Lincoln Carpet Land Post 500 defeated Whitehouse (N.J.) Post 284 to finish runner-up in the Stripes Division.
Earlier this summer, Lincoln (Neb.) Carpet Land Post 500 made getting to the American Legion World Series a goal as soon as the players and their team at Lincoln East High School suffered a heartbreaking loss in the Nebraska state championship game.
With a berth in the ALWS semifinals on the line Sunday, two of Lincoln’s youngest players came through with a combined three-hitter in a 4-2 victory over Whitehouse (N.J.) Post 284 in Game 10 at Keeter Stadium in Shelby, N.C.
The result advances Post 500 (53-7) as the Stripes Division runner-up into Monday’s 7 p.m. semifinal game against the Stars Division champion.
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PHOTO 1: Pitcher Fisher Irons of Lincoln, Neb. Carpet Land Post 500. PHOTO 2: Reid Bazydlo of Whitehouse, N.J. Post 284 at bat. PHOTO 3: Brodie McIntire of Lincoln, Neb. Carpet Land Post 500 runs the bases. PHOTO 4: Dylan Vernick of Whitehouse, N.J. Post 284 slides past Brodie McIntire of Lincoln, Neb. Carpet Land Post 500. PHOTO 5: Carter Nielsen of Whitehouse, N.J. Post 284 throws to first. PHOTO 6: Trevor Roach of Lincoln, Neb. Carpet Land Post 500 tags out Michael Novotny of Whitehouse, N.J. Post 284. Photos by Chet Strange
“The final four is pretty awesome for a bunch of kids from one high school,” said Lincoln coach Mychal Lanik, whose team finished as 2023 ALWS runner-up and was eliminated in pool play a year ago. “We’ll see what we do tomorrow. It feels like David vs. Goliath but we’ll be ready.”
Starter and winner Fisher Irons, who just completed his sophomore year at Lincoln East, went five innings, yielding three hits, two runs and four walks with seven strikeouts. And Kalai Larsen, who just completed his junior year and was on last year’s ALWS team, closed the game for a save following two innings with four strikeouts while yielding just a walk.
Larsen last Sunday threw a four-hitter with six strikeouts in a 5-1 win over Rapid City (S.D.) Post 22 that kept Lincoln alive before it beat Rapid City again to win the Central Plains Regional title.
“It was kind of an ‘all hands on deck’ approach because we had to win the game,” said Larsen, who has already committed to Nebraska-Omaha as a shortstop and pitcher. “It’s been awhile since I’ve closed a game but you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do in this situation.”
Another pair of 2025 returnees, Brodie McIntire (3 hits, double, 1 RBI) and Dele Odulate (2 hits), led a 10-hit offense that provided enough production for the victory.
Lincoln scored first on a fielding error in the top of the first inning.
After Whitehouse tied the score in the bottom of the frame, Jackson Mackovica hit a two-out double, scored on Brodie McIntire’s RBI single and McIntire later scored on a wild pitch for a 3-1 advantage in the top of the fourth.
Owen Schilling’s RBI single in the fifth that cut the Lincoln lead to 3-2 led Whitehouse, which saw its season (and first ALWS appearance) end with a 36-6 overall record.
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