Still alive in American Legion state tournament, Washington Sentinels earn rematch with Springville

Daniel Elder of the Washington Sentinels is seen batting against Desert Hills early in the 2019 American Legion summer baseball season. | Photo courtesy of Kristine Hirschi, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — With a pair of victories on Tuesday, the Washington Sentinels remain alive in the American Legion baseball state tournament.

The Sentinels had lost a close contest to Springville on Monday afternoon, falling to the Red Devils 5-4 and dropping into the one-loss bracket. The final rounds of the double elimination tournament are being played this week at Kearns High School.

On Tuesday morning, the Sentinels rebounded with a 5-1 win over the Alta Hawks. Washington scored all five of its runs during the first two innings, then held on for the win. Starter Jagger Hadley pitched all seven innings for the Sentinels, allowing one run and seven hits while striking out six and walking zero.

Offensively, Daniel Elder led the way with a 3-for-3 performance at the plate, driving in two runs.

With the win over Alta, the Sentinels advanced to play Mountain Crest on Tuesday afternoon. Washington jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first, thanks to Michael Martinez’s double over the right fielder’s head that brought in both runs.

Mountain Crest managed to score a run in the bottom of the fourth, then the Mustangs tied the game 2-2 with another score in the sixth.

In the top of the seventh, Elder drove in the go-ahead run with a deep line drive to center field, which brought in teammate Noah Ficklin, who’d previously tripled off the right field wall.

Reliever Brandon Roundy, who’d taken over for starter Austin Wright in the sixth inning, managed to hold the Mustangs scoreless in the bottom of the seventh to earn the win.

“It was a fun end to a tight game,” Washington head coach Shane Johanson said.

Tuesday night, the tournament’s last two remaining unbeaten teams faced each other in a semifinal matchup, with Lone Peak edging past Springville by a score of 2-0.

Washington next plays Springville at 4 p.m. Wednesday in a rematch of Monday’s contest. The winner of this afternoon’s game will face Lone Peak for the championship Wednesday at 7 p.m. If Lone Peak loses that game, it would be their first loss, so a second “if necessary” game would take place Thursday at 4 p.m.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2019, all rights reserved.

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