Fortune frowns on Post 361 in painful loss

GREENBRIER 5,
WEST END 4

American Legion state tourney

GREENBRIER 5,
WEST END 4

American Legion state tourney

By: Chris Humphreys | New Era Progress
Published: July 30, 2011

West End Post 361 was on the wrong side of a controversial call in a 5-4 loss to Greenbrier Post 280 in the finals of the American Legion Virginia State Baseball Tournament at Liberty University on Friday.

Trailing 5-4 going into the bottom of the eighth inning, West End's Gary LeClair led off with a single to center and stole second base. Matt Winn followed with a towering fly ball to left field that was caught on the warning track.

LeClair tagged up at second and took third easily. For a moment, the tying run seemed 90 feet from the plate with one out. But Greenbrier appealed the play, claiming LeClair left second base early. The umpires agreed. LeClair was called out, and the rally died.

Post 280's Jordan Adair came in and pitched a perfect ninth to secure the victory for Greenbrier and make it back-to-back state championships for the team from Chesapeake. Greenbrier (21-3) returned only four players from last year's team.

Greenbrier will head to the regional tournament in Sumter, S.C., next week. West End ends the season with a 21-7 record.

"It's a disappointing loss, but we had a wonderful season," Richmond manager John Boyer said. "We were kind of running on fumes, got off to a rough start and fought back. Then we had a major bad call. It was wrong. It was wrong. It is just a tough situation.

"That's the way it goes, and we just want to thank the hosts of the tournament. They have been awesome, and it has been great for the kids. It is just frustrating how it ended."

Greenbrier, which had a pair of speedsters at the top of the order, took full advantage of its baserunning prowess. Leland Clemmons and Kellyn Simons combined to steal seven bases and score four runs.

Post 280 had scored its first four runs without getting a hit. West End was teetering on the brink of a blowout when Matt Lees relieved starter Weldon Vaughn in the third inning. Post 361 trailed 4-1 and Greenbrier had runners on first and third with nobody out. Lees coaxed a run-scoring double play and a fly ball. Thereafter he was all but untouchable, allowing two hits and a walk and striking out eight.

West End rallied in the fourth with three runs on RBI singles by Travis Biddix, John Lloyd and Zach Hynes. That surge cut the deficit to 5-4, but that was as close as Post 361 would get.

LeClair led the way on offense for West End by going 2-for-3 with a run and a sacrifice fly. Jarrett McNeil earned the win for Post 280. He went seven innings, allowed four runs, seven hits and three walks. He struck out four in his first start of the season for Greenbrier. Clemmons was named tournament MVP.

West End reached the finals by clubbing the host team, Lynchburg Post 16, by a 16-2 score earlier in the day.

Starting pitcher Andrew Woods picked up a complete-game victory for West End. Woods held Lynchburg to two runs, five hits, two walks and struck out six. Post 361 took a 4-1 lead in the top of the third and never looked back.

West End broke open the game with a 10-run sixth inning. Post 361 outhit Lynchburg 13-5. All but one starter had at least one hit. Four players had at least two.