Reposted from the GazetteLeader
As the top seed, Vienna Post 180 obviously had a strong regular season. Then, the American Legion baseball team really found its “stride,” according to manager Nick Good, when the District 17 tournament began.
Vienna (19-6) finished 5-0 to win the tournament championship, dominating the competition by outscoring those opponents 62-15 with one shutout.
Vienna defeated No. 6 seed McLean Post 270 by a 22-4 score in the championship game at Waters Field in Vienna the night of July 19.
The district-tourney title was Vienna’s second straight, ninth in 12 years and 20th since the competition began in 1964, when Post 180 won the first two titles and three of the first four.
“Our pitching was outstanding in this tournament, we played good defense and we got timely hitting,” Good said. “We really found our stride in these games. It certainly helped to finally have all of our players present for this tournament and playing.”
The 5-0 tournament record extended Vienna’s overall winning streak to 12 as the squad enters the state tournament in Leesburg.
In the win over McLean (9-14), which bounced back to finish 3-2 in the tourney after losing its first game, left-hander Alex Crudder started and pitched five innings to get the win.
Vienna exploded with the bats, amassing 19 hits (six for extra bases) and the team stole seven bases. Eight of the nine starters had hits.
Shepherd University sophomore player Ethan Jones led the way. He was 4 for 4 and on base all five times (hit by a pitch) with a double, five RBI and two steals.
Leadoff batter Patrick Colyar (four RBI), Connor Moore (three doubles, three RBI) and Will Norman (six RBI) all had three hits. Jason Cassidy added two, Stephen Milman and Asa Hinkle doubled and Robbie Lavey (two steals) and Jonah Neihardt singled. Mac Lewis walked and scored a run.
Vienna scored three runs in the first inning, four in the second, then eight in the third.
“To win this again is awesome,” said Colyar, who has played for Post 180 for three seasons. “It all comes down to pitching, and we had great pitching in this tournament, and we hit and played good defense, too. It’s great to win this in Vienna at Waters Field in front of the community. Waters Field is my favorite field.”
Jones added that the rapport of this year’s team motivated the players to repeat as district champions.
“I think this team is closer than last year, and we were close then, too,” Jones said.
Prior to the championship game, Vienna downed No. 2 seed Arlington Post 139 by an 8-5 score at Waters Field to reach the final. Right-hander Chris Fortunato started and pitched six innings to get the win, striking out seven and scattering 10 hits. He allowed only one earned run and did not walk a batter.
Jones belted a three-run homer for Vienna, his fifth such hit this summer, Colyar added three hits, Cassidy had two hits, No. 9 batter Ryan Halloran had a second-hitting two-run double, Moore doubled and Lavey had an RBI single. Vienna had 10 hits, with Hinkle having a single.
In Vienna’s first three tourney wins, Cassidy, Lavey, Moore (multiple RBI), Colyar, Fortunato (home run), Lewis (home run) and Norman were among the hitting leaders.
On the mound, Moore started and fanned 10 with no walks and allowed four hits and zero earned runs in a 10-4 win over third-seed Fairfax Post 177. In a 10-0 victory over fourth seed Springfield Post 176, Tanner Vislay (6-0) started and got the win. He scattered four hits in six innings.
Crudder was the winner in a 12-2 first-round triumph over eighth seed Alexandria Post 24.
NOTES: Vienna’s 12-game wining streak followed a four-game losing stretch. The current victory string began with a double-header sweep over then undefeated and first-place Arlington. “It’s a testament to all the guys for coming back and playing well like we are, after losing four in a row,” Good said . . . With the victory in the District 17 tournament championship game, Good earned his 150th win as the team’s manager in seven seasons. As an American Legion player, Good was a top hitter for the Arlington 139 squad that won the 1982 District 17 tournament . . . Vienna Post 180 has not had a losing record since the 2005 season.