Standing in the on-deck circle, Post 361 second baseman John Lloyd flopped a rosin bag between his hands, and puffs of powder and dirt rose into the air. Then he rubbed the bag down the handle of his bat to dry the sweat and reinforce his grip.
Post 361 displayed complete control of its offensive arsenal Thursday, as the team from the West End racked up 17 hits and defeated Post 125 of Lakeside 14-7 on a sweaty, sticky night at Powhatan High School.
With the victory, West End claimed the American Legion District 11 title and advanced to the state tournament beginning Tuesday at Liberty University.
"We work on hitting a lot," Post 361 coach John Boyer said. "I try to look out for our pitchers by making sure our hitters hit."
Leadoff hitter Skyler Stone scored three runs, and right fielder D.J. Engler went 3 for 4 with three doubles, two RBIs and two runs. Down 4-2 heading into the third inning, Post 361 erupted. Andrew Woods hit a two-run homer to left-center, which was part of a five-run inning that put the winners ahead to stay.
"Every day — BP, BP, BP," Engler said. "The last couple nights, we've hit really well. And that's what you need to do to win."
Lakeside put five runs on the board in the first three innings, but couldn't sustain the momentum. The team scored only two runs the rest of the game as Brandon Stein and Dylan Gonzales threw 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief to close out the game for Post 361.
There was only one 1-2-3 inning the whole game for either team. It came in the top of the seventh when Post 361 hit three consecutive flyouts.
Exhaustion was a factor for Lakeside, which had played 12 of the previous 14 days. On Wednesday night, Lakeside used six pitchers to beat Mechanicsville Post 17-16. That game was delayed about a half hour when the lights cut out and didn't finish until nearly 11 p.m.
"They played their tails off, but they just ran out of gas," Boyer said of Lakeside.
Mac Hudgins scored two runs for Lakeside, and Zach Joseph had two RBIs and scored a run.
Post 361 had a two-day rest coming into the game, but that didn't serve as an advantage, Boyer said. While their opponents were becoming accustomed to the heat, West End spent the previous two days sitting in the air conditioning.
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