Findlay Legion bats quieted, finish third at state

LANCASTER – Two strong right-handers quieted the Findlay Legion bats as the Post 3 team was shut out twice in finishing third in the 2024 American Legion Senior Division state baseball tournament.Trenton Murphy, a 6-foot-4 right-hander for Harrison's Yeager-Benson Post 199 team, limited Findlay to just three base hits over eight innings and struck out 10 in a 2-0 win over Findlay in Monday's losers bracket final.In Sunday's winners bracket final, Lancaster Post 11 right-hander Dylan Bird gave up just three hits in a complete-game 6-0 victory.Findlay got an excellent pitching performance as well in Monday's game, with Caden Fritz allowing just two hits over eight innings.Yeager-Benson broke the scoreless deadlock on a sacrifice fly by Nicholas Sedam and a passed ball in the top of the eighth inning. With the help of a double play that erased Harrett Haan after his one-out single in the bottom of the seventh, Murphy retired the last 11 Findlay batters in order.In Sunday's winners bracket final, Findlay trailed just 2-0 before Lancaster put four runs on the board in the bottom of the sixth inning. A walk and four straight singles did the damage, with Lancaster's Owen Pompey and Malachi Palmer driving in two runs each.Pompey, Palmer, Carston Deibel and Jakub Akers all had two hits for Lancaster, which scored three runs off of both Landen Stansbery and Grady Mason. Ben Best tripled for one of Findlay's three hits.Yeager-Benson, the three-time reigning state champion which Findlay beat 5-4 in the second round of the tournament, rebounded with four straight wins – including Monday's 3-0 win over Lancaster – to set up today's 9 a.m. winner-take-all showdown with Lancaster for the 2024 state title.Making its first appearance in the state Legion tournament since 2002, Findlay ended its 2024 season with a 22-10 record.MONDAY'S GAMEYeager-Benson 000 000 02—2 2 0Findlay Post 3 000 000 00—0 3 2WP—Murphy. LP—Fritz. TOP HITTERS: (Fin) Haan 2-1B. SUNDAY'S GAMEFindlay 000 000 0—0 3 1Lancaster 100 014 x—6 12 1WP—Bird. LP—Stansbery. TOP HITTERS: (Fin) Best 3B. (Lan) Pompey 2-1B, RBI; Palmer 1B, 3B, 2 RBI; Deibel 2-1B, RBI; Akers 2-1B.