Post 346 wins American Legion Regional title

Entering this weekend’s American Legion Region 3 Tournament held at Terre Haute North High School, Terre Haute Post 346 were viewed by many as the runaway favorites to leave Sunday afternoon with a championship trophy in hand.

On Friday, in the regional opener against Clay County Post 2, Terre Haute scored in bunches, leading to a 12-0 win in five innings that saw Nortview standouts Jackson Pierce, who went 2-for-3 with one run scored and one run driven in as well as a heads up play on the base paths that led to another run being scored by the hosts, and Caden Schrader, who went 1-for-3 with one run scored and two runs driven in, play major roles in picking up the win to advance Post 346 into the winner’s bracket of the three-day tournament.

Holding a 1-0 record, Terre Haute Post 346 took on West Terre Haute Post 501 in the winner’s bracket semifinal on Saturday.

While both teams kept the scoreboard operator busy in their opening rounds victories - West Terre Haute Post 501 defeated Indianapolis Post 257 by a score of 18-0 in five innings in the first of Friday’s regional opening round games - the semifinal matchup between the two was a pitcher’s duel.

Who was it that came through with the game on the line? Pierce.

Tied at 0-0 in the fifth inning, the Northview sophomore came to the plate with runners at the corners and one out. Needing to find a way to score Riley Huckaby, Pierce hit a high-chopping ground ball to shortstop. Instead of throwing the ball to the plate in hopes of getting Huckaby before he crossed the plate, West Terre Haute’s middle infield decided to go the route of turning a double play, except Pierce’s hustle out of the box didn’t allow that to happen as he beat the throw to first, scoring the go-ahead, and eventual winning, run to help lead Post 346 to a 1-0 win, advancing the team onto Sunday afternoon’s title game.

West Terre Haute eliminated Clay County Post 2 with a 7-1 in the consolation bracket semifinal later Saturday afternoon, creating a rematch between Post 501 and Post 346.

And again, it was a battle between the pitching staffs of each team.

Terre Haute Post 346 starting pitcher Ty Stultz threw a complete game no-hitter while striking out 12 batters. All he needed was a couple of runs to help him get the hosts to the finish line, and in the fifth, he helped himself out with a sacrifice fly, putting Terre Haute in front by a run. The very next inning, Pierce came through with an RBI single to add on an important insurance run, which proved to be more than enough for Wayne Newton to win the American Legion Regional Tournament title by a score of 2-0. And in doing so, Terre Haute Post 346 advances onto next weekend’s American Legion State Tournament, which will also be hosted at Terre Haute North’s Don Jennings Field.