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ALTON – Baseball can be a tough game at times. There are times when things just don't go a team's way.
Ask the Metro East Bears, who had some big plays to stay in their winner's bracket game against Madison, Wis., but also were the victims of some big plays as well and wound up falling 4-0 Thursday night in the 2015 American Legion Great Lakes Regional baseball tournament at Gordon Moore Park/Lloyd Hopkins Field.
The loss dropped the Bears into the loser's bracket, where they will take on Plover, Wis., at 4 p.m. Friday in an elimination game. A win would advance them into a game Saturday afternoon; the final is set for Sunday, with the winner moving on to the American Legion World Series next week in Shelby, N.C. Metro East had moved into the late game with a 5-2 rain-delayed Thursday morning win over Rockport, Ind., at GCS Ballpark in Sauget
“We were hitting the ball hard, we just couldn't put together the hits when we needed them,” said Bears manager Ken Schaake. “They were making plays too and there were a couple of plays we didn't make that hurt us.
“That's baseball; it can be a tough game at times. We kept coming after them and played hard, we just didn't hit enough.”
A three-run opening inning by Madison played a big role, and it started when a Chad Herbst fly ball to center was misplayed by Bear outfielder Mitchell Krebs, who seemed to misread the hard-hit ball and had to give chase into center to run it down. The misplay scored Sam Schwenn to put Madison up 1-0.
“We just misplayed the ball,” Schaake said. “We played well most of the way, we just couldn't get a key hit.”
Madison scored twice more off Bear starting pitcher Ben Cusac in the first, Herbst scoring on a Andrew Pilner single and then Pilner scoring on a bases-loaded walk to Mike Brekke. Madison pitcher Tyler Fischer then went to work, using mostly fastballs to keep the Bears at bay; he wound up recording six strikeouts while giving up six hits.
“My fastball was working pretty well,” Fischer said, “and I know I've got the defense who can make plays behind me too. It's a good confidence boost knowing you have guys who can make the plays behind me.”
Madison's other run came in the fourth on a Herbst single that brought in Kirn O'Brien, and Fischer did the rest, allowing more than one runner on base only once, in the seventh when the Bears tried to make a run at Madison, but had the rally cut short on a double play.
In other games Thursday, Plover eliminated Paducah, Ky., 6-5 when the Black Sox scored three times in the bottom of the ninth; Troy, Ohio, eliminated Rockport 2-1; and Midland, Mich., relegated Elgin, Ill., to the loser's bracket 5-1.
Friday's games begin at 10 a.m. when Troy meets Elgin in an elimination game, while Madison takes on Midland at 7 p.m. for a spot in the final. All games will be played at Lloyd Hopkins Field. Two games are set for 4 and 7 p.m. Saturday, with the final scheduled for 4 p.m. Sunday; a second game, if needed, would be played at 7 p.m.
“We're facing some adversity now,” Schaake said, “It's one and out from here on, but we've gone through this route before. We'll be fine.”
