Even with a comfortable lead, there was still motivation for South Richmond to keep the offense going. The players were ready to escape the heat. They did just that, wrapping up an 11-0 victory against Gloucester in seven innings as part of yesterday’s opening round of the American Legion State Championship at a scorching-hot RF&P Park.

Baseball lovers can get their fill this week at RF&P Park in Glen Allen as it hosts the American Legion state championship, featuring 13 hours of baseball for the next three days before Friday’s championship. The state’s best teams will try to take down the defending champion, Post 137 South Richmond, which will open its defense today at 1 p.m. against Post 75 Gloucester.

Last night’s American Legion all-star game began with North coach John Boyer urging his team to run out every ball, swing with enthusiasm and play the game with passion. “Body language speaks,“ he said, and there was a cluster of college scouts watching every move. That advice was ultimately unnecessary, as the players did sprint off the field every chance they had—doing so to avoid a rain that grew steadily harder.