A's take Fifth District crown

The Blue Springs Rod’s Sport Athletics used a strong performance by starting pitcher Chace Ellis to claim their third consecutive American Legion Fifth District Tournament championship by downing Blue Springs Post 499/Fike 12-4 Friday night at Hidden Valley Park.

The A’s have won six of the past seven district titles.

So why was A’s manager Mike Rooney so disappointed following the win – while Fike’s Jim Moran was willing to sit and talk about the evening well into the midnight hour?

That’s because Moran’s squad beat Independence Post 21 13-6 before they met the A’s, to assure themselves a spot in the American Legion Zone Tournament that begins play Thursday at Hidden Valley.

“If Jim’s kids wouldn’t have been so tired after beating Post 21, I don’t know if we would have beat them tonight,” said Rooney, who was livid following what he felt like was a lackluster performance by the A’s in the championship game.

“There were some guys who didn’t want to be here. Sure, both teams advance to the zone, but have some (bleeping) pride.

“Come out and play like you’re capable of playing – you owe that to everyone on the team, the coaches and the people who come watch you play.”

While Rooney steamed, Moran lavished praise on his team.

“We did the exact same thing last year,” said Moran, referring to Fike’s second-place finish at the Fifth District Tournament. “But we did it with a new cast of characters this year.

“When you don’t beat a team during the regular season, and have to come back and beat them in the district tournament, that poses a real challenge. And our guys had the answer to that challenge.”

Blaine Hines (please see column) was masterful against Post 21. He improved to 8-1 by allowing just three runs over 7 1/3 innings.

Sam Engle was Fike’s hitting star as he collected a double and three singles and drove home three runs.

“I know they don’t name an MVP of the tournament, but Sam would have to get some consideration,” Moran said.

“He won a game, he saved a game, he played great outfield and when we lost a catcher (to injury and dehydration) he volunteered to catch the last part of the game against the A’s.

“He represents all that is good about American Legion baseball. All our kids do. I don’t know if I’ve ever been as proud of a team.”

Fike led 2-1 after three innings, 7-3 after six and blew the game open with a five-run eighth inning.

Ross Taylor, Danny McMurtrey and Stephen Keele had two hits each; Kirk Huismann had a single and three-run triple and Daniel Segalo added two singles, a double and two RBIs.

“We really came together as a team in that first game,” Taylor said. “I was so proud to be a part of that team. It was fun, it was amazing. It was just about anything good you could say after a big win.”

Ellis improved to 4-1 in pitching the A’s to the championship win.

While Rooney was upset with some of his players, Ellis did not fall into that category.

“If you play in a championship game and don’t want to win, or play your best, there is something wrong,” Ellis said. “I thought we played pretty well, except for the four errors.

“We don’t make many errors, and I think that’s why the coaches are upset. But this was for the district championship, it was against our big rival and heck yes, we wanted to win.”

Shortstop Bret Schwartz backed those comments.

“It was a weird game, because we won 12-4, even though we made four errors and didn’t really play that well,” Schwartz said.

“The thing about playing for the A’s is that with coaches like Rooney, Clyde (Kubli, former Truman High School state championship-winning coach) and (Brad) Mayfield (who retired a year ago with a state championship team at Blue Springs High School) expect the best every night, with no exceptions.

“We’re a very good team. We won a district championship. Did we look good doing it? No, not all the time. But we got it done when we had to and we go into zone play with a lot of momentum.”

Matt McHenry, who had been battling a mild slump, had three hits and two RBIs for the A’s.

“When you play the big rival, you want to win,” McHenry said. “It’s great to win this game and now, have a little time off so we can enjoy the summer. We’ll come back stronger and healthier and go after a zone championship.”