Beverly/Lowell Post 389/750 head coach Todd Engle addresses the team prior to a practice Friday in Beverly. Beverly/Lowell travels Tuesday morning to the Great Lakes Regional Tournament in Carol Stream, Ill. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

BEVERLY — The key to Beverly/Lowell Post 389/750’s success this season goes beyond the fundamentals.

It’s more than just hitting your spots on the mound, or staying down on a sharp groundball, or having a good two-strike approach at the plate.

What makes Beverly/Lowell great is the bond they share with one another.

“This group got really, really close early,” said veteran head coach Todd Engle, who will lead Beverly/Lowell into the Great Lakes Regional Tournament next week in Carol Stream, Ill. “Before the first practice, they already had their hair dyed blonde. They’ve been a close-knit group since day one. You see the kids from Morgan wearing Fort Frye stuff, or the kids from Fort Frye wearing Williamstown stuff. It’s neat to see. Just a really close group.”

Post 389/750, which carries a 28-12 record into regionals, won the Ohio state championship last week in the most dramatic fashion.

Beverly/Lowell Post 389/750 pitcher Easton Walker hustles to the mound during a practice drill Friday in Beverly. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

Down one in the bottom of the seventh, Owen McCoy stepped up to the plate with two on and one out and blasted a walk-off home run over the left field fence. Beverly/Lowell had led the majority of the game but watched Yeager/Benson Post 199 rally for a 4-3 lead in the top of the seventh.

“I think we felt every emotion a man can feel,” said Engle, who has been coaching Beverly/Lowell for 22 seasons and has now led the program to four regional tournament appearances.

“To win in that fashion — after the disaster in the top of the seventh, we could’ve folded right there. To the kids’ credit, they battled back and it was just a magical moment.”

Magical is a perfect way to describe it. McCoy, the normal starting first baseman, sat most of the game as Engle opted to counter Yeager/Benson’s speed and bunting abilities with a quicker infield alignment.

However, when Kainan Bradford and Grady Shuster hit back-to-back singles in the seventh, Engle wanted a power bat in the box.

Beverly/Lowell Post 389/750 first baseman Owen McCoy tosses the ball to a teammate during a practice drill Friday in Beverly. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

“He talked to me in the fourth inning and told me to be ready,” said McCoy, a 2024 graduate of Morgan High School. “I had my batting gloves on ever since.”

McCoy stepped up to the plate and got down 0-1 in the count to Post 199 reliever Jack Geers. Then next offering, Geers spun an offspeed pitch that had McCoy way out in front.

“He burned me with a curveball, dude,” McCoy laughed. “Probably one of the ugliest swings I’ve had all year.”

McCoy regrouped and got back in the box. He anticipated another breaking ball, as did nearly everyone else at Beavers Field that day.

“Strike two, he got fooled on a breaking pitch,” Engle said. “He kind of half-swung at it, and he even said later ‘My second swing was gross.’ As coaches, we thought he’d see another breaking pitch.”

Beverly/Lowell Post 389/750 third baseman Kainan Bradford fields a groundball during a practice drill Friday in Beverly. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

Geers reared back and threw, and McCoy’s eyes lit up as he saw a heater coming right down Broadway.

“If I’m being honest, I don’t know why he threw me another fastball, but he did,” McCoy said. “Two strikes, I do shorten up and I do change my swing a little bit, but all in all I’m hunting a fastball and sitting on a curveball. Had to go after it there.”

McCoy went after it and got all of it, smashing a laser off the scoreboard.

“For whatever reason, they tried to gas him up, and man, when he hit it, it was a line drive that took off like a rocket,” Engle recalled.

“When he hit it, I saw the left fielder turn his back. We thought it had a chance to get off the wall or something, because it wasn’t a towering home run. It was a line drive. I mean, he hit it hard, and it just kept climbing and climbing.”

On the decision to bring in McCoy to pinch-hit, Engle added “It was one of them things you just kind of feel. It was nothing against the kids we pinch-hit for. I was looking for lightning in a bottle, and Owen provided that.”

The trip around the bases is still a bit of a blur for McCoy, but he tried his best to describe the experience.

“At first base, I rounded and heard everybody going crazy,” he said. “I didn’t know where the ball went (off the bat). I was see-ball, hit-ball. I hit the ball, I gotta go. Around second, I look over and the left fielder’s at the fence looking up. I’m like, “Oh my gosh. There’s no way I did that.’ I get to third and (assistant coach) Trey (Engle) has his hands in the air and I’m not going to lie, I see a tear come out of his eye and I started balling myself. I get down there, I touch home plate, and I think I got tackled by the littlest kid on the field. Cam (Sidwell). I love the kid, but I don’t know how he got me down. But it was just a dream, dude. I’ve never felt anything like that in my life.”

