Legion Tourney
Held in SoRo
By Poody Walsh

Two of Vermont’s strongest American Lefion basseball teams wil spend the weekend slugging it out at Alumni field on the campus of South Royalton School.

The South Burlington Knights and the OEC (Orleans, Essex and Caledonia counties) Kings who play out of Lyndon, are both coming off divisional championships and will square off in a double elimination event that begins Friday at 4 p.m. and will continue Saturday at noon. If a third game is necessary it will start approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of Saturday’s first game.

The Knights rolled to a 12-2 win over Rutland on Sunday in the Wayne McLean Southern District championship at St. Peter’s Field in Rutland, while OEC won the Bill Hagerman Northern District championship downing S.D. Ireland in the title game played in South Royalton.

South Burlington used only four pitchers with ace Casey Harmon (full scholarship to Rice) going six innings in their Friday opener, No. 2 Owen Ozsanich tossing a complete-game, nine inning gem Saturday. Sunday starter Brandon Fay limited Rutland to two runs and two hits in five innings with Dylan McLean finishing up with two perfect innings.

The Knights garnered the American Legion state title in 2005 and went on to advance in the Northeast Regional further than any Vermont team had ever gone—within a game of winning the New England crown. Due to the fact both divisional tournament winners will advance to the Regionals (which will be held at UVM the following weekend), one as the host the tougher as the champion—the Knights will have a chance to eclipse the mark set by the 2005 team and be the first Vermotn team to earn its way to the American Legion World Series.

OEC was the fourth seed in the Hagerman Division, but never tasted defeat in three games, winning the final 6-4 over an SDI that beat them twice during the regular season.

That game had a very tense ending as OEC took its thin two-run lead into the bottom of the ninth inning then had to hold on as SDI loaded the bases on a walk to Nick Angstman, a single to right by Evan Roeser and a bunt base-hit by Whitney Mikell. However, the game ended quickly as Cody Searles hit a bounce to the wrong spot, right into the hands of OEC second baseman and tournament MVP Matt Lane, who stepped on the bag and threw to first for a game-ending double play.

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