Post 5 happy to earn victory for tourney appearance

After picking up a 5-3 victory on the road against Bishopville Post 29, Marion Post 5 clinched the Jr. American Legion baseball post-season series with a 5-4 win at Fox Field on July 8.

“It was a huge win for us,” Post 5 coach Chris Drose said, adding that the team wanted to play their way into the state tournament. Fox Field will host the eight-team tournament on July 22.

“We wanted to play our way in to prove we deserve to be in it,” Drose said, adding that Bishopville is a really good team.
Pitcher Chris Washington retired all six batters in the final two innings and provided a crucial base hit late in the game to help his squad.

“He got a little shaky that one inning, but he got back focused and did a good job shutting them down late,” Drose said.
Washington and Justin Gause each scored a run to give Marion a 2-0 advantage in the first inning.

Post 29 rallied in the top of the fourth inning, loading up the bases with no outs.

Grant Davidson delivered a shot deep into the outfield, leading to a disastrous sequence of bad fielding and arrant throws. With Bishopville on the board with two runs, Alexander Bramlett added a RBI single to give his squad a 4-2 lead. 

A RBI single from Keenan Johnson led to Jon Elliott’s tough slide towards home plate, delivering a run for Marion in the bottom of the inning.

Washington began to heat up afterwards, highlighting with two strikeouts to end the fifth inning then leading off with a double when up to bat.

A short pop up hit by Ross White landed safely at leftfield, moving the runner to third base. Washington would later score the tying run off a sacrifice fly from Jon Elliott.

Josh Rogers drew a walk to lead off the bottom of the seventh inning and Ira Lee came onto the field as a pinch runner. Washington quickly caught the defense off guard with a bunt single that moved Lee towards third base. With runners in scoring position White drove in the game winner with a base hit single.

Drose said his team is excited about playing host in the tournament. “We’re going to be ready. It’s a big deal for the City of Marion and it’s a lot of publicity for the area,” he said, adding that the winners of the opening round playoff games will advance for the state tournament. 

Marion Post 5 roster: (24) Brian Davis, (8) John Elliott, (9) Justin Elvis, (7) Deanny Felix, (1) Justin Gause, (14) DeVante Gilbert, (23) C.J. Hopkins, (11) T.J. Jackson, (18) Keenan Johnson, (20) Ira Lee, (10) Austin Newell, (22) Storm Page, (5) V.J. Pridgen, (3) Josh Rogers, (16) Chris Washington, (4) Ross White.