American Legion baseball continues a long tradition

There was a time, years ago, when the summer American Legion baseball fields had parking lots full of cars and lawn chair-sitting fans two or three rows deep.

Now games are cancelled because they can’t field a team on a given night. And long-time powerhouse like French Creek Valley, which once consisted of three separate teams in legion play, couldn’t even field a squad. The few players from their region that still wanted to play joined Meadville.
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“We’re struggling now,” said Titusville American Legion coach Buck Obert. “It used to be we’d schedule our vacations in July and August because we played ball.”

Obert understands, but it does make it tough to put a team together. He also said that other sports, that at one time were more seasonal, are year round now. “Football has started already, we have three or four kids who are into football and it's their thing and it’s great, but it’s tough (to field a full team now.)

Obert isn’t lamenting. The team he has shows up and works hard. 

Titusville legion is made up of mostly Titusville kids with two Oil City players and one from Cranberry. At one time those were all separate teams.

“They are good kids, they bust their butt, they all play as a team. They might ride each other a little during games, but at the end of the game they support one another.

Titusville is 1-2 so far this season with losses to Meadville 4-3 and Edinboro 2-0. 
”Both games we could’ve won,” Obert said. A couple errors and too many left on base he cited as part of the reason.
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Add unfortunate circumstances to the list and they have come out on the short end. 

Against Edinboro and infield fly rule with the bases loaded was called late and not heard by one of Titusville’s top players. When the ball was dropped the player took off and was picked off.
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Obert said it was unfortunate but he also doesn’t like to get up in the umpires grill. “It doesn’t do any good, in fact, it usually makes it worse,” he said.

Against Meadville it was a cool gray and intermittent rain filled game that was moved from Meadville’s Eldred Glen field to Allegheny’s new artificial turf.
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Obert said he had to start five 16-year-olds and one 15-year-old because that’s all he had. 
He put Kasen Neely on the mound, who, despite smiling most of the time, struggled. He didn't give up too many runs though.

Other than an inside the park homerun that scored two in the third inning, he got out of most every predicament unscathed. The ball was nearly caught by a diving right fielder, but it ended up at the fence.
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Neeley, who the coach calls a leader who is crushing it this season so far, also scored the first run in short order in the first and had an RBI in the second. The first inning could’ve been a bigger inning for Titusville but a bases loaded rocket line drive to second culminated in a double play.

In the third inning Cameron “Camo” Mong reached first. On the bunt and run to follow, the ball popped up to the pitcher who then caught Mong off first for the double play.

“He gets that bunt down nine out ten times,” said Obert who called for the play. 

“He’s walking home,"he joked because it was his son that popped out.
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Titusville had one more chance to put the game out of reach. In the seventh, the score tied, Titusville had bases loaded with no outs. The batter, down in the count trying not to strike out, put the ball in play straight to the pitcher who threw home to get the force out preventing a run - the catcher then threw to first for the double play.

"A strike out would’ve been (less damaging,)” Obert said.
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Then a strikeout ended the inning with no runs scored and the score still tied at 3-3.
Meadville then came up and nearly the same scenario as the previous half inning, bases loaded with no outs. A short fly to right field should have been caught, then it was likely deep enough for a sacrifice fly anyway.

They lost 4-3.

“No it was coaching that lost the game. I tell the guys coaches lose the game, players win the game. I told them if I quit coming they’ll probably win the games.”
It may not be as simple as that, but Obert’s squad knows it is an all around team effort. 
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“If I have them prepared, we’ll win.”