Sports

Fairfax Post 177 Falls to Vienna in District Tournament

Final score: 11-4

Fairfax Post 177 started the American Legion Baseball's 17th District tournament with a 11-4 loss to Vienna Post 180.

Post 180's Gavin Gibbons earned the win after he allowed two hits and three runs, struck out seven and pitched 5 2/3 innings. Gibbons kept Post 177 hitless and scoreless through three innings.

"Mainly I was just trying to get ahead with my fastball. [Catcher] Chris [Hanson] was basically calling every pitch that I wanted to throw. I was trying to throw strikes and let my defense work behind me and they did a great job," Gibbons said. "In the beginning the plan was to establish the fastball and then later in the lineup throw more offspeed breaking balls, so that's what we did."

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In relief, John Beck gave up one run and one hit to Post 177 in 3 1/3 innings. Beck struck out seven.

Though Jared Knoll — Post 177's starting pitcher and Flint Hill graduate — started the game strong with three straight strikeouts in the first inning, Post 180 quickly caught up to his fastball to jump ahead 3-0 in the bottom of the second.

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Knoll allowed six hits and five runs, and struck out seven in six innings of work.

Justin Padgett led off the second inning with a double to right field, and Mario Pomponio followed with an RBI single. After a sacrifice bunt and fielding error moved Pomponio to third base, a sacrifice bunt from Jay Kenyon scored Pomponio. Brandon Chandler's double to right field scored Dennis Cooney.

Eli Facenda scored on a wild pitch in the third inning to put Post 180 up 4-0 heading into the fourth inning.

Post 177 reclaimed three of those runs by the seventh inning. Joey Priftis hit an RBI single in both the fourth and sixth innings to score two runs. Post 177 also scored on a wild pitch in the sixth inning.

Mason Hauser responded in the bottom of the sixth with an RBI single of his own to drive in the game-winning run. Then Post 180 piled on six more runs in the seventh and eighth innings, while Post 177 plated one in the eighth, leaving a final score of 11-4.

"We have a really good team offensively," Werman said. "We have a lot of kids on this team who know how to win. They stay in the game with that mentality. It'll help us down the road."

No. 4 Post 177 will continue in the double-elimination tournament with a game against No. 6 Alexandria Post 24 at 7 p.m. today at Oakton High.

Post 180, the No. 2 seed, will face Springfield Post 176, the tournament's No. 1 seed, at 7 p.m. today at Lee High School.

Game statistics:

Fairfax Post 177

Hits: Bobby Bray (single), Joey Priftis (single), Matthew Spaulding (single)
RBI: Priftis (2)

Vienna Post 180

Hits: Justin Padgett (double), Mario Pomponio (single), Brandon Chandler (double, single), Joe Corrigan (single, double), Dennis Cooney (double) Mason Hauser (double), Chris Hanson (single), Jay Kenyon (single)
RBI: Pomponio (1), Jay Kenyon (2), Hauser (1) Chandler (1), Corrigan (2)


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