Hudson Post 100 ends remarkable run with loss to Fargo at Legion World Series

It can be tough being the new kids on the block.

Hudson Post 100, in its first American Legion World Series appearance, was faced with three traditional powers for its Stars Division pool games for the week at Keeter Stadium in Selby, North Carolina.

First came losses to 2022 national champion Troy (Alabama) Thursday and then defending World Series champ League City (Texas) on Friday.

Saturday's opponent was Fargo Post 2 Dugout, a program dating to the 1920s and in its fifth trip to the World Series, winner of 29 North Dakota state championships.

Hudson's fine postseason run came to an end with three Series losses, but the boys of Post 100, the Zone 4 and Northeast Regional champions, can return home knowing they gallantly played the nation's best during the week.

Saturday's setback was a 12-3 decision to Fargo, which no one would have faulted for exhaustion, given the events of the night before.

"We didn't get too many timely hits today, either," Post 100 manager Ryan Bowen told the MetroWest Daily News from Shelby after the game. "We got a little bit of traffic (on the bases), but we didn't get enough home."

With Saturday's noon start, Fargo didn't have a long time to savor its 5-4, 14-inning victory over Troy, which ended after 1 Saturday morning. The teams were tied at 2 entering the bottom of the seventh inning when officials called a lightning delay, which turned into a lengthy rain delay lasting 1 hour, 52 minutes.

Post 2 rallied with single runs to tie in the 10th and 13th inning against before winning in a walk-off in the 14th.

"We were up watching it," Bowen said. "We got smoked (with heavy rain)."

Hudson's Connor Madden, who didn't allow an earned run in six innings during the Northeast Regionals, got the call to start on the hill Saturday. Garrett Mahoney and Brendan O'Brien were in left and right field, respectively, for their first starts of the World Series.

Fargo had a long night Friday but didn't let that interfere with a four-run first inning Saturday, delivered by three singles off Madden.

Mahoney and O'Brien rapped back-to-back singles to start the third, and after two flyouts, Bobby Long walked to load the bases. Chase Barrett, however, struck out swinging to end the threat.

Fargo added three runs for a 7-0 lead in its third inning, when Michael Atwater relieved Madden with one out, and another in the fourth.

The Chases got Post 100 on the board in the fifth, Barrett with a two-run single and Donahue an RBI double to make it 8-3. Donahue finished the game 2 for 4.

Long, whose on-base percentage was well over .500, was hit by a pitch twice, giving him 28 HBPs for the season, to go with his walk and run.

"Going into the year, you never expect to play as long as we did," said Bowen, Post 100's coach since 2017 whole played for the team more than a decade ago. "Usually you're done in the middle of July and you get the rest of the summer to do what you want. But I'd choose this a 100 times out of 100, especially with the group that we had."

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Hudson Post 100 ends remarkable run with loss to Fargo at Legion World Series