Hartington Legion team earns State Runner-up honors
HARTINGTON — What could make the first State American Legion Baseball Tournament ever hosted by your town more memorable? Simple, play your way through the consolation bracket after a heart-breaking first-round loss to play for the state title.
Well, the Hartington Post 4 Juniors did just that, arriving in the finals here at Felber Park with a win over Pender in an elimination game 7-5 on Tuesday, July 23, to take on The Malcolm Post 354 Juniors for all the marbles.
Malcolm came into the contest unbeaten in the tournament and as the two-time defending state champion, winning titles in 2022 and 2023.
Post 4 fell in the contest to grab the runner-up plaque in the affair, but not before showing a gutsy performance before dropping the game 3-1.
“I’m so proud of these guys, they have battled all year and remained focused,” Post 4 manager Don Whitmire said. “I told these guys you just need to have yourself focused and ready to go for 18 minutes of a ball game, the rest of the game you can relax and have fun. I said if you just give me those 18 minutes you are going to put yourself in a position to play in a game like this.”
Not only did his team play in a “game like this”, they were right there to win a “game like this” as they took the Clippers to extra innings before dropping the contest in the eighth inning.
“Koby (Detlefsen) pitched a great game he really gave us our chances,” said teammate, Breiton Whitmire, the coach’s son. “He battled just like we knew he would but it’s baseball, we came up a bit short today. It wasn’t our day. They (Malcolm) are a great team and great guys, there was no chirping back and forth, just good baseball and good plays.”
It was a real picher’s duel the entire contest as both starting pitchers completed all eight innings with Hartington pitcher Koby Detlefsen scattering just six hits over his eight innings of work, allowing just one earned run while striking out three and walking just two Malcolm batters.
Unfortunately, the Clippers’ starting pitcher, Carson Frank silenced the Post 4 bats, allowing just two hits over eight innings, issued no walks and struck out a dozen.
“That Frank guy was a really good pitcher,” Breiton Whitmire said. “He kept us off balance all night and when we did hit the ball, it seemed like it was right at them.”
Frank was also a force at the plate going 2-for-4, scoring a run and knocking in one run.
Malcolm scored first in the third inning, opening the frame with a single into center field.
The Clipper base runner advanced to second on a passed ball and was bunted to third with one out after Detlefsen threw out the Malcolm batter.
A pop out to shortstop seemed to be Post 4’s ticket to keep the score 0-0, but another passed ball chased the Clippers’ runner home as Detlefsen finished off the Malcolm at bat with a strikeout.
“I knew all I had to do was throw strikes, my team was right behind me,” Detlefsen said. “It gives you a lot of confidence when you take the mound with our guys behind me. I wouldn’t want any other team back there.”
Post 4 made a defensive play to prevent another Clippers’ run in the top of the fifth.
Detlefsen plunked a Malcolm batter with one out and the batter stole second during the next at bat.
Detlefsen got the next batter to fly out to center field, but the next batter rifled a single to right fielder, Sam Wiebelhaus.
Wiebelhaus gathered in the ball and fired a strike all the way to home plate for catcher, Micah Cattau to apply the tag and end the threat.
Hartington tied the game in the fifth when Grady Haberer got on board in the Post 4 half of the inning with a single to left field.
Easton Hochstein slapped a ground ball into right field which advanced Haberer to second, but Hochstein was thrown out at first by a great play by Malcolm right fielder.
Wiebelhaus stepped to the plate and sent the first pitch he saw in the inning into left field to score Haberer and put Hartington in business 1-1.
“We have responded in big situations all year,” Coach Whitmire said. “These guys have listened to everything we’ve been telling them from day one. They just keep coming.”
Malcolm opened the sixth with a base hit but Cattau ended that threat, throwing the runner out trying to swipe second base and a strikeout and a ground ball ended the Malcolm sixth.
Both teams went down in order in the seventh and Post 4 got two outs to open the eighth on a line drive to Whitmire and fly out to Hunter Bensen in center field.
A walk and a stolen base put a runner on second and Frank helped his own cause with a single to right-center field.
Another walk and a Hartington error scored another Malcolm run but the third out of the frame was again made by Cattau at the plate on a runner trying to score during the error.
A fly out and a couple of strikeouts ended the ball game for Hartington. “Like I said, I’m so proud of these guys,” Whitmire said. “There have been times all season we could have folded up and given up, not once did we and we certainly didn’t here in this game. We’ll remember this for a long, long time.”
Malcolm Post 354 Junior Legion defeats Hartington Post 4 Junior Legion 3-1.
M00100002-360 H00001000-121 WP: Carson Frank LP: Koby Detlefsen. Hartington Post 4 Batting: Line up AB R H RBI BB SO Breiton Whitmire 3 0 0 0 0 2 Bodie Hochstein 3 0 0 0 0 2 Hunter Bensen 3 0 0 0 0 0 Koby Detelfsen 3 0 0 0 0 3 Grady Haberer 3 1 1 0 0 1 Easton Hochstein 3 0 0 0 0 2 Sam Wiebelhaus 3 0 1 1 0 0 Keyton Arens 3 0 0 0 0 2 Maverick Heine 2 0 0 0 0 0 TEAM 26 1 2 1 0 12