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Tonight could be it for Hannibal Legion Post 55.
The Hannibal Legion Post 55 baseball team is in the district tournament right now and is one loss away from elimination. The team plays against Memphis tonight, with the loser going home.
The district tournament is a double-elimination style tournament. The two teams that lost play each other and the two teams that won play each other, with the winner of the losers matchup playing the loser of the winners matchup. The 55s lost to Moberly 16-3 to open the event while Memphis lost to Chillicothe.
55s manager Randy Trenhaile said the team has fared well against Memphis all season.
“We have won every game we’ve played against them,” Trenhaile said. “The boys like their chances.”
Hannibal entered tournament play 9-23 on the season.
While the record might not seem impressive, Hannibal finished the season on a five-game winning streak.
“The team came together and we had everybody that we needed there,” Trenhaile said. “We started scoring some runs and had some good pitching during that time as well.”
During the season, Trenhaile said a problem the team faced frequently was being short on players.
Trenhaile said the offense showed up in a big way during the team’s winning streak.
“That’s something we had been struggling with,” the skipper said. “We put up quite a few runs. We played a double-header against Wentzville. We won that first game 5-1 and then had a big offensive game in the second one but we came out on top 14-11.”
“Follow that back up last Friday night with two games against Memphis. We won the first game 13-1. The second game was a thriller, we won in the bottom of the seventh inning 8-7. We were actually behind 7-6 and came back to win it,” Trenhaile added.
The manager said his starting pitchers were very effective during the winning streak.
“I’ve come down to a five-man rotation,” Trenhaile said. “Luke Powell, Blake Thomure, Steffen Simmons, Paul Trenhaile and Troy Tallman have really been our key pitchers.”
The manager pointed out one pitcher that has really stood out among them.
“Blake, he’s the one on the team who is actually a year older,” the skipper said. “He’s been in college for a whole year and he’s really stepped up in a big way and has really done well pitching.”
Thomure is a graduate of Mark Twain High School.
Even before the five-game winning streak started, Trenhaile said the team showed signs of improvement.
“We were playing down in a wood-bat tournament in Elsberry,” Trenhaile said. “We didn’t win a game in the whole tournament but we played some close games. We lost to Rawlings Prospect, that’s an elite team out of St. Louis 6-5. We lost another game in extra innings. We were showing signs of life during that weekend.”
The skipper said the good play as of late has been beneficial.
“It was definitely a boost,” Trenhaile said. “I think the boys are confident for tomorrow night and we either win or our season ends.”
The 55s go up against Memphis tonight at 8:30 p.m. at the Howard Hils Athletic Complex in Moberly.
Tonight could be it for Hannibal Legion Post 55.
The Hannibal Legion Post 55 baseball team is in the district tournament right now and is one loss away from elimination. The team plays against Memphis tonight, with the loser going home.
The district tournament is a double-elimination style tournament. The two teams that lost play each other and the two teams that won play each other, with the winner of the losers matchup playing the loser of the winners matchup. The 55s lost to Moberly 16-3 to open the event while Memphis lost to Chillicothe.
55s manager Randy Trenhaile said the team has fared well against Memphis all season.
“We have won every game we’ve played against them,” Trenhaile said. “The boys like their chances.”
Hannibal entered tournament play 9-23 on the season.
While the record might not seem impressive, Hannibal finished the season on a five-game winning streak.
“The team came together and we had everybody that we needed there,” Trenhaile said. “We started scoring some runs and had some good pitching during that time as well.”
During the season, Trenhaile said a problem the team faced frequently was being short on players.
Trenhaile said the offense showed up in a big way during the team’s winning streak.
“That’s something we had been struggling with,” the skipper said. “We put up quite a few runs. We played a double-header against Wentzville. We won that first game 5-1 and then had a big offensive game in the second one but we came out on top 14-11.”
“Follow that back up last Friday night with two games against Memphis. We won the first game 13-1. The second game was a thriller, we won in the bottom of the seventh inning 8-7. We were actually behind 7-6 and came back to win it,” Trenhaile added.
The manager said his starting pitchers were very effective during the winning streak.
“I’ve come down to a five-man rotation,” Trenhaile said. “Luke Powell, Blake Thomure, Steffen Simmons, Paul Trenhaile and Troy Tallman have really been our key pitchers.”
The manager pointed out one pitcher that has really stood out among them.
“Blake, he’s the one on the team who is actually a year older,” the skipper said. “He’s been in college for a whole year and he’s really stepped up in a big way and has really done well pitching.”
Thomure is a graduate of Mark Twain High School.
Even before the five-game winning streak started, Trenhaile said the team showed signs of improvement.
“We were playing down in a wood-bat tournament in Elsberry,” Trenhaile said. “We didn’t win a game in the whole tournament but we played some close games. We lost to Rawlings Prospect, that’s an elite team out of St. Louis 6-5. We lost another game in extra innings. We were showing signs of life during that weekend.”
The skipper said the good play as of late has been beneficial.
“It was definitely a boost,” Trenhaile said. “I think the boys are confident for tomorrow night and we either win or our season ends.”
The 55s go up against Memphis tonight at 8:30 p.m. at the Howard Hils Athletic Complex in Moberly.
