TERRE HAUTE — The little things make all the difference in the world when it comes to big games, and a couple little things turned a scoreless first six innings into an 8-0 loss for Post 72 to South Haven in the first round of the Legion State Tournament.
Jarrod Kirsch from Post 72 and Jake Mish from South Haven had a scoreless pitchers duel going through six innings.
Then the seventh inning happened.
South Haven used seven hits and two walks to score eight runs, sending a dozen batters to the plate. They also took advantage of a defensive miscommunication that turned an out into one of those hits, which might have gotten the squad out of the mess it was getting into.
“Baseball is all about the little things,” Post 72 coach Kyle Proctor said. “We have a couple little lapses in the field, and then we couldn’t string any hits together.”
Offensively, there was nothing to be found for Post 72 against Mish.
After throwing a complete-game loss to Crawfordsville in the Post 72 invitational, the UTEP-bound hockey player allowed only two hits, walked only one and struck out seven. Post 72 didn’t get a runner to third base at all.
The loss sends Post 72 into the losers bracket of the tournament. They will take on Lafayette Post 11 on Saturday, July 27, with first pitch scheduled for 11 a.m.
It should be noted that Lafayette won the tournament last year going through the losers bracket.
Post 72 defeated Lafayette last Sunday in the Regional final and is 2-0 against them this season.
