Montpelier Post 3
Out of Play-offs
By Cody Montgomery

Trevor Webster of American Legion Post 51 dives back into first base ahead of the throw to Eli Sherman of Post 3, based in Montpelier. (Herald / Tim Calabro)

Montpelier’s American Legion Post #3 baseball team ended the season with wins via the 10-run rule against South Royalton, 11-0, and Franklin, 15-3. They lost at Essex, 7-6, in the last game of the season.

South Royalton

Montpelier played South Royalton last Thursday, and won against a young Post 51 team, 11-0, in five innings.

Josh Gray (U-32) made his first pitching performance of the year, and pitched well, getting nine strikeouts while giving up only four hits.

Montpelier scored its first two runs in the second, after Eli Sherman knocked Thomas Jacobs in with a single. Zach Leblanc scored on a wild pitch, after hitting a single.

South Royalton’s Jack Howe stroked a double to right center, and stole third, but Post 51 was unable to score the runner. Post 3 added a run in the third after Tim Grandy singled, then made his way around the bases, and then eventually scored on a wild pitch.

The bottom of the fourth inning is where Montpelier put the hurt on Post 51. Post 3 scored two after Sherman led off with a double, and a couple walks and an infield hit led to two runs. After a pitching change, Mike Czok hit a bases-loaded triple, and Jacobs and Sherman followed Czok with consecutive triples of their own. After Colin Arisman hit a liner to center to plate Sherman, Montpelier led 11-0.

Post 3’s Gray struck out the first batter, got Jordan White to fly out to first, and threw Howe out with a groundball to second to end the game. Howe went two-for-three with a double for Post 51.

Franklin

Montpelier manhandled Franklin County at home Saturday, defeating them 15-3 in seven innings. Post 3 had 11 hits in the contest.

Franklin struck first with one in the first, but Jacobs launched one over the left field fence in the second to tie it back up.

Montpelier came back with six more runs in the third inning. Austin Parker led off with a double, and came in off a Grandy triple hit about 400 feet to dead center. Czok and Jacobs hit singles, and Sherman pounded another triple to plate both of them.

Four singles led to four more runs for Post 3 in the fourth frame. Czok and Jacobs singled, then Sherman hit a liner to right field to score Czok. Cody Montgomery hit a single to right to score Jacobs and Sherman, while another run scored on an error.

In the sixth, after Franklin walked the bases loaded, Czok unloaded them with a homer over the left field fence, giving Montpelier a 15-2 advantage.

Grandy pitched five innings for Montpelier, in the last Legion pitching performance of his career. He had four strikeouts, gave up six hits and only two runs. Grandy had a great career with Montpelier Post 3 and the team wishes him luck with baseball at Virginia Commonwealth, where he will be a sophomore.

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