By Anvil Welch
Globe Sports Writer
CARTHAGE, Mo. —
Festus Post 253, Carthage’s opponent in the first round of the Missouri American Legion AAA baseball finals, shapes up as a formidable adversary.
Carthage (31-10) and defending champion Festus (24-3) are scheduled to clash at 8:30 on Thursday night at Liberty Park in Sedalia.
Festus, according to its veteran coach Pat Bone, returns six players and five, in his words, “were mainstays last season.”
That edition finished 40-6 and was 1-2 in the Legion World Series at Fargo, N.D.
Festus, in fact, beat Pittsburg Post 64 twice in regional play at Minnetonka, Minn., to advance to Fargo.
“Coach Mike Watt’s ballclub gave us everything we could handle,” Coach Bone said of last season.
“It isn’t fair to compare teams such as last year and those that come after them,” Bone said Tuesday. “These (current) kids have played their tails off. They want to walk in their own shoes.”
Bone, 51, is project manager for Dura-Seal & Stripe of Barnhart, Mo. He’s assisted by son Zac and Matt Buechting. Post 253 is making its fifth state appearance in seven years.
Returnees from last season include catcher Logan Bone, another son, and center fielder Brendon Neel. Each player has started for three years and each is headed for Jefferson College of Hillsboro, Mo.
“Brendon, who was 5-for-5 in our second game in the zone last weekend, steals a lot of bases and patrols center very well,” the elder Bone said.
Assistant Zac Bone also was a catcher and has helped his brother progress, Pat Bone said.
“Logan handles his own game (calling pitches),” the elder Bone said. “The pitchers like his work and rarely disagree. Logan, an intelligent player, loves the game.”
Pitcher Travis Hayes, third baseman-pitcher Ryan Yuengel, right fielder Owen Conway, an Indiana State signee, and first baseman Michael Sides complete the six.
“Michael (Sides), a power hitter, won’t play this week because of a medical problem,” Pat Bone said.
“Travis (Hayes), a right-hander and our No. 2 pitcher last summer, missed a couple of weeks (as his Crystal City teammates were winning Class 2) and three weeks of our season because doctors were afraid he had a torn labrum,” Bone said. “He was OK, however, and now he comes out of the bullpen. We’ll probably leave him in that role.
“Travis, another Jefferson College signee, had two wins in our Zone III Tournament (at Cape Girardeau),” Bone said. “He had two saves and a win in our district.
“Ryan (Yuengel) was the winning pitcher in the zone championship game,” Bone said. “He’s close to being a five-tool player and has signed with St. Louis Community College-Meramec.
“Our zone tournament was the second toughest in my 21 years,” Bone said. “I believe the 1996 zone — my first state championship team — had more talent.”
Bone indicated that Yuengel or left-hander Alex Winkelman, who’ll be a junior at Crystal City, will open on the mound against Carthage.
“There’s pressure for us, though,” Bone said of the scenario/challenge confronting foes of Post 253. “We relish it. But there’s a bull’s-eye on our backs.”
