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Sedalia, MO —
One picture is worth a thousand words.
So is one look – especially when it comes from a player whose American Legion career has come to a disappointing end.
When Independence Post 21’s Tyler Bodenstab and Josh Felz walked off Bill Dey Field at Liberty Park Stadium in Sedalia, the look on their faces said it all.
The Springfield Hillcrest Merchants took advantage of three Post 21 errors to score five unearned runs and go on to an 8-4 victory in an elimination game in the American Legion Missouri State Tournament.
“We were so bad today,” said Bodenstab, who had two doubles and a single, but also made a first-inning error that paved the way to three unearned runs.
“We didn’t play well yesterday (an 8-1 loss to Creve Coeur Post 397) and we didn’t play well today. It’s tough when your last two games are this bad.”
Felz, who also had a first-inning error, but added an RBI double and single, agreed.
“This is my life,” Felz said. “I’ve played just about every minute or every game for Post 21 the past four years and I never thought it would end like this. I’m disappointed for the team, our fans and Tom.”
Longtime manager Tom Bush didn’t have much to say after the loss.
“I told you earlier this week that this is a special group, and I’m keeping it short after the game,” Bush said. “We have played so many good games. We have a bad game every now and then, like last night, but I thought we’d come and play a great game today.
“We make the errors in the first inning, they take the 3-0 lead and we can’t come back.”
The Merchants scored early and often putting up three runs in the first and two in the second to take command.
Post 21 gave starter Austin Tate little defensive support as the first two Hillcrest batters reached base on back-to-back infield errors.
Jarrod Harmon followed with a two-run triple and scored on sacrifice fly to center field.
Josh Felz’s RBI double in the bottom of the inning cut the deficit to 3-1, but the Merchants added two more runs in the top of the second on another error and Shane Smith’s RBI single.
Harmon finished the game with a triple, homer, single and walk. In his last at-bat, he hit a screamer to second that Cody Biegel flagged down.
One picture is worth a thousand words.
So is one look – especially when it comes from a player whose American Legion career has come to a disappointing end.
When Independence Post 21’s Tyler Bodenstab and Josh Felz walked off Bill Dey Field at Liberty Park Stadium in Sedalia, the look on their faces said it all.
The Springfield Hillcrest Merchants took advantage of three Post 21 errors to score five unearned runs and go on to an 8-4 victory in an elimination game in the American Legion Missouri State Tournament.
“We were so bad today,” said Bodenstab, who had two doubles and a single, but also made a first-inning error that paved the way to three unearned runs.
“We didn’t play well yesterday (an 8-1 loss to Creve Coeur Post 397) and we didn’t play well today. It’s tough when your last two games are this bad.”
Felz, who also had a first-inning error, but added an RBI double and single, agreed.
“This is my life,” Felz said. “I’ve played just about every minute or every game for Post 21 the past four years and I never thought it would end like this. I’m disappointed for the team, our fans and Tom.”
Longtime manager Tom Bush didn’t have much to say after the loss.
“I told you earlier this week that this is a special group, and I’m keeping it short after the game,” Bush said. “We have played so many good games. We have a bad game every now and then, like last night, but I thought we’d come and play a great game today.
“We make the errors in the first inning, they take the 3-0 lead and we can’t come back.”
The Merchants scored early and often putting up three runs in the first and two in the second to take command.
Post 21 gave starter Austin Tate little defensive support as the first two Hillcrest batters reached base on back-to-back infield errors.
Jarrod Harmon followed with a two-run triple and scored on sacrifice fly to center field.
Josh Felz’s RBI double in the bottom of the inning cut the deficit to 3-1, but the Merchants added two more runs in the top of the second on another error and Shane Smith’s RBI single.
Harmon finished the game with a triple, homer, single and walk. In his last at-bat, he hit a screamer to second that Cody Biegel flagged down.
“I was thinking about the cycle, especially since I got the triple and homer in my first at-bats,” Harmon said, “but all that matters is the win. Their second baseman made a nice play to get that last line drive. I hit it hard.”
The beneficiary of Harmon’s big game was Hillcrest starter Deric Link, who went the distance.
Three times Post 21 had the tying run on base or at the plate, and Link was able to come up with a big pitch.
“I needed to go the distance today to save our staff some work,” Link said. “We lost our first game, and we have another game after this one, so I wanted the ball all nine innings.”
When asked about the three errors and lost chances, Bush managed a smile.
“We’ve gotten the big hits and made the big pitches all season,” Bush said. “But not today. I’d go to war with these kids – and I hate that it’s all over.”
