By DOUG IRELAND, Journal Sports
GASTONIA, N.C. – Backs against the wall, Friday morning the Bossier Phillies came out fighting, and almost battled their way back to a third straight American Legion Baseball World Series berth.
They were one win short. After an opening day, error-plagued loss 5-1 to Bryant (Ark.) Thursday in the six-team Mid-South Regional, the Phillies won four straight games, including two Saturday and one in the championship round Sunday afternoon before Tupelo (Miss.) rebounded to punch its ticket to the World Series.
In a do-or-die loser’s bracket matchup, Bossier (22-4) edged Columbia (Tenn.) 2-1 Friday morning. A two-run Jackson Waller single in the bottom of the sixth backed up pitching from Tanner Webb (six innings, eight strikeouts) and Slade Stephens (a three-out save in the top of the seventh).
Saturday morning, the Phillies turned the tables on Bryant as Stephens twirled a complete game three-hitter while Nate Cervantes cracked a two-run homer and added another hit, and Landon Martin contributed two more in a 10-hit, six-walk attack that fueled a 6-0 victory.
Bossier’s offense kept rolling that evening in a 10-1 romp over Daphne (Ala.) as Martin went the distance, fanning five with no walks in a four-hitter. Bryant Lacour’s two-run single, an RBI base hit by Bradon Stephens and Brody Turnipseed’s run-scoring triple gave the Phillies a 4-1 second inning lead. Cervantes drove in three runs with a sixth-inning double to break it open in a five-run outburst.
That win pushed Bossier into the championship round Sunday. The Phillies broke a 1-1 deadlock by scoring three times in the sixth and twice more in the seventh. A two-run double by Griffin Sibley put the Phils on top and he scored on a Martin two-bagger. Kade Bryant struck out eight in a complete-game seven hitter to prevail 6-1.
But Tupelo, which had scored 26 runs while going unbeaten in three games to get to Sunday, roared to life, going up 7-1 after three innings and scoring in at bat while rapping 15 hits in a 16-1 rout in the winner-take-all game.
“By all means, it’s disappointing,” said Bossier coach Dane Peavy. “We expect to come out and win, but by the same token, that’s baseball, and it’s life in general. You get thrown some odd balls or bad hops or don’t make a play you make the next 100 times. You just have to adjust, and these guys adjusted about as good as you could possibly adjust.
“To have four guys throw complete games or close to it, and not miss a beat, was impressive. We were probably one pitcher short against a really good Tupelo team that had nothing but junior college players and guys back from four-year schools to play this year,” he said. “They’re a good team and I’m sure they’ll represent the Mid-South Region pretty well. They sure can hit it.”
Fighting back to reach the championship round, the Phillies were one of just 18 Legion teams still playing across the country on Sunday, and one of only three who recovered from an opening regional loss to get that far.
“These guys do a wonderful job,” said Peavy. “Some of the teams in our regional had only 2-3 teams in their state tournament. We have eight in our state tournament and it’s a tough road to get through. There’s 3-4 teams who can beat you any given night. We had two one-run wins to get here. It’s a true testament to the guys who have played for us to win (state) three years in a row.
“They battle, they don’t back down. They’re not intimidated. It’s a great ride, it really is.”
It was the last one for a half-dozen Phillies, and four in particular have earned a special place in Peavy’s book.
“Four of the guys have been in this program for 2-3 years who have given everything they possibly could – Griffin Sibley, Tanner Webb, Case Jorden, and Kade Bryant. I can’t thank them enough for what they’ve done,” he said.
Contact Doug at sbjdoug@gmail.com