Posted: 6/19/02

Legion team off to 3-0 start

Strong pitching, good defense, and timely hitting has the American Legion Baseball team off to a perfect start. The summer season started last week, and after three games, Post 225 earned three wins.

Monday, June 10, marked the season opener for the Forest Lake. Led by coach, Todd Poepard, the 16-man squad of high school students travelled to Mahtomedi to soundly win 7-2. After falling behind early 2-1, Forest Lake loaded the bases in the top of the third inning. A sacrifice fly by Karl Young, and singles by Joe Lawrence and Lance Overson leaped the Rangers to a three run lead, 5-2.

After scoring two more runs later in the game, Young and teammate Alex Johnson outpitched Mahtomedi, as the Rangers won 7-2. Young went six innings, allowed six hits, two earned runs, five walks, and managed two strikeouts. Johnson earned the save.

A sensational pitching performance by Luke Hagman antagonized Hastings, as the Rangers won their home opener 3-0 on Wednesday, June 12.

Hagman went the distance by pitching seven innings allowing three hits, zero runs, zero walks, and collecting six strikeouts. With runners in scoring position in the first, fourth, and fifth innings, timely RBI singles combined for the victory.

The last game of the week was Thursday, June 13, and for the third game in a row, a different leader stepped forward to lead Post 225 to a 5-2 victory against St. Paul Park.

Chris Parent, pitcher/outfielder, pitched a complete game, allowing only four hits, zero earned runs, two walks, and posted 7 strikeouts.

An exciting second inning gave Forest Lake an early 4-0 advantage. St. Paul Park would climb back within 4-2. until the seventh inning, when Forest Lake loaded the bases yet, and senior Joe Lawrence extended the lead to 5-2. After collecting three more outs, the Rangers improved their record to 3-0.

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