Rough Start For JeffCo Barnstormers in SLABA Baseball Playoffs

HAZELWOOD—Given their starting lineup, Jefferson County Barnstormers coach Brian Garner says “it’s no wonder” that the American West Eagles won the SLABA League 18U championship this summer.

The Eagles, which feature several players from Francis Howell North in St. Peters, can use a Murderer’s Row-type of lineup every game, including seven players batting .300 or better with on-base percentages of at least .400 this summer.

“It’s no accident they did what they did in conference this year,” Garner said. “(Eagles coach Mike Buda) is one heck of a coach, and they’ve got a bunch of guys that can really swing it.”

Indeed they do. The Eagles showed off how well they can swing it on Thursday night, smacking 17 hits in a 12-3 win over the Barnstormers in the opening game of the PONY League Zone Playoffs at the Hazelwood Sports Complex.

“You’ve just got to tip your cap to Mike, and tip your cap to that whole lineup,” Garner said. “They must’ve hit four or five balls that found that hole between short and third.”

Several of those seeing-eye singles came in the decisive fourth inning, when American West sent 12 men to the plate and scored seven runs against Jefferson County on eight hits, a walk and a sacrifice fly.

That rally came on the heels of a two-run Barnstormers top of the fourth, which tied the game at 3.

2010 Hillsboro High grad Bryar Langley, who recently signed a letter of intent to play collegiately at Maple Woods Community College in Kansas City, blasted his first home run of the summer to spark the rally for Jefferson County.

2011 St. Pius X grad Will Basler tied the score with an RBI double, but the tie proved short-lived as American West blew the game open in the bottom half.

“We got off to a great start,” Garner said. “Then they went ahead, and we came back. I was thinking ‘OK, OK, we’re in this.’ But Mike’s got a really talented team. Every time you play them, you know it’s going to be a ballgame. And it kind of got out of hand for us in that one inning.”

Jefferson County got its other run in the top of the first when Hillsboro grad Tyler Smreker led off the game with a hit, advanced to second on a hit by teammate Cody Russell and then scored from second on a wild pickoff throw by Eagles catcher Mike Wilson.

“The only thing that bothers me about today is we were averaging about nine runs a game all season long,” Garner said. “Then we come out today and only score three. That’s disappointing.”

The Barnstormers will get the chance to redeem themselves on Friday evening, when they’ll play Game 2 of the PONY League Zone playoffs against the PONY League Michigan Region champions, the Central Michigan Stars.

That game is scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. first pitch, and will follow the day’s first contest which will start at 3 p.m. That will feature American West against a team of PONY League all-stars from Chicago.

Langley, who was signed as a pitcher by Maple Woods CC, is slated to get the start on the mound for the Barnstormers.