WORCESTER, Mass. – The St. Johnsbury Post 58 Legion baseball team’s incredible summer run came to an end over the weekend after splitting four games last week in the Northeast Regional American Legion Baseball Tournament at Holy Cross Fitton Field.
After a pair of dominant wins over Maine and Connecticut to start the tournament, Post 58 suffered losses to New York and Massachusetts over the weekend to see their incredible run come to an end. St. Johnsbury opened the tournament with an offensive explosion, belting three homers and a pair of triples in a 14-1 five inning rout over Maine’s state champion out of Farmington. St. Johnsbury Academy’s (SJA) Carson Finn kept the offense rolling in their second game against Connecticut (Waterford) last Thursday, smashing a trio of doubles on his way to a four-hit day to power Post 58 to a 15-7 win. Lyndon Institute’s Wyatt Mason earned the win on the mound.
The bats went cold over the weekend as tournament favorite New York (Greece) dealt Vermont its first loss in lopsided fashion 11-1. Massachusetts (Shrewsbury) spoiled a top notch outing from SJA’s Rex Hauser on Saturday with a 3-2 walk-off win in the bottom of the seventh inning to end Vermont’s Cinderella run. The reigning Vermont Gatorade Player of the Year in both baseball and basketball struck out four and walked only one over five plus innings of work. Mason belted a triple for Post 58 in the loss. New York outlasted Connecticut 7-5 in the championship game to win the tournament.
It truly was a local all-star cast for Post 58, who captured their first ever American Legion State Championship late last month. Hauser was the Player of the Year in the Metro, with Hilltopper teammates Will Eaton and Finn earning First Team honors on their way to capturing a Division I state title. Mason was the Player of the Year in the Capital Leage for a Viking’s team that went undefeated in the regular season. Blue Mountain’s Kason Blood (Mountain League POY) and Brody Kingsbury (Mountain League First Team) rounded out the roster after leading Blue Mountain to a third straight Division IV state title.
