Essex Post 91 claims back-to-back American Legion state crowns, advances to regionals

Essex Post 91 cruised to back-to-back American Legion state championships on Sunday with a commanding, 10-0 victory over South Burlington at Castleton University.

Post 91 books its spot at Northeast Regionals in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, and will begin tournament play on Wednesday.

[See below for more details on Northeast Regionals].

In Sunday's Vermont title game, ace Andrew Goodrich tossed a four-hitter with two strikeouts and one walk in a 77-pitch gem to record the six-inning victory. Goodrich, who guided Essex to the high school state title in June and was named the Burlington Free Press' boys athlete of the year, was selected the Legion tournament MVP for a second straight summer.

At the plate, Goodrich went 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs while teammates Braedon Jones (2-for-3, 3 RBIs), Mathew Safer (2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBIs) Owen Pinaud (2-for-4) and Ben Deibler (2-for-4, RBI) also had multi-hit efforts for Post 91.

Related:Essex Town cruises to 8-10-year-old Little League baseball state crown

In claiming a repeat crown, Post 91 went a perfect 4-0 in tourney play. They opened with a 2-1 win over Bellows Falls Post 37, bested 2021 runner-up Brattleboro Post 5 with a 6-3 decision and defeated Manchester Underground 9-2 to reach Sunday's final from the winner's bracket.

The South Burlington Wildcats made the championship round despite losing on Day 2 of the double-elimination tournament. They rallied with a three-game winning streak that included an 8-7 comeback win over Manchester on Saturday before falling to Post 91.

In the title game, Goodrich opened the scoring with an RBI single during a two-run first inning. In the third, Safer doubled to left field to bring home two runs and Goodrich added another run-scoring single in a three-run fourth. Diebler ended the game in the sixth on a single to center for the mercy-rule decision.

Regionals information for Post 91

Post 91 squares off vs. against Franklin Post 75 of Massachusetts in a first-round game on Wednesday.

For details, including live stats and game times and schedules, visit the Northeast Regional Tournament website at americanlegion.sportngin.com.

All-Tournament Team named

According to the Rutland Herald, 15 players were named to the all-tournament team. The squad:

Most Valuable Player: Andrew Goodrich, Essex. Pitcher: Max Brownlee, Manchester. Catcher: Kyle Tanis, South Burlington. First base: Mathew Safer, Essex. Second base: Liam O'Connor, South Burlington. Third base: Ray Cheung, South Burlington. Shortstop: Jack McCoy, Manchester. Outfield: Sully Beers, South Burlington; Aiden Davis, Brattleboro; Storm Dusablon, Essex. Utility: Braedon Jones, Essex; Owen Pinaud, Essex; Cole Tarrant, South Burlington; Henry Wood-Lewis, Colchester. Sportsmanship: Grady Lockerby, Bellows Falls.

Contact Alex Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter: @aabrami5.