Post 206 American Legion Wins Four Straight

Great pitching wins games, but gutsy, fluid defense wins championships.

Barnstable Post 206 American Legion got off to its best start in 26 years this week by winning its first four games thanks to errorless defense in its first three, then capped things off last night with a 21-hit, 14-4 win over Rockland Post 147 at Elizabeth Lowell Park in Cotuit.

If Barnstable was looking for an answer to its offense in its first three games, it found it last night with eight players hitting in the double-figures. Alex Pernick led the way with his best performance in recent memory, a 3-4, five-RBI effort with a two-run homer and a pair of RBI doubles. WIll Toffey went 3-3 with 4 RBI, Mark Brodd went 3-4 and Terrence Mudie went 3-3 in his first-ever three-hit American Legion performance.

Mudie also called a fantastic game behind the plate, serving as battery mate to starting pitcher Conor Walsh (1-0) who turned in an outstanding first-win effort and showed his mettle by striking out two of the first three batters he faced.

While Post 206's defensive prowess faultered slightly in this affair with a handful of early errors, it mattered little as the Barnstable bats put on a veritable hitting clinic. Pernick's first-inning homer clearly sent visiting Rockland a message and the message was repeated inning after inning.

Walsh was followed with reliever Dan Holzman who allowed just one run in three solid innings of work.

Barnstable picked up its first win of the season last Friday night thanks to a complete-game, 7-inning performance from Keegan Dellacona (1-0) who routinely hit the radar guns behind the backstop at the 89-90 mph mark. Dellacona, the OCL Pitcher of the Year and a Boston Herald All-Scholastic, was offered a scholarship to the Community College of Rhode Island for his effort immediately following the game.

He struck 11 batters en route to an 8-2 win over Sandwich Post 188. Dylan Morris went 2-3 and Luke Besse provided a pair of RBI while Danny Walsh went 1-2 with two RBI.

On Saturday, Barnstable rode the complete-game pitching of Pete Liimatainen (1-0) who fanned seven batters and was the benefactor of flawless defense en route to a 6-1 win over visiting Hingham Post 120 at Lowell Park in Cotuit.

Ahead just 2-1 going into the fourth inning, Barnstable received a key leadoff hit to left-centerfield by Everett Walsh who then scored on an Alex Pernick double to make it 3-1 and then Post 206 plated three more runs before the dust settled thanks to Dylan Morris who again went 2-3 with two RBI on the day.

That was all Liimatainen needed to quell any uprising offered through the remainder of the affair.

On Father's Day, George Bent (1-0) delivered a brilliant performance on the mound, turning in a complete-game victory, 3-2, over host Hawkeye A.C. at Bridgewater State University.

Bent fanned seven and scattered five hits en route to his first-ever Legion victory. 

But it wasn't easy. Barnstable found itself in a quick, 2-0 hole in the bottom of the second inning, then turned things right around in the top of the fourth thanks to a critical leadoff hit from Everett Walsh once again. With Walsh on first, Mark Brodd then executed a perfect hit-and-run smash double to right centerfield to score Walsh all the way from first to make it 2-1. Luke Besse then stepped in and slashed an opposite-field double down the leftfield line to tie it up at 2-2.

The game-winning heroics were then reserved for the guy who always seems to get the job done as Tim Biliouris led off the seventh with a vicious single to right-center. Ryan Litchman pinch-ran for Biliouris, advanced to second base on a passed ball, then headed for third on a ground out. With two outs, the Hawkeye pitcher's next offering went awry and Litchman scored the winning run.

Mark Brodd turned in yet another superb performance in the field for Post 206.

Barnstable heads to Duxbury tonight under the lights at Chandler Field, then to Brockton on Wednesday night to face the vaunted Brockton Post 35 team.