Glenwood/Lowry’s 7-run fifth inning propels them to victory in Milbank, S.D.
The American Legion Baseball team representing Glenwood/Lowry (Minn.) Posts 187/253 might want to add “stay resilient” to any team mottos.
After their resilience helped them rally for a win Saturday in the Centennial Classic in Milbank, S.D., it paid off again in a big way in Sunday’s championship game.
Glenwood/Lowry batted around in the fifth inning to rally past LaMoure (N.D.) Post 19, 9-4, to win the Centennial Classic, a four-team tournament celebrating American Legion Baseball’s 100th birthday in the program’s birthplace.
“It’s been the message all weekend for us, and a lot of the season, was resiliency,” said Glenwood/Lowry team manager Joe Alexander, echoing his words after his team beat Broken Bow (Neb.) Post 126 in Saturday’s Game 4 to qualify for Sunday’s championship final.
That message was necessary after LaMoure — which lost to Glenwood/Lowry 10-2 in Game 1 of the tournament — jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first. Cleanup batter Owen Lesko hit a two-run double, scoring Blase Isaacson and Colby Thielges, then scored himself when Logan Potts reached on a fielder’s choice.
Meanwhile, LaMoure starter Easton Thielges held the Minnesotans to one run on three hits in the first four innings.
“Their pitcher was tough, he changed speeds well and kept us off balance,” Alexander said. “But we knew if we stayed locked in and stayed positive-thinking that we would eventually get to him and that’s exactly what we did.
“I didn’t expect that big of an inning, but we’ll take those anytime we can get them.”
With his team trailing 4-1 entering the bottom of the fifth, Glenwood/Lowry’s No. 9 hitter, Luke Danielson, led off with a solo home run that rolled off the top of the fence and beyond.
The play set the tone for Glenwood/Lowry’s 7-run inning.
“You definitely saw the dugout mood change, it picked us up instantly,” Alexander said. “Any time you get production like he had today out of your No. 9 slot, you feel pretty happy.”
The Minnesotans pounded out seven hits and took advantage of two LaMoure errors to take an 8-4 lead after five, then added an insurance run in the sixth on Alex Panitzke’s RBI single, driving in Connor Erickson.
Even with the loss, LaMoure head coach Jason Thielges said the Centennial Classic experience is something his team will remember for a long time.
“When we got here, (the organizers) said they were going to try to treat it like a World Series, and they did,” Jason Thielges said.
Meanwhile, for Alexander and his team, the notion of being the first Centennial Classic champions was still sinking in.
“It’s an incredible honor. … I think our players will realize what they’ve accomplished when they get back to Minnesota,” Alexander said.
- Baseball