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Ohio legion teams open district tourney on opposing sides

Photo by Ron Johnston Beverly/Lowell Post 389/750’s Tate Engleslides safely into home as Marietta Post 64’s Justin Thompson fields a throw during an American Legion baseball game earlier this summer.

CAMBRIDGE — Beverly/Lowell Post 389/750 and Marietta Post 64 each is hoping to be in the winners bracket after Friday night’s scheduled 6 p.m. American Legion baseball district tournament opener at Don Coss Field in Cambridge.

But one Washington County squad will not be.

“Marietta’s a pretty good baseball team,” said Bev/Low skipper Todd Engle after Post 389/750 (27-7) downed Post 64, 8-6, at Legion Field on July 3.

“They’re going to make you get 21 outs. They continued to grind in the last inning, and that’s the mark of a good team.”

Beverly/Lowell also beat Marietta, 3-1, at Fort Frye High June 28.

“We faced a tough one today in Tyler Bradford,” said first-year Post 64 boss Larry Hiser after the game. “But I’m proud of our guys. They battled, and we were right in it until the end.

“The kids played hard. It’s a local rivalry, so they were pumped up a little bit, which was nice to see.”

Marietta (16-9 as of Monday) is expecting to see the southpaw-throwing Bradford on the bump again in its double-elimination tourney opener. Post 64 could possibly counter with a lefty of its own in Corbin Alkire or right-hander Kail Hill, who dueled with his cousin Bradford in the June tilt.

Going around the horn, Marietta’s other probable starters will be Justin “JT” Thompson (catcher), Danny Hiser (1st), Hill (if he’s not pitching, 2nd), Brady Vincent (3rd), Derek Duckworth (short), Zach Cunningham (left), Dakota Miller (center), and Toby Minder (right).

Bev/Low is expected to field Clayton Cook (catch), Logan Isner (1st), Nate Brothers (2nd), Konnor Roberts (3rd), Tate Engle (short), Drew Huffman (left), Luke Nelson (center), and either Tanner Neal or Kam Hesson (right).

Last year in the district at Don Coss, Beverly/Lowell defeated and eliminated Marietta, 5-1, and 13-3, respectively.

The district field will also include host Cambridge Post 84, the Zanesville Post 29 Titans, Barnesville Post 168, the Tuscarawas County Post 205 Panthers, and St. Clairsville Post 159..

Cambridge drew a bye on the first day of competition and won’t play until Saturday. Post 84 is guided by Ron Antill, who’s in his 29th year at the helm. During that time, he’s guided the American Legion ballclub to over 700 career wins.

Cambridge’s probable starters will be Logan Fox (pitch), Clark Jennings (catch), Steve McPeek (1st), Garrett Clendenning (2nd), Garth Charlton (3rd), Lane Howell (short), Connor Leppla (left), Trent Valentine (center), and Dylan Beaver (right).

Zanesville is led by Brent Mirgon. Post 29 is expected to start Kobe Gamble (catch), Trey White (1st), Kris Smith (2nd), Chayce Lundell (3rd), Brandon Pritchard (short), Nash Bishop (left), Andrew Church (center), and Alex Kridelbaugh (right). Look for either Tyler Williams, Lundell, or Kridelbaugh to toe the rubber.

Barnesville’s roster includes Zane Huntsman, Cade Hannahs, Seth Gordon, Gage Hannahs, Ayden Hannahs, Jagger Jeffers, Aaron Marovich, Brady Treherne, Luke Eddy, Caden Arbaugh, Chance Hursey, Ty Kildow, Cody Morrison and Zach Thompson.

Post 168’s coaching staff will feature Chris Hannahs, Denny Huntsman and John Gordon.

Some Tuscarawas County players to keep an eye on will be Nate Novak (pitch), Seth Johnson (catch), Noah Love (1st), Reece Harmon (2nd), Aaron Mizer (3rd), Ethan Love (short), Nathan Pfeiffer (left), Keaton Hall (center), Kampbell Hall (right), and Tanner Phillips (DH).

St. Clairsville is managed by third-year boss Mike Muklewicz. Some Post 159 players to keep an eye on will be Austin Bassa, Dustin Carrothers, Kyle Storer, Mason Ramsay, Matt Busby, Jakob Jarvis, Jake Probst, Cole Porter, and Billy Johnson.

St. Clairsville was a two-time district champ until Bev/Low claimed the championship last summer.

Post 389/750 then advanced to the state tournament at Beavers Field in Lancaster. There, it was runner-up to the Napoleon Post 300 River Bandits but still earned a berth in the Great Lakes Regional at Mercy Field in Toledo.

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