Bradford, who had hit a game-ending home run the night before and leads the team with six longballs this season, had a great view of the play.

“I was on second, so I turn and see that ball go over the fence,” said Bradford, an incoming senior at Fort Frye. “If you watch the video, my hands are on my head. I’m just so surprised at what’s happening. It was surreal. Every kid playing baseball dreams of that moment growing up. For it to actually happen, it’s just surreal.”

Parkersburg South’s Easton Walker had pitched seven strong innings up to that point for Beverly/Lowell. He actually flew out to lead off the bottom of the seventh, and nobody was happier to see McCoy’s hit go over the fence.

“It’s an indescribable feeling, just watching that ball leave the yard,” Walker said. “It was like something out of a book.”

Walker has been a key member of Beverly/Lowell’s pitching rotation, which Engle said has been the team’s biggest strength.

“Our pitching has kind of carried us all year long,” Engle said. “Now, we’re starting to get some timely hitting to help them guys out. Their ERA is like 2.3-something as a team. We feel pretty confident that our pitching’s going to keep us in the game.”

At regionals, Caldwell’s JR Curry is expected to get the ball in game one while Morgan lefty Witten Schaad likely will pitch in game two.

Even more important than pitching, hitting and fielding, though, is the Beverly/Lowell brotherhood.

“I feel like we’ve just been bonded since day one,” Walker said. “It’s a brotherhood that can’t be broken. We’re always just sticking together and we always know we have each other’s backs.”

Bradford added, “We’re all just really close. It’s like a family. Even off the field, we spend a lot of time together, go out to eat, hang out at each other’s houses, things like that. I think that’s the deciding factor on how good a team is going to be, especially like this.”

The brotherhood even extends to the Beverly/Lowell fanbase.

“Our crowd has been phenomenal,” Engle said. “In my 22 years, it just keeps growing and growing.”

Post 389/750 departs via a charter bus at 6 a.m. Tuesday for the nearly-500-mile trip to Lee Pfund Stadium. They’ll take on the Wisconsin state champions Wednesday afternoon.

“We’ve just got to carry that state championship mentality to Illinois and then keep it rolling,” Walker said.

Bradford added, “I’m really proud of the team and how we’ve overcome a lot of things throughout the season. I’m just really excited to go to Illinois and see what we can do.”

While the district and state tournaments sometimes can be very stress-inducing, Engle said regional tournaments have a different feel to them.

“We know what we’re up against out there,” he said. “This is the fun part. We’re going to go out there and see where the chips fall.”

Contact Jordan Holland at jholland@mariettatimes.com.

Magical is a perfect way to describe it. McCoy, the normal starting first baseman, sat most of the game as Engle opted to counter Yeager/Benson’s speed and bunting abilities with a quicker infield alignment.

However, when Kainan Bradford and Grady Shuster hit back-to-back singles in the seventh, Engle wanted a power bat in the box.

“He talked to me in the fourth inning and told me to be ready,” said McCoy, a 2024 graduate of Morgan High School. “I had my batting gloves on ever since.”

McCoy stepped up to the plate and got down 0-1 in the count to Post 199 reliever Jack Geers. Then next offering, Geers spun an offspeed pitch that had McCoy way out in front.

“He burned me with a curveball, dude,” McCoy laughed. “Probably one of the ugliest swings I’ve had all year.”

McCoy regrouped and got back in the box. He anticipated another breaking ball, as did nearly everyone else at Beavers Field that day.

“Strike two, he got fooled on a breaking pitch,” Engle said. “He kind of half-swung at it, and he even said later ‘My second swing was gross.’ As coaches, we thought he’d see another breaking pitch.”

Geers reared back and threw, and McCoy’s eyes lit up as he saw a fastball coming right down Broadway.

“If I’m being honest, I don’t know why he threw me another fastball, but he did,” McCoy said. “Two strikes, I do shorten up and I do change my swing a little bit, but all in all I’m hunting a fastball and sitting on a curveball. Had to go after it there.”

McCoy went after it and got all of it, smashing a laser off the scoreboard.

“For whatever reason, they tried to gas him up, and man, when he hit it, it was a line drive that took off like a rocket,” Engle recalled.

