Vienna Post 180 Takes District 17 Title

Vienna Post 180 captured the American Legion Baseball District 17 crown for the first time since 2007 with a 4-1 victory over the two-time defending champions Springfield Post 176 on Thursday at Waters Field.

Post 180 tallied its first run in the first inning on an error while fielding a bunt from Mason Hauser. Henry Brandmark, who reached on a double to lead off the game, scored on a throw meant to catch him at third but instead soared into left field. 

Post 176 tied the game in the third inning, and the scored remained 1-1 until Hauser scored the game-winner after Dennis Cooney was hit by a pitch with bases loaded in the fifth.

Post 180 scored one more in the fifth on a bases loaded walk to Brandon Chandler and another in the eighth on a sacrifice fly from Chris Hanson to put the final score at 4-1.

"[Post 176 pitcher Mike Simko] had a lot of pitches," said Hauser (.310 BA), who had three of Post 180's 10 total hits Thursday. "I got lucky and hit the pitches I liked early in the count because if you get behind, he'll nail you."

Starter Gavin Gibbons (2.35 ERA) notched the win for Post 180 with seven strikeouts over five innings, giving up three hits and one unearned run. Brandmark (0.83 ERA) closed, tallying six strikeouts in his four innings of work. 

Though happy to earn Post 180's first district title since 2007, Coach Frank Werman noted the two errors and handful of mental mistakes his team committed. 

"I like to be aggressive, so part of it was me. I made a couple bad calls," Werman said. "But I also think the guys were a little nervous, which is to be expected for the championship game." 

Regardless of Thursday's mistakes, the team continues to have confidence in their abilities to pull out wins no matter the circumstances.

"When stuff goes down that's not routine, you really can't practice those things. You just have to go with your baseball instincts, which is what Coach tells us," Hauser said.

Post 180 advances to the Virginia American Legion Baseball Tournament in Stafford next week. They will first face tournament host Stafford Post 290 on Tuesday night.

"I feel really, really good about this team," Werman said. "It's a great group of guys, and I think we can go far in the state tournament next week. It should be a lot of fun."