FSK Post 11 Baseball has a chance to make club history this week.
The team — competing in the American Legion’s Mid-Atlantic Region since winning the Maryland state tournament for the first time since 1998 — could go further. Post 11 seeks first trip to American Legion World Series.
But first, he must get through at least five games and a grueling long weekend in Morgantown, West Virginia.
“We’re playing with a lot of confidence. We definitely know we’re going to have great competition,” manager Matt Myers said. “Everybody at this level has really good arms, and everybody can swing, but we’re feeling good right now.”
This includes Post 11’s first opponent.
The team opens play in the tournament opener against Pennsylvania runner-up Boyertown Post 471 at 10 a.m. Wednesday. Myers became familiar with Post 471 a decade ago as a player when he competed in the Legion.
“From what I hear, they still play the same way, a lot of small ball,” Myers said. “They don’t make mistakes and are basically healthy. … They always had a good program.”
Like the state tournament, Post 11 will lean on its depth to get through the weekend. Ryan DeSanto will start the opener again and will be limited to a maximum of 80 pitches to compete in Sunday’s championship game.
From there, it will be mixing and matching with the rest of their arms, Myers said. The team will be down at least one pitcher this weekend with Kyle Cruz involved in a family matter.
“It’s just managing. The boys all throw 30-45 steps; That way, they only have one day off,” Myers said. “We need to find men to fill [Cruz]But otherwise it is the same in rest and volume.
It’s a formula that’s been successful at the state level, and Post 11 should do it again with higher stakes. They have the opportunity to reach the national stage for the first time in North Carolina.
That journey into club history continues Wednesday.
“We’ve been at this level before and it does a lot for this program to finally get a chance to get over that hump,” Myers said. “These guys deserve it. They’ve been with the program for four or five years. They’re dedicated, so I can’t think of a better group of guys to make this happen.”