Six years after the program was reborn, Post 54 is in the ALWS.
Six years ago, Bedford (N.H.) Post 54 was a defunct American Legion Baseball program.
Three men brought it back to life, and this season Post 54 is in the American Legion World Series for the second time in history.
"The program went dead before (head) coach (Henry) Dubois, (assistant) coach Mark St. Hilaire and I started this back up six years ago," interim head coach Jeremy Hinton said. "Legion Baseball was the best experience for us when we grew up and we wanted to provide it for our kids."
Bedford, which advanced to the ALWS in 2011, gave an indication of what lay ahead last summer when it won the third of its four state championships and recorded a victory in the Northeast Regional.
This summer, Post 54 won its first 23 games before its first loss, in the third game of the Northeast Regional in Shrewsbury, Mass.
"It (pressure) was building," Jeremy Hinton said. "It's tough when you haven't lost. The ball has to bounce the right way every time. And it's baseball and that day it didn't happen. But we rebounded which is important."
After a 7-6 loss to Essex Junction (Vt.), Bedford edged Cumberland (R.I.) 6-5 in eight innings then beat Essex Junction twice (10-1 and 12-3 scores) to advance to the ALWS for its second time and improved its overall record to 25-1.
Demetrios Hunt's walkoff RBI single was the difference in the win over Cumberland, which led Bedford 5-1 after five innings.
In the Aug. 9 doubleheader sweep of Essex Junction, Zach Papik (six innings, nine strikeouts in Game 1) and Noah Durham (six innings, five strikeouts in Game 2) and regional MVP James Gilbert (four hits, five RBIs) and Jaiden Bosquet (three hits, four RBIs) led Post 54.
Six players have hit .350 or better this season and the pitching staff is deep and talented.
Papik (5-0, 0.40 ERA in 35 2/3 innings), Durham (3-0, save, 1.67 ERA in 21 innings), Jack Hinton (3-1, three saves, 2.42 ERA in 31 2/3 innings), Bosquet (3-0, 1.42 ERA in 19 2/3 innings) and Brayden Hickman (3-0, 3.85 ERA in 20 innings) lead that group.
"We're very excited to be here," Jeremy Hinton said. "We hoped to build a program and we've been very fortunate."
ALWS Schedule
Aug. 13: Game 1, vs. Midland (Mich.) Berryhill Post 165, 10 a.m.
Aug. 14: Game 5, vs. Portland (Ore.) Post 158, 4 p.m.
Aug. 15: Game 9, vs. Jacksonville (Fla.) Post 316, 7 p.m.
Roster
No./Camo* Name Pos. Ht./Wt. B/T Graduates / School
10/10 Bosquet, Jaiden P / 1B 6'2"/200 R/R 2025 I Souhegan HS
2/2 Casey, PJ C/2B 5'7"/160 R/R 2026 I Goffstown HS
3/3 DeNauw, Jayden 2B/P 6'2"/140 R/R 2026 I Bedford HS
21/15 Durham, Noah 1B / P 6'1"/180 R/R 2025 I Goffstown HS
28/14 Gilbert, James RF/P 6'4"/200 L/R 2026 I Bedford HS
13/13 Hickman, Brayden P/CF 6'1"/190 R/R 2025 I Souhegan HS
42/7 Hinton, Jack SS/P 6'2"/175 L/R 2025 J Bedford HS
12/12 Hunt, Demetrios C/28 5'10"/175 R/R 2027 I Goffstown HS
27/11 Papik, Zach P/ LF 6'2"/180 R/R 2026 I Bedford HS
9/9 Strand, Ethan CF/ LF 5'9"/170 R/R 2025 I Goffstown HS
17/6 Stuart, Carter P /2B 6'2"/145 R/R 2026 I Bedford HS
23/4 Sturgis, Connor CF/RF 6'1"/180 R/R 2026 / Bedford HS
1/1 Topf, Jason SS/P 5'9”/175 R/R 2027 I Bedford HS
Team manager: Jeremy Hinton
Head coach: Henry Dubois
Assistant: Mike Topf
*Players will wear camo jerseys for Military Appreciation Day.
Regional results
Aug. 6: Bedford (N.H.) Post 54 d. Franklin (Mass.) Post 75, 11-0.
Aug. 7: Bedford (N.H.) Post 54 d. Shrewsbury (Mass.) Post 397, 16-6 (6 innings).
Aug. 8: Essex Junction (Vt.) Post 91 d. Bedford (N.H.) Post 54, 7-6.
Aug. 8: Bedford (N.H.) Post 54 d. Cumberland (R.I.) Post 14, 6-5 (8 innings).
Aug. 9: Bedford (N.H.) Post 54 d. Essex Junction (Vt.) Post 91, 10-1.
Aug. 9: Bedford (N.H.) Post 54 d. Essex Junction (Vt.) Post 91, 12-3.
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