Portland Post 158 will be without P/LF McCormack and SS Hemsley after injuries Friday.
The nature of sports unfortunately can lead to injuries on the field of play.
For Portland (Ore.), that played out dramatically twice in the first inning of Friday’s Game 5 of the American Legion World Series as Post 158 lost two of its top players to season-ending maladies.
Still, Portland overcame an early 3-0 deficit and forged a comeback that keeps its championship hopes alive following an 8-5 victory over Bedford (N.H.) Post 54.
“It’s a war of attrition and we’re just piecing it together,” Portland coach Joe Duran said after his team rallied to even its pool play record at 1-1.
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PHOTO 1: Ryan Hemsley of Portland, Ore. Post 158 slides into third. PHOTO 2: Jack Hinton of Bedford, N.H., Post 54 rounds third base. PHOTO 3: Carter Stuart of Bedford, N.H., Post 54 runs to first base. PHOTO 4: Gabriel Coltman of Portland, Ore. Post 158 throws to second base. PHOTO 5: James Gilbert of Bedford, N.H., Post 54 at bat. PHOTO 6: Miles Van Doren of Portland, Ore. Post 158 walks into the dugout. Photos by Chet Strange
Starting pitcher Camden McCormack left after 13 pitches in the top of the first inning with what was later determined to be an elbow injury.
McCormack left after yielding two hits, a walk and committing a throwing error while facing four batters. After three of them scored, Portland started mounting a comeback, but with a cost.
Post 158’s first three batters patiently worked Bedford pitching for walks and one had scored before disaster struck again.
Shortstop Ryan Hemsley, the Northwest Regional MVP last week after hitting .550, was on the front end of a successful double steal. But when Hemsley slid head-first into third base, his left arm landed awkwardly, and he was later diagnosed to have suffered a dislocated shoulder.
“That’s big injuries for two of our top players,” Duran said. “But we have a resilient team.”
That they do as Portland nudged within 3-2 after one inning and took the lead for good at 6-3 after two innings.
“We don’t panic,” Duran said. “All year we’ve played from behind. I think six of our wins in the state tournament and regional were come-from-behind wins. We know that if we stay disciplined and hit our pitches, we can put pressure on teams and are never out of the game.”
Cal Gradwahl had three hits including a double and three RBIs to lead a 10-hit Post 158 offense that also got strong production from Ryden Nakamura (2 hits, 2 RBIs) and Andrew Ha (2 hits, double, 1 RBI).
On the mound, three pitchers followed McCormack to limit Bedford to only two unearned runs the rest of the way.
Reliever and winner Cooper Berta (3 1/3 innings, 3 strikeouts) and relievers Nolan Foglio (2 2/3 innings, 2 strikeouts) and Ben Foglio (1 innings, 2 strikeouts) handled that daunting task after falling behind early.
Brayden Hickman (2 hits, 1 RBI) led Bedford’s offense.
Next for Bedford (25-3): 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday vs. Jacksonville (Fla.) Post 316.
Next for Portland (41-7): 4 p.m. ET Sunday vs. Midland (Mich.) Post 165.
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