Tupelo’s Post 49 wins a game that ended early Friday morning.
To get to the 2026 American Legion World Series at Keeter Stadium in Shelby (N.C.), Tupelo (Miss.) Post 49 scored 48 runs in five games while tallying runs in seven of the last eight innings in which it batted to win the Mid-South Regional in Gastonia, N.C.
Apparently, moving 23 miles to the west didn't slow down Tupelo's offense one bit as Post 49 scored in its first three innings and rolled to a 10-4 win over Whitehouse (N.J.) Post 284 in the finale of a long opening day that lasted into early Friday morning.
Due to a late Thursday afternoon thunderstorm that pushed the scheduled 4 p.m. game to a 7:50 p.m. start and postponed "The Parade of Champions" until Friday at approximately 6:30 p.m., the Tupelo-Whitehouse contest didn't start until 10:49 p.m.
And it was 1:24 a.m. Friday when Tupelo closed out the win.
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PHOTO 1: Eli McDaniels of Tupelo, Miss. Post 49. PHOTO 2: Reid Bazydlo of Whitehouse, N.J. Post 284. PHOTO 3: Aidan Walsh of Whitehouse, N.J. Post 284 at bat. PHOTO 4: Pitcher Jordan Evers of Tupelo, Miss. Post 49. . PHOTO 5: PItcher Jackson Trego of Whitehouse, N.J. Post 284. PHOTO 6: Brody Thompson of Tupelo, Miss. Post 49 at bat. Photos by Chet Strange
Tupelo, whose 16-1, 6-inning victory over Bossier City (La.) on Sunday clinched Post 49's third ALWS appearance, scored once in the first inning, five times in the second inning and two more times in the third.
When Whitehouse held Post 49 scoreless in the fourth inning, it ended a stretch of 11 innings in which Tupelo scored in 10 of them.
Leadoff batter Brody Thompson (3 hits, double, 2 RBIs), Colin Flurry (2 solo home runs), Cooper Goff (2 hits) and Kadin Bennett (2 hits) led Post 49's 13-hit attack.
Starter and winner Jordan Evers (4 innings, 5 strikeouts) and reliever J.D. Whitaker (3 innings, 3 strikeouts) combined on a four-hitter.
Next for Whitehouse (35-5): noon ET Saturday vs. Fairfield (Calif.) Expos.
Next for Tupelo (25-5-1): 3 p.m. ET Saturday vs. Lincoln (Neb.) Post 500.
- Baseball