By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
PORTLAND, Ore.– The past few years, since snapping their playoff drought back in 2022, the Post 58 Crushers have came so close to winning an American Legion Triple-A State Tournament Game.
After years of coming so close to winning an American Legion Triple-A State Playoffs, they finally have as they have gotten over the hump and got their first State Tournament victory since 2013.
From the start in their 4-1 victory over the Roseburg Doc Stewart’s in the elimination game at the University of Portland, the Crushers brought the energy. The defense backed Cascade’s Slade Hudson, who went the distance, maxing out on his pitch count to ensure that the Crusher season continued beyond Sunday. The offense clutched up. Runs driven in by Colton Connally (Stayton), Colson Swartz (Silverton), and Owen Zerr (Sprague) helped the Crushers build the lead. Sawyer Enderle (Silverton) took home on a pass ball to score a run as well as Post 58 built up a 4-0 lead going into the fifth inning.
“That game was electric. We needed that one to move on. I feel like with this team, when we’re on, we’re really good, and we showed that today. Real good,” said Hudson. “I was watching them get all the clutch hits and I was all pumped up, everyone was pumped up, we were getting loud in the dugout for our team and picking everyone up, it was awesome.
All season long, they’ve shown with their backs against the wall that they won’t back down. Late game rallies and elimination games, they just keep grinding.
And though fatigue was beginning to sink in for Hudson over the course of the final three innings, Roseburg broke the shutout in the fifth with a Paxton Burke single and the Doc Stewart’s set up a good opportunity to score runs in the sixth, the Crushers held strong. Post 58 held Roseburg to that Burke single and allowed only four hits in the game.
“He was throwing great. We’ve struggled with some games in the past, and we wanted to make it our challenge to step it up defensively and clean it up behind him and get him the win,” said Swartz.
“It was important for me to stay focused, I knew that they were going to make plays, but I just wanted to attack them early in the count and get them out,” adds Hudson. “I knew I could go out there, and they got my back.”
Now one of the Top 6 teams remaining in the State Tournament, the Post 58 squad will await the loser of the Corvallis-Portland Barbers game on Monday. The first pitch is at 4 pm at the University of Portland with a chance to be one of four teams left in the Tournament.
“We just got to stay focused and keep the energy up with the whole team throughout the whole game,” said Hudson, who struck out seven in the win.
Swartz led the squad with a 3-for-3 day at the plate as the Crushers collected eight hits in the victory.
Photos By Jeremy McDonald
