​TILTON — With the Senior Division Tournament looming next week, Tuesday’s matchup between the Post 210 Speakers and Terre Haute’s Wayne Newton Post 346 played out like a preview of what’s to come. The Speakers surged to a 5-0 lead thanks to timely hitting and a few misplays in the field, but Terre Haute seized on similar opportunities to knot the score in the third inning, push across a run in both the fifth and sixth frames, and ultimately pull out a 7-5 victory.
“You never go into a game hoping to lose, but I don’t feel like either side was going all out,” Post 210 coach Brent Hart said. “Somebody had to win, but I don’t think either team was playing full bore because we’re focused on staying healthy.” The Speakers began with a fast start, plating three runs in the first inning, highlighted by a two-run single from Ben Johnson. Johnson had been amid a slump that affected much of the lower half of the lineup, and his timely hit broke the skid.
“It felt like we were working the counts and taking bases when needed, and we were coming through when it counted,” Johnson said. “I was slumping a bit, but I’m finally starting to snap out of it. I missed the first two fastballs, then he threw a curveball that hung, and I took a swing at it.” Hart added that Johnson “swung it well for a nice two-out run single,” though he noted some internal lineup issues had briefly pulled Johnson out of the lineup, and Hart wished he could have had him in there more.
In the second inning, Bryson Houchens contributed with a sacrifice fly that brought in a run, and Cruz Dubois scored on an error when a throw to get Matt Darling at first was mishandled, extending the Speakers’ lead. With a five-run cushion in hand, it appeared the early momentum could carry them to a decisive win, but Terre Haute regrouped under the guidance of starter Pedro Rangel V and began its counterattack.
Terre Haute’s first run came on a wild pitch, and Rangel’s control briefly deserted him as he walked four in the inning, leading to his removal in favor of Cam Harris. The visitors drew closer as they tied the game with a fielder’s choice later in the inning. Hart did not mince words about the early control issues, saying, “We can’t walk four batters in an inning. Fivey was pitching well for two innings, and then the walk problem resurfaced. I didn’t have an explanation for why it happened, and we didn’t expect Harris to be in the game, but we used him out of the bullpen and brought Easton Barney in later.”
Hart also noted that Terre Haute’s approach kept them in the game: “They’re a team that will make you play if you don’t hit.” After giving up a run on a sacrifice fly in the fifth, Terre Haute’s lineup found enough offense to seize the lead and shut down the Speakers’ offense in the later innings, as four different Terre Haute pitchers limited the Speakers to no further scoring.
Harris allowed only one hit over 1 2/3 innings, and Barney went three innings, surrendering a run in the fifth on a sacrifice fly and another in the sixth on a balk. Hart called the balk “one of those things,” explaining that Barney’s first time pitching for the club meant a hiccup here or there, compounded by a planned pick play that didn’t come off as intended.
Overall, the Speakers were unable to answer Terre Haute’s late surge, with Terre Haute using a combination of timely hitting and disciplined pitching to close out the win. As the teams prepare for the upcoming Senior Division Tournament, both sides will be looking to fine-tune their lineups and sharpen their approaches at the plate, knowing that every at-bat and every defensive play matters more than ever at this juncture.