FARMINGTON — With 10 American Legion games slated for next week, Rogers Post 153 coach Dave Jordan was forced to shuffle his pitchers and the batting order against the Franklin Flyers under the lights at Hippach Field on Thursday night.
Jordan wanted a majority of his players to see action to prepare for an American Legion baseball marathon as well as the postseason.
The coach’s chess game allowed Rogers (6-3) to come away with a 6-2 victory over stubborn Franklin (4-8).
“We have a lot of games coming up, and one, we are trying to get as many games in as we can, with weather and everything like that,” Jordan said. “We have a very good team. I am pleased with one through 14 that was here today. They are good ballplayers.
“Our guys were completely unselfish — people coming in and out of the game doing their roles. My thought was everybody improved today. I thought when it was crunch time, I thought our guys were able to make some plays. I thought we came up with some good hits. Some of them were with two outs.”
Jarod Norcross Plourde started on the mound for Rogers, Ethan Brown filled in the middle of the game and hard-throwing Gavin Bates mopped up to earn the save. Brown got the win after coming in in the third inning with one out with Rogers ahead 3-2.
Rogers Post erupted with three runs in the first inning. Austin Brown singled, Norcross Plourde got on with an error and first baseman Grant Hartley walked to load the bases with no outs. Brown scored on outfielder Tyler Blanchette’s hit and Norcross Plourde got home on Mason Brushwein’s walk. Second baseman Jake Arel got on with an error at shortstop, scoring Hartley.
In the bottom half of the first, Franklin scored when Ethan Andrews got on with error and moved to third base on Ryan Pratt’s single. Andrews came home on Austin Gilboe’s sacrifice.
Franklin was still on the move in the third inning and closed in on Rogers Post with another run. The Flyers loaded the bases after Sean Testa got on with a walk. Testa scored when Nate Goodine walked to make it a 3-2 game.
But Brown’s and Bates’ pitching over the next four innings put the kibosh on the Flyers.
Rogers collected two runs in the fourth inning when Gawain Tibbetts walked and moved all the way to third base on a hits by Austin Cox and Brown. Tibbetts and Cox eventually scored on wild pitches to give Rogers a 5-2 lead in the fourth inning.
In the fifth inning, Rogers demonstrated their defensive skill when outfielder Tyler Libby threw out Ethan Andrews out at home plate as catcher Ian Brushwein didn’t give an inch at the plate.
Ian Brushwein was also responsible for Rogers Post’s sixth run in the seventh hitting. He smashed a one-run double, scoring Grant Hartley.
Franklin’s Austin Gilboe got the loss on the mound after Corey Rogers came in relief in the fifth inning.
Rogers Post held its breath when Bates got himself in a jam in the sixth inning after loading the bases. But it didn’t rattle him. He struck out the next three batters.
For the evening, Rogers Post hammered out six hits but also made four errors.
“All those kids throw well,” Franklin coach Kyle Gunzinger said. “I thought we had our chances.
“I say this to kids fairly frequently: We set the table quiet frequently and forget to eat. But they are getting better and we will work on it. That’s a great baseball team and a great set of kids.”
Rogers Post 153’s Austin Cox gets ready to slide into second base as Franklin second baseman Ryan Pratt looks to throw to first to turn a double play in the during an American Legion baseball game Thursday night at Hippach Field in Farmington.
Rogers Post 153’s Jarod Norcross-Plourde slides into second base as Franklin short stop Alex Philbrick waits for the throw during an American Legion baseball game Thursday night at Hippach Field in Farmington.
Franklin’s Sean Testa keeps an eye on Rogers Post 153 pitcher Ethan Brown from third base during an American Legion baseball game Thursday night at Hippach Field in Farmington.
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