By RICHARD WALKER
SHELBY, N.C. — Wilmington Delvets (Delaware) Post 1 may be making its first appearance in the American Legion World Series.
But after Sunday’s 3-2 win over Bossier City (La.) Post 202 in Game 11, the Delvets are making themselves right at home at Veterans Field at Keeter Stadium.
The victory gave the Delvets a 2-1 pool play record and a runner-up finish in the Stripes Division, earning a 6 p.m. (CST) semifinal matchup on ESPNU tonight against the Stars Division champion. It denied the same to the Bossier Phillies, who earlier Sunday scored a rain-delayed 1-0 victory over Billings (Montana).
To advance to the semifinals, Delvets rallied back from a 1-0 deficit after three innings and got solid pitching from starter and winner Brady Fox (6 innings, 7 strikeouts) and Jack Rossi (1 inning, 2 strikeouts, save).
After Bossier City scored in the bottom of the third inning, Michael Smyth hit a leadoff single in the top of the fourth and Tre Villanova reached on a hit batter. After two outs, Hunter DiCarlantonio drove in Smyth and a wild pitch plated Villanova for a 2-1 Delvets lead.
Wilmington added a run in the fifth when Smyth hit a two-out double and scored on Villanova’s RBI single.
Bossier City scored an unearned run in the fifth before Fox stranded runners on second and third.
After Fox stranded a runner on second in the sixth, Buono brought on Rossi for the final three outs; Rossi struck out two of the three batters he faced to wrap up the victory.
Smyth (2 hits, double) led the Delvets’ five-hit offense.
For Bossier City, whose second season after restarting its program ended with a 23-6 overall record and first-ever ALWS appearance, Easton Sanders, Griffin Sibley and Jackson Jones had base hits and Sanders (7 innings, 5 strikeouts) was the hard luck loser.
Navigating the rules after Mother Nature altered the schedule eliminated the starting pitcher for Bossier after Game 9 of the World Series was suspended from Saturday night to Sunday morning.
Despite facing a situation that caused a strategy change, the Phillies did what was needed to get a chance later Sunday to advance to Monday’s semifinals with a 1-0 victory over Billings Scarlets (Mont.) Post 4.
To get into that position, Bossier City had to find out how to scratch across a run against Scarlets pitcher Drew McDowell.
McDowell, who had pitched a no-hitter last week in Post 4’s Northwest Regional title run in his previous start, had thrown only 28 pitches on Saturday before a torrential rain soaked the field and suspended the scoreless contest to Sunday at 11 a.m.
A South Dakota State signee, McDowell yielded only two hits in his six innings of work and had a no-hitter until two outs in the fifth inning.
But each hit he yielded was game-changing.
Jackson Jones’ single to centerfield snapped the no-hit bid and after Tucker McCabe was hit by a pitch, Hudson Brignac’s single to center drove in Jones with the game’s only run.
“That guy was really good,” Peavy said of McDowell, who threw 97 pitches (51 strikes) against a Bossier City lineup determined to be patient.
“We just needed to battle at the plate and I thought our guys had a really good plan at the plate and they just stayed with it. We stayed with our approach and, fortunately enough, it worked out for us,” Peavy said.
Peavy was just happy his No. 2 hitter Brignac got another chance after he flew out to right field in the third with two runners aboard due to walks.
“There’s no better guy that we want in that situation than Brignac,” Peavy said. “He had that same opportunity earlier in the game and he flew out and was kind of mad at himself. So he capitalized when he got another chance.”
On the mound, each of Bossier City’s three pitchers yielded one in hit in 2 1/3 innings of work – starter Brody Bower and relievers Jones and Cade Moore.
The Phillies pitchers stranded runners on first and second in the first, at third in the third and left the bases loaded in the fourth.