History was on the verge of being made for Class B Senior American Legion baseball teams following a new format this summer and Rolling Hills Supply Wayne Post 43 was right in the mix.
Head coach Robbie Gambe has been pleased with his team throughout this lengthy 29-game season (including the August 6 game)
*Quotes from coach Gamble were prior to the August 6 game.
With the Class B National Division State finals in Minden still to be played at the time of the printing of the Wayne Herald, Post 43 suffered a 12-3 loss to Waverly on August 6 to end their season at 25-4.
Earlier in the afternoon, Waverly eliminated Alliance by the score of 8-4.
Post 43 (25-3) saw a seven-game winning streak snapped most recently after falling 11-2 against Waverly on August 5.
"It’s a position we have been in before and I think we will bounce back just fine tomorrow (August 6)," said head Seniors coach Robbie Gamble.
The Wayne Seniors began the tourney with a 3-0 win over York on August 2, defeated Alliance 17-3 in dominant fashion on August 3 and secured a 5-2 win against Lincoln Christian on August 4.
"We have been in this position the last three years with this being our fourth trip to state in a row," Gamble added. "With that being said we know what needs to be done to get us back to Wayne to host the playoff game on Saturday (August 9)."
Leaders through four games in Minden are Jaxson Kneifl with six hits (two singles, four doubles) and Hayden Kelley who followed with five hits (four singles, one double).
Ethan Synovec has drove in the most runs at five RBI as Kaleb Moormeier added four runs batted in.
Kneifl was also leading the team with five runs scored while Kaleb Moormeier, Drew Reinhardt and Brodey Munter all crossed the plate four times.
Gavin Anderson has played a key role with two appearances earning a save in the final inning against York and also tossed a 100-pitch complete game shutout against Lincoln Christian with six combined strikeouts.
Synovec has a team-high eight strikeouts following his five and two-third inning performance against York. The other win came from Gavin Redden over Alliance.
"We were happy with the entire team as a whole," Gamble mentioned. "Ethan Synovec was in command of the zone keeping them (York) scoreless... Jaxson (Kneifl) is a great leadoff for us seeing a lot of pitches and our pitching has been dominant all year. They have commanded the zone really well down here at state and letting the defense make plays."
Waverly will next host Hickman (who won the American Division State Tournament in Auburn over Springfield/Platteview, 10-0). The Class B Senior Playoff game is slated for Saturday, August 9 from Lawson Park in Waverly at 2 p.m.
"We would love to host the playoff," said Gamble. "To be the first in class B would be really neat. We have had tons of support all year from our fans and we would like to get them one more game to play in Wayne this summer."
