Marietta infielders get under a pop-up in the infield during a district tournament game against St. Clairsville on Friday. (Photo by Mike Morrison)

BEVERLY – There are dozens and dozens of ways to lose a baseball game, but losing on a walk-off beam is one of the most heartbreaking.

That was the case Friday for Marietta Post 64, which lost 4-3 to St. Clairsville Post 159 in a championship game in the winners’ bracket of the American Legion District Tourney at Fort Frye High School.

The loss puts Marietta in the losers bracket and she will have to play an elimination match against Beverly/Lowell on Saturday afternoon.

“We fought and battled and we took the lead in the sixth set, so we had to believe we would win that match,” said Marietta head coach Chad Porter. “We let them sneak back in, and that’s the way it goes sometimes in baseball.”

After playing near-perfect defense in Thursday night’s win over Cambridge/Belle Valley, Post 64 got off to a slow start as St. Clairsville took an early 1-0 lead.

Leadoff man Aydan Murray reached on an error and ended up all the way at third base after an errant throw on a pickoff attempt at first base by Post 64 starting pitcher Cooper Laumann.

One out later, shortstop Brody Saunders threw Murray to shortstop on an infield ground out, giving St. Clairsville a 1-0 lead.

After a slow start, Laumann felt comfortable on the mound as the left-hander struck out 13 straight batters, giving the Post 64 offense some time to come to life.

Marietta finally broke through against St. Clairsville starting pitcher Sylus Hyde in the fourth inning when third baseman Logan Fling led off with a single and eventually crossed the plate when catcher Brandon Cline was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.

Post 64 took the lead for the first time in the sixth inning and again it was Fling who found themselves in the middle of the rally.

After his foul ball was misplayed down the left-field line, Fling took advantage of his second chance by doubling the ball deep into left field against the base of the fence after being beaten by Post 159 reliever Dylan Blon.

One out later, Fling scored on a fielding error, giving Post 64 the lead.

Post 64 scored another run when pinch hitter Landon Utt hit a sacrifice fly to right field.

After pitching four perfect innings in a row, Laumann ran into trouble in the sixth inning.

His streak of 13 straight at-bats was snapped when he led off Caleb Powell with a walk.

The left-handed pitcher from Marietta retired the next two batters, but shortstop Brody Saunders singled to extend the inning and bring the dangerous Peyton Blue to bat.

Blue jumped over the first pitch he saw from Laumann and hit the ball to left-center field, allowing both runners to score and tying the score at 3-3.

Blon did his job on the mound as he retired the Marietta team in order in the seventh inning, giving St. Clairsville a chance for a walk-off win.

The St. Clairsville reliever also did some damage at the plate, leading off the inning with a single.

Blon advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Hyde, who was safely at first when Laumann was unable to catch the hit.

Marietta took a big step toward escaping the threat when Laumann got pinch-hitter Coby Carver to turn a double play, putting them just one out from extra innings.

Powell stepped to the plate and had given up two strikes when the unthinkable happened at Post 64.

As Laumann began his move, Powell removed his right hand from his bat to call a timeout, but the home plate umpire refused.

That scenario seemed to confuse Laumann on the mound, as he stood on the rubber after already beginning his throwing motion and got a bar, allowing Blon to score the winning run.

Laumann was unlucky in his loss, as he allowed just four hits and two earned runs in his 6 2-3 innings.

“Cooper Laumann fought like crazy all day and played a great match,” said Porter. “We fought like crazy and I’m proud of the way our kids fought.”

Marietta has absolutely no time to lick their wounds, as they are back in action this afternoon when they take on Beverly/Lowell in an elimination match at 1:00 p.m.

“We have to bounce back… That whole situation is over and if we want our season to continue, we literally have to forget about it,” said Porter. “Our guys put our team in a position to win the game, but in the end it didn’t happen. We just have to get back on the horse tomorrow and continue our season.”

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