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The American Legion Post 70 17U baseball team finished off a successful summer with a state championship last weekend.

By the end of the state tournament, Post 70 went 5-0 and outscored their opponents 57-9.

Post 70 finished the tournament with a dominating 16-2 win over Tuscaloosa Post 34 in the finale.

Post 70 finished the 2021 summer with a 13-10-1 record

“It was a good, really fun weekend,” head coach Ross Hixon said. “I told everyone all summer that the team was really good. It was a 50-50 mix of 16 year-olds and 17 year-olds. After the summer was over we played 12 games against teams of that age and we finished 12-0. They played a lot of teams that were 18U, 19U or even 20 year olds. It was good experience and competition. It prepared them for their last weekend.”

While outscoring their competition 57-9, Post 70’s pitchers struck out 28 batters while only walking eight. Pitchers allowed just four earned runs throughout the tournament.

“It goes hand and hand,” Hixon said. “Hitting, pitching and defense. If you score a lot of runs, which we did, it takes a lot of pressure of the pitchers. You get good outings on the mound, it takes pressure off the hitters. It all goes hand and hand.”

Post 70’s championship brings more success to the Post 70 baseball program. The 19U team has won four-straight championships and is currently playing in the 2021 State Tournament in Huntsville. With all the recent success of the program, coach Hixon has noticed an increase in the teams’ popularity.

“When I first got here, I kind of told everybody, we had to kind of shake the bushes to find players,” Hixon said. “The 17U team winning a championship, or four straight for 19U, going for fifth straight this weekend, people take notice of that.  We are to a point now we can field a lot of teams through Post 70 because there is a lot of interest. Every year it does seem like it gets more popular. You gain publicity winning period, but definitely by winning championships.

“The Post 70 name carries weight amongst competition and colleges coaches. It’s a continuation of still developing and growing the program and the brand.”