YOUR AD HERE »

Legion baseball team tops Eagle Valley, takes top spot in Mountain League

John F. Russell

— Ryan Jeep’s third-straight shut out performance helped the American Legion baseball team from Steamboat Springs capture first place in the Mountain League on Sunday.

The team now has earned a top seed for the state tournament, which will take place July 25 to 28 in Breckenridge.

“It was a good Sunday for us,” said Dave Roy, the Steamboat Springs Legion coach. “Our base running was excellent, and our defense was excellent. I still think we could have hit the ball better, but that’s what we will work on this week.”



Roy said Jeep’s 4-0 shutout victory against Eagle Valley in the first half of a doubleheader Sunday sealed Steamboat’s claim to first place in the Mountain League. The team finished the regular season with a 14-5 record and will be one of the top seeds in the Legion “B” State tournament, which is for players between ages 14 and 18.

Jeep pitched all seven innings in the first game striking out 12 batters, walking just three and giving up four hits in the contest.



The Steamboat pitcher also had two hits in the game and scored three times. Thomas Kelly also had two hits and knocked in an important RBI that helped seal the victory.

Kelly also highlighted a solid day of defense with an unassisted double play. Steamboat finished the game with no errors.

Eagle Valley used its ace in the second game and took an early lead on Steamboat. However, the local boys battled back into the contest tying the game at eight runs late, and then putting together a rally down the stretch to earn the 12-8 victory.

David Brown, Billy Clark and Jesse Pugh shared pitching duties in the game. Clark came away with the win, and Pugh was credited with the save. As a team, Steamboat had 10 hits and stole four bases. Brown and Channing Conner both had two hits in the game.

The local Legion team now will shift gears and start preparing for several of end-of-the-year tournaments.

The first will take place this weekend in Rangeley. The team then will head to Buena Vista for another tournament before getting a shot at the state tournament at the end of the month in Summit County.


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

Readers around Steamboat and Routt County make the Steamboat Pilot & Today’s work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.

Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.

Each donation will be used exclusively for the development and creation of increased news coverage.