
