LANCASTER – There have been a lot of great players and coaches, including long-time coach Al Beavers, who has over 700 career wins coaching the Lancaster Post 11 American Legion baseball team dating back to the 1970s.
However, one thing that was always missing, was a state title. On Tuesday morning, Post 11 finally accomplished that feat when it defeated Harrison/Yeager-Benson Post 199 8-5 to clinch its first-ever American Legion State Tournament championship at Beavers Field.
Post 11 fell behind 1-0 before scoring five runs in the top of the second inning to take a 5-1 lead. Post 11 added three insurance runs in the top of the fifth, but after Harrison plated two in the bottom half of the inning to cut the deficit to three runs, Post 11 would make it stand.
“It’s never easy to win a state championship, but we knew we had the team that could do it,” Post 11 coach Dana Rowland said. “I can’t express what this means. We have worked so hard for a long time to get here. It felt like it was our turn and we just needed to finally make it happen and we did.”
With the win, Post 11 advances to the six-team Great Lakes Regional in Carol Stream, Illinois, which is located just outside of Chicago. The double-elimination tournament, which includes teams from Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, Wisconsin, Ohio, and Illinois, begins on Aug. 7.
Post 11 will face Michigan at 9:30 a.m. in the tournament opener on Aug. 7.
The Great Lakes Regional winner will advance to the American Legion World Series Aug. 15-20 in Shelby, North Carolina.
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A summer to remember
Tuesday’s state title win was just a culmination of the team coming together and playing their best at the right time and being on an upward trajectory for the last month of the season.
Post 11 fell short in a 3-0 loss against Harrison on Monday, which forced Tuesday’s winner-take-all game. Up to that point, Post 11 was riding a 16-game winning streak, including winning two out-of-state tournaments in a row, as well as winning the district tournament.
“The most that a coaching staff can ask for is the team to get better throughout the year and this team has done that,” Rowland said.
After earning a bye, Post 11o, which improved to 33-13 on the season, opened the state tournament with a 3-1 win over St. Clairsville Post 159 and followed it with a 6-0 victory over Findlay Post 3.
During the last month, Post 11 pitchers have been outstanding, as well as its defense. Heading into the state tournament, Post 11 pitchers boasted a combined 0.85 earned run average, and at the plate, the team had a .345 overall batting average.
More than anything, Post 11 has been able to make plays when it had, especially over the last month.
Rowland said the team is certainly talented and blessed to have a deep pitching rotation, but what set this team apart from others, was the team chemistry.
“These kids have come together, and they have just got tighter and tighter as the season has gone a long, and it has been neat to see the chemistry develop like it has,” Rowland said. “These guys are buying into each other, they are confident in one another, and they are each other’s biggest fans. As coaches, we can’t ask for more. That’s what makes championship teams. It’s not always talent, it's chemistry, and that’s a huge factor.”
“I am so happy and proud of this team and how they have all just come together to position themselves to win a state title.”
Tom Wilson is a sports reporter for the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette. Contact him at 740-689-5150 or via email at twilson@gannett.com for comments or story tips. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @twil2323.
This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: History in the making: Lancaster Post 11 wins first-ever American Legion state championship
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