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Sports

Controversial Call Costs American National in 6-5 Loss to the Blazers

Coaches, parents and fans alike were still discussing the controversial play well after game ended.

ARNOLD – For all the things sportsfans argue about, which is just about everything, the one thing they all seem to agree on is no one wants a game to be decided by a referee or umpire’s call.

Even if the questionable call works out in their team’s favor, most fans would still prefer that all games be decided by the players on the field.

Unfortunately, things didn’t work out quite that way in an important St. Louis Amateur Baseball Association (SLABA) League game Tuesday night at Fox Senior High. The American National Eagles took on the Jefferson County Blazers.

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And it was because of that controversial play, which cost American National an important run, that Jefferson County was able to escape with a 6-5 win.

“You can’t be upset,” American National head coach Bill Becher said. “It’s just one of those things that didn’t go our way.”

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The play in question came with one out in the top of the fourth inning. Jefferson County lead 6-4.

American National managed to load the bases against Blazers starter Tylar Blankenship, with the team's two best hitters this summer coming to the plate—Lutheran North High's D.J. Johnson and Trinity Catholic High's Michael Hardin.

On a 3-2 pitch, Johnson hit a smash toward Blazer shortstop Nick Ulrich who fielded the ball backhanded and threw to second for an out. Ulrich could only watch as teammate Brady Reising threw a late pass to first missing an inning-ending double play against Johnson.

Johnson beating the play at first meant that teammate Shane Hartwig (Pattonville High) had scored, and that American National would have runners at the corners with clean-up hitter Hardin stepping to the plate.

At least that’s what should’ve happened.

Instead, the home plate umpire ruled that the runner—Pattonville High's Curtis Nothdurft, who had been on first and was out on the play at second— slid illegally into second. Not only was he out, but that same umpire decided Johnson would be ruled out as well, and Hartwig’s run would not count because Johnson’s out meant the end of the inning.

“It’s a funny game,” Becher, who argued the play at the time and with the umpires after the game as well, said. “We’ll bounce back though.”  

What made losing that run in the fourth an even tougher pill to swallow for American National was that the team did score a run the fifth inning. That fifth inning run should’ve been a game-tying sixth tally. A tie could’ve meant extra innings would be needed to decide a winner.

Instead, the score was only 6-5, and it stayed that way as Jefferson County was able to wriggle through the final two innings to secure itself the win.

“We played well,” Becher said. “We got a lot of big hits. And they’re a good team. It was a good ballgame played by two good teams.”

American National held the lead early with scores of 2-0 and 4-1, after Hazelwood West High students Oday Al-Yatim and Shane Olmstead hit a pair of two-run doubles.

Al-Yatim, who’ll be a senior at West in the fall, got American National on the board with a drive to the wall in the first inning. It drove in Nothdurft and Hardin. 

Olmstead had three hits on Tuesday. The Wildcat junior drove in Hardin and Al-Yatim with a line-drive into the gap in the third inning.

“(Olmstead) had a great game today,” Becher said. “He’s been really hitting the ball hard lately.”

Unfortunately, the Eagles couldn’t hold the lead, as Jefferson County exploded for seven straight hits and five runs in the bottom of the third.

The big blow of the inning was designated hitter Mark Rodgers’ third home run of the summer. He got a two-run shot over the left-centerfield wall, off American National starter Mike Eagan. It proved to be the game-winning run for the Blazers.

“We just had one bad inning,” Becher said. “It’s killed us all year. Either it’ll be the pitcher misses his spot a few times, or we’ll make a big error, but it’s (always) something.”

The loss dropped American National to (11-10) this summer, and (3-2) in SLABA League play as well.

This weekend, the Eagles will take a break from SLABA play and travel to Cape Girardeau for a tournament at Cape Girardeau Central and Cape Notre Dame high schools.

Next week though, American National will play its longest series of home games of the summer, when it will play eight games at the , beginning June 21.

That night, the Eagles will host the St. Louis Tigers at 5:45 p.m. The team will follow that with a game on Wednesday night against the St. Louis Stallions,. Start time for that game is also 5:45 p.m.

Following an day off on June 23, American National will play three straight doubleheaders on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, June 24- 26, against the Jefferson County Barnstormers, and the South-West Stars, respectively.

The Friday doubleheader will begin at 3 p.m., while the Saturday and Sunday twinbills are both slated for noon starts.

“Those are some good teams,” Becher said. “We’ll have to count on a lot of guys to step up and get through it.”

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