News From Terre Haute, Indiana

Local Interest

Related Photos

  • Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis For the team: Brock Dowell gets hit by a pitch in Sullivan's American Legion game with Washington.

    SPT072012legion dowell.jpg

  • Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis Lots of help: Sullivan Post139 pitcher Tanner Butler had a lot of help in his team's American Legion elimination game with Washington on Saturday afternoon.

    SPT072012legion butler.jpg

  • Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis Safety: Nolan Kinnett gets a hit for Sullivan Post 139 in their American Legion game with Washington on Saturday.

    SPT072012legion kinnett.jpg

  • Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis Small ball: Sullivan Post 139 batter Cam Kuppler bunts for a hit against Washington in their elimination game Saturday in Terre Haute.

    SPT072012legion kuppler.jpg

Discussion

Welcome to our online comments feature. We welcome your thoughts and your opinions, including unpopular ones. We ask only that you keep the conversation civil and clean. We reserve the right to remove comments that are obscene, racist or abusive and statements that are false or unverifiable as well as posts that are attacking other users. Repeat offenders will be blocked. You may flag objectionable comments for review by a moderator.
comments powered by Disqus
July 22, 2012

Sullivan rolls past Washington in Legion sectional tournament

Andy Amey The Tribune-Star

TERRE HAUTE — Turnabout seemed only fair, the American Legion baseball players from Sullivan Post 139 must have figured Saturday.

Less than 24 hours after being victimized by a 19-batter, 15-run inning against Wayne Newton Post 346, Sullivan turned around in the bottom of the second inning Saturday and sent 18 batters to the plate, scoring 12 times despite leaving the bases loaded, and emerged with a 19-9 win over Washington’s Freedom Post 120.

Its reward is a 1 p.m. sectional championship round today against the host team, with Terre Haute needing one victory to advance to next week’s regional — also at Terre Haute North’s Don Jennings Field — and Sullivan needing to win twice.

“Getting a 10-run win is a lot better than getting beat 22-0 [Friday’s score], that’s for sure,” said Sullivan shortstop Cam Kuppler after Saturday’s game. “It will be hard to beat [Post 346] two games, but we’ve got to come at ‘em with what we’ve got.”

“It’s always nice to be on the other side of a long inning like that,” agreed Sullivan manager Craig Klitz.

The game started poorly for Sullivan when it gave up two gift runs in the top of the first inning — a two-out third strike in the dirt thrown to the wrong base, followed by an RBI double by Trevor Claridge.

But in the bottom of the second, Bryce Bement led off with a single and Jacob Hauger walked. Kuppler placed a bunt so perfectly that no one bothered to field it, loading the bases, and then the carnage began — five more hits, four more walks, back-to-back hit batsmen with the bases loaded, two errors. To make matters worse, Washington second baseman Bryce Wilz suffered an injury diving for one of those hits, depleting the Post 120 bench.

Kuppler fielded a grounder to start a double play in the top of the fourth, limiting the damage in an inning that included two hits, two walks and a hit batter, and Sullivan went up 15-3 in the bottom of that inning on a run-scoring single by Brock Dowell and a two-run triple by Tanner Butler.

An unearned run in the sixth brought Washington closer, but Sullivan was still within an out of ending the game in the top of the seventh. But Brandon Bohnert kept Freedom Post alive with a two-out double that cut the lead to 15-6 and Mac Osborne drove in another run before the inning ended. Four of Sullivan’s nine — yes, nine — errors in the top of the eighth had Washington within 15-9 with two runners on base when the inning ended.

Any hopes of a comeback for Washington ended immediately. Sullivan got the four runs needed for a 10-run decision in the bottom of the inning with six walks and Nolan Kinnett’s game-ending single, the fourth RBI of the game for Kinnett.

“A couple bad innings,” manager Jeff Truelove of Washington said afterward. “We let ‘em get too big a lead early.”

Truelove was happy that his first-year team had come back to make the game relatively interesting.

“They’re battlers; I was glad to see that,” he said. “We’ll take a little momentum from this into next year … I’ve already had a lot of kids call about playing [for Post 120] next summer.”

Post 139 has had teams off and on for more than 35 years, but this year’s is another first-year resumption of the program — and achieved a milestone of sorts.

“To come up here and get two wins is probably more than anybody thought we were going to do,” Klitz admitted. “I’m proud of the kids and what they’ve been able to accomplish.”

 

Text Only | Photo Reprints
Local Interest
Latest News
Community Calendar
Loading…
Events by eviesays.com
TribStar.com Poll
AP Video
Coffee Run Leads to Hatchet Hitchhiker Arrest Conn. Commuter Trains Collide; 60 Go to Hospital Raw: Driver Ejected From Truck, Over Bridge Fmr. IRS Head Insists No Politics in Targeting CDC: Fecal Bacteria Common in Swimming Pools Lotto Fever Sweeps the Country Raw: Germany Protestors Picket Barbie House China, Others Want What's Under the Arctic Ice NM Mom Chases Down Child Abductor Raw: 6 Die in Russian Ship Fire One Million Evacuated As Cyclone Hits Bangladesh $1 Million in Jewels Stolen at Cannes Film Fest Raw: Crash Sends Car Into Fla. Pool Raw: Suicide Bomber Kills 2 Americans, 13 Others Raw: Texas Gov. Flies Over Tornado Damage Raw: Pope Frees Doves From Cage Dying Man's Blinks Lead to Murder Conviction Raw: Obama Sits Down With Elementary Kids Terror Suspect Due in Court in Idaho Friday Brothers Arrested in NOLA Parade Shooting
NDN Video
Lotto Fever Sweeps the Country Coffee Stop Leads To Arrest Of YouTube Sensation Wanted For Murder Bearded Dragon Reunited With Owner Marine Reunited with Warzone Companion Raw: Crash Sends Car Into Fla. Pool Beyonce Is Pregnant! SF baseball player overpaid $500,000 RETURNS money -- and team says KEEP IT $1 Million in Jewels Stolen at Cannes Film Fest Dad returns from Afghanistan, surprises family during Rays' first pitch See Jennifer Lopez's New $10m Hamptons Mansion Woman tricked into taking abortion pill Emma Watson Goes Pantless IRS scandal: Republicans seek to tie Obama to agency's woes Play of the Day: Flipping to Safety Pregnant Kim Kardashian Squeezes Her Swollen Feet Into Stilettos Top Videos of the Week: Angry Taco Bell Guy, Glacier Moves on House, Dog Hates Baths Cindy Crawford Stuns At Cannes Raw: Marines Come to Obama's Aid in the Rain CUTE: Monkey shares lollipop with dog, then HITS pooch on head with it Miranda Kerr Looks Sexy in a Bikini Photo Shoot
Parade
Magazine
Click HERE to read all your Parade favorites including Hollywood Wire, Celebrity interviews and photo galleries, Food recipes and cooking tips, Games and lots more.
  • -

     

    March 12, 2010

activity
Real Estate News