Bombers take fourth at 15-16 Burlington tourney

Written by Andy Brown

Wednesday, 24 June 2009 08:00

BURLINGTON — All season, the Louisburg Bombers have been dodging the rain and thunderstorms that have led to the cancelation of three doubleheaders.

The American Legion Post 250 team fought with Mother Nature all weekend at the Burlington 15-16 Invitational, but still found a way to finish fourth overall and win the first two games of the tournament.

Louisburg opened the tournament with a 9-1 rout over the Linn County Naturals after an hour-and-a-half rain delay Saturday and were forced to play the final three games Sunday.

The Bombers took care of business against Santa Fe Trail in the semifinals. Louisburg won 12-6 in the four-inning game, but lost a close game in the semifinals to Pomona, 5-3.

Louisburg didn’t have much energy left in the third-place game. The Bombers fell to the Topeka Lugnuts 14-4 in five innings.

“The boys played outstanding baseball in the first three games of the weekend,” Bombers coach Dan Henderson said. “We played a tight defense with minimal errors. Offensively, in the first two games, it didn’t seem to matter who was on the mound, the boys just pounded the baseball all around. It was really fun to watch.”

Against Linn County, Louisburg tallied 11 hits, including a three for three performance from Adam Henderson. Henderson finished with two doubles and an RBI.

Alex Gentges finished with two hits, including a double and an RBI, and Cody Lambeth had two hits, an RBI and a stolen base. Andy Unruh went two for four with two runs scored and Christian Richards had a hit and two RBIs.

Anthony Juarez picked up the win for Louisburg after he pitched three innings, allowed no earned runs and had three strikeouts. Louisburg was ahead just 2-1 in the third, but it erupted for six runs in the inning to put the game away.

The Bombers trailed 3-0 against Santa Fe Trail early on in the second game Sunday, but scored five runs in the second and seven runs in the third. Juarez picked up his second straight win after he threw three-and-a third innings and allowed three earned runs on two hits.

Henderson went three for four to once again lead the Louisburg bats, while Gentges, Juarez, Chad Turney and Unruh all finished with two hits each.

The Bombers offense couldn’t get going until late in the semifinals. Pomona scored its five runs in the first three innings, before Louisburg added three in the final two innings.

Nick Chapman, Gentges and Henderson each had a hit in the loss.

In the third-place game, Topeka put together two big innings that Louisburg couldn’t recover from. The Lugnuts scored four in the second and seven in the fourth to run away with the win.

Juarez led the Bomber bats with two hits, while Henderson, Lambeth, Matt Locke, Richards and Turney each added a hit of their own.

Louisburg returned home Tuesday when it hosted Baldwin City. The Bombers take the field again Monday when they travel to Fort Scott.

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