by Stephen M. Lewis
DigitalSports Richmond
slewis@digitalsports.com
Into the early morning hours of Wednesday, South Richmond Post 137 coach Byron Ballard was doing some mental pacing.
Heading into the American Legion, District 11 title game, Ballard wasn’t sure who he was going to send to the mound, but he was sure it wasn’t going to be Hunter Ackerman.
After all, he had threw 35 pitches the night before in South Richmond’s comeback victory to force another game for the championship.
“At 1:30 this morning, I’m doing three different lineups to decide who’s going to be pitching, and it was not him,” Ballard said of Ackerman. “About 11:00 this morning he texted me. He said, ‘Coach, I feel good, I’m OK. I want the ball.
“This is the best performance he had all year.”
Ackerman pitched six strong innings with five strikeouts, allowing five hits and two runs, leading Post 137 to a 9-3 win over Post 201 and the District 11 crown at J.R. Tucker High School Wednesday evening.
Both of Ackerman’s two runs allowed came in the sixth inning as Powhatan Post 201 sliced a 4-0 deficit in half. Four of the five hits allowed came from Powhatan Post 201’s Ian Harvey (2 for 4, BB) and Maryland-bound Jack Cleary (2 for 4).
“I just came out and tried to get the first [strike] with every batter,” Ackerman said. “I was going to go five just to see how it was and then I went six good innings.”
He had plenty of offensive help to make him comfortable. Though Austin Stadler pitched terrific – he struck out 10 in five innings – Post 137 scratched in some runs with timely hitting and smart base running.
They scored two in the first, one by Ronnie Shaban after his leadoff double. He scored on a passed ball.
The next run was delivered by a sacrifice fly from Dustin Sollars, scoring Bradley Shaban.
Then in the third, Ronnie Shaban walked to start things and ran across the plate two batters later on Chris Ayers‘ big double.
Nick Abrahamson then knocked in Ayers for the aforementioned 4-0 lead, which stood up until Post 201 finally began to touch a tiring Ackerman.
“I think both pitchers came in and pitched well,” Post 201 coach Chip Boone said. “We played them five times and it was a battle every single time.”
Post 137 loaded the bases on reliever Hunter Gordon before Ryan Parker scored on a wild pitch to give South Richmond a three-run cushion.
Then Stadler answered in the eighth with a leadoff home run to bring his team to within two at 5-3.
But Post 137 blew it open in the bottom of the eighth, starting with Abrahamson’s solo HR to make it 6-3.
Then Chris Hardee and Blake Houser drew walks to get ducks on the pond for Parker, who made two spectacular plays at third base that perhaps saved runs.
But it was his turn to do damage at the dish as he doubled to left to score Hardee and Houser. Shaban then smoked an RBI single to left to end the scoring, as there would be no comeback this night.
South Richmond Post 137 advances to the state tournament that begins Tuesday, August 5 in Stuart’s Draft.
“Coming into the game we were real confident,” said Abrahamson, who finished 2 for 4. “We beat them pretty good twice this season. We all just kind of jelled together before the game, we were pumped up. Took it to them right from the beginning.
“I think we just need to get our starting pitchers to go deep,” Abrahamson said looking for to the state tourney. “Just keep swinging the way we are. I don’t think we need to change anything with the bats.”
Post 201 000 002 010 – 3 7 0
Post 137 202 000 14x – 9 8 0
Stadler, Gordon (6) and Cleary; Ackerman, Harrison (7) and Ayers.
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