“When he hit it, I saw the left fielder turn his back. We thought it had a chance to get off the wall or something, because it wasn’t a towering home run. It was a line drive. I mean, he hit it hard, and it just kept climbing and climbing.”

On the decision to bring in McCoy to pinch-hit, Engle added “It was one of them things you just kind of feel. It was nothing against the kids we pinch-hit for. I was looking for lightning in a bottle, and Owen provided that.”

The trip around the bases is still a bit of a blur for McCoy, but he tried his best to describe the experience.

“At first base, I rounded and heard everybody going crazy,” he said. “I didn’t know where the ball went (off the bat). I was see-ball, hit-ball. I hit the ball, I gotta go. Around second, I look over and the left fielder’s at the fence looking up. I’m like, “Oh my gosh. There’s no way I did that.’ I get to third and (assistant coach) Trey (Engle) has his hands in the air and I’m not going to lie, I see a tear come out of his eye and I started balling myself. I get down there, I touch home plate, and I think I got tackled by the littlest kid on the field. Cam (Sidwell). I love the kid, but I don’t know how he got me down. But it was just a dream, dude. I’ve never felt anything like that in my life.”

Bradford, who had hit a game-ending home run the night before and leads the team with six longballs this season, had a great view of the play.

“I was on second, so I turn and see that ball go over the fence,” he said. “If you watch the video, my hands are on my head. I’m just so surprised at what’s happening. It was surreal. Every kid playing baseball dreams of that moment growing up. For it to actually happen, it’s just surreal.”

Easton Walker had pitched seven strong innings up to that point for Beverly/Lowell. He actually flew out to lead off the bottom of the seventh, and nobody was happier to see McCoy’s hit go over the fence.

“It’s an indescribable feeling, just watching that ball leave the yard,” Walker said. “It was like something out of a book.”

Walker has been a key member of Beverly/Lowell’s pitching rotation, which Engle said has been the team’s biggest strength.

“Our pitching has kind of carried us all year long,” Engle said. “Now, we’re starting to get some timely hitting to help them guys out. Their ERA is like 2.3-something as a team. We feel pretty confident that our pitching’s going to keep us in the game.”

At regionals, Caldwell’s JR Curry is expected to get the ball in game one while Morgan lefty Witten Schaad likely will pitch in game two.

Even more important than pitching, hitting and fielding, though, is the Beverly/Lowell brotherhood.

“I feel like we’ve just been bonded since day one,” Walker said. “It’s a brotherhood that can’t be broken. We’re always just sticking together and we always know we have each other’s backs.”

Bradford added, “We’re all just really close. It’s like a family. Even off the field, we spend a lot of time together, go out to eat, hang out at each other’s houses, things like that. I think that’s the deciding factor on how good a team is going to be, especially like this.”

The brotherhood even extends to the Beverly/Lowell fanbase.

“Our crowd has been phenomenal,” Engle said. “In my 22 years, it just keeps growing and growing.”

Post 389/750 departs via a charter bus at 6 a.m. Tuesday for the nearly-500-mile trip to Lee Pfund Stadium. They’ll take on the Wisconsin state champions Wednesday afternoon.

“We’ve just got to carry that state championship mentality to Illinois and then keep it rolling,” Walker said.

Bradford added, “I’m really proud of the team and how we’ve overcome a lot of things throughout the season. I’m just really excited to go to Illinois and see what we can do.”

While the district and state tournaments sometimes can be very stress-inducing, Engle said regional tournaments have a different feel to them.

“We know what we’re up against out there,” he said. “This is the fun part. We’re going to go out there and see where the chips fall.”

Contact Jordan Holland at jholland@mariettatimes.com.

—

Beverly/Lowell Post 389/750

Record: 28-12

Statistical Leaders

Hitting AVG. HR RBI R SB

Kainan Bradford .411 6 39 27 11

Carter Wheeldin .353 0 24 37 21

Owen McCoy .338 1 24 16 3

Easton Walker .333 0 19 17 3

Clayton Miller .333 0 9 27 17

Grady Hesson .287 0 20 20 11

Dominic Fry .284 3 20 32 8

Cameron Sidwell .280 0 11 22 12

Jack McCurdy .278 0 17 31 25

Pitching W-L ERA SO/IP

Easton Walker 5-1 2.77 25/30.1

JR Curry 5-1 2.47 36/34

Jacob Laswell 4-2 3.60 31/37

Witten Schaad 4-0 1.39 49/30.1

Jenner Burge* 3-4 1.73 46/36.1

Grady Hesson 2-2 2.31 34/36.1

*injured; out for regionals