Milton Legion Stays Alive in Baseball Post-Season

Milton Legion Post 114 lived to fight another day in its first round tournament series against Norwood Post 70 with a 5-3 victory on Thursday at .

Willie Archibald wiggled out of some seventh-inning trouble to strike out seven in a complete-game effort, and went 2-for-3 with two RBI to set up an elimination game on Friday night in Norwood.

“I wanted to feel like I’m a leader and I’ve got to lead this team on,” Archibald, one of the elder statesman on Milton, said. “I definitely know that it was a full team effort and there were plenty of other guys that contributed to this.”

The Milton bats were scuffling against Norwood’s right-handed starter James Bussiere — who squeezed his way out of a one-out, bases loaded jam in the bottom of the fourth — through the first four innings.

But Milton’s offense awoke from its game-and-a-half slumber in the fifth.

Archibald scalded a ball just inside the third base bag with runners on first and third to knot things up at 2-2 with one down in the bottom of the fifth. Kevin Lamere walked to load the bases after Norwood recorded the second out of the inning, and Derek Curley delivered with a two-run single to push the lead to 4-2.

Terry Walsh knocked in Lamere with a single through the right side but Curley was gunned down at the plate, thanks to a great block at the plate by Brandon Davis to keep the lead at 5-2.

Archibald ran into a little bit of trouble trying to close the game out in the top of the seventh. Davis singled to begin the inning, but the pinch-runner was forced out at second on a fielder’s choice. P.J. King hit a sacrifice fly to left field to plate Anthony Pariello and Norwood would again load the bases after a P.J. King walk.

Sean Keady, arguably the hottest hitter of the series, came up and grounded out on a 6-4 force out to end the threat.

“It was not focusing, lack of concentration, all of the bad things,” Archibald said of the final inning. “Finally, I got to it and threw what I had to throw.”

The game is a far cry from the lopsided loss Milton was faced with on , and the complete team effort was a welcome sight to head coach Pat Collins.

“I’ve been waiting all year,” he said. “We’ve been waiting to play a full baseball game from the first through seventh inning and we finally did tonight. It was good to see.”

The two teams will lock up on Friday night in Norwood at 7:30 p.m. for a chance to advance to the second round.