by Seneca Contomanolis
DigitalSports Richmond
scontomanolis@digitalsports.com
For the second straight game South Richmond Post 137 made it interesting at the end.
This time they were able to hang on for the win.
Ronnie Shaban hit two homers as Post 137 rebounded from a devastating loss to defeat West End Post 361 14-11 in the semifinals of the American Legion, District 11 playoffs on Monday night.
South Richmond advances from the losers bracket to face Powhatan Post 201 on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the championship round. Post 137 will have to beat Post 201 twice to claim the crown.
On Saturday Powhatan scored nine runs in the ninth inning to rally past South Richmond 12-11 and into the title game.
“That was just unfortunate,” said Ronnie Shaban about the loss to Powhatan. “They got some hits that wouldn’t usually have snuck through…we just have to forget about that and win our games now. It’s more exciting this way anyways, single elimination.”
Ronnie Shaban finished 4 for 6 with 4 RBI against a West End team that had already won a game earlier in the evening at J.R. Tucker.
Thirty minutes before the start of their game against South Richmond, Post 361 topped Colonial Heights 284B 11-8 in the completion of a rain-suspended contest from Sunday.
West End’s rally attempt to make it two wins in one day came up short.
Ahead by seven runs thanks to a six-run bottom of the eighth Post 137 had a tough time closing it out in the ninth again.
After R.C. Orlan led off with a home run and Cameron Hynes (2 for 4) hit an RBI double, Ronnie Shaban relieved Ryan Morrison with one out and two on.
Ronnie Shaban proceeded to give up a two RBI double but Jeff Griffith was thrown out trying to stretch it into a triple. He would then strike out Lee Jones to end it.
South Richmond led 5-0 after two innings and 8-5 after six. Bradley Shaban had three RBI, Chris Ayers was 2 for 3 with two RBI, Joey Cujas went 2 for 5 with an RBI and Blake Hauser had two hits.
Ronnie Shaban’s first homer led off the bottom of the first and his two-run shot came in a six-run eighth after West End had cut the lead to 8-7.
“I knew we had to get a lead and get out,” Ronnie Shaban said. “It was getting close there for a while so we just all started hitting and I saw some pretty good pitches and made some good contact.”
Jones had a two-run home run in the eighth inning for Post 361 and Greg Mitro had a solo bomb in the third inning, his team’s first hit of the game off Post 137 pitcher Dustin Sollars.
Post 361 001 220 024 – 11 11 3
Post 137 140 003 06x – 14 18 3
Orlan, Tolson (6), Page (8), Lacy (8) and Hynes; Sollars, Morrison (5), Abrahamson (8), R. Shaban, (9) and Abrahamson, Hardee (8). W: Morrison. L: Orlan.
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