Texas looking for repeat performance in American Legion World Series
A year ago, League City (Tex.) Post 554 was seeking history since no team from its state had ever won an American Legion World Series title.
With Post 554 edging Lincoln (Neb.) Post 3, 1-0, to win that title in 2023, the goal this season is pretty obvious: Repeat.
Already, veteran coach Ronnie Oliver’s club has joined this year’s Troy (Ala.) Post 70 team as the 10th and 11th programs in history to make three straight ALWS appearances.
Now, League City will seek to join Oakland (Calif.) Post 337 in 1949-50; Cincinnati Post 50 in 1957-58; West Covina (Calif.) Post 790 in 1970-71; Rio Piedras (P.R.) Post 146 in 1973-74; Brooklawn (N.J.) Post 72 in 2013-14; and Idaho Falls (Idaho) Post 56 in 2019 and 2021 (no season in 2020) as back-to-back ALWS champions.
“It’s just a great experience,” Oliver said. “We’ve got returning players and some new kids and this is what it’s all about. We’re excited about being here again.”
Erik Anchondo, Tyler Austin, Braden Castle, Jackson Higgins, Alexander Kudler, Tyler Robinson, Logan Sanders, Gavin Shuttlesworth and Brice Smith return from last year’s team that finished with a 27-4 record.
This season, regional MVP Tyler Ryden has sparked the team to a 27-3 record entering the ALWS.
That includes a state-record 17th Texas state title after a win over Texarkana in the state tournament title game and a 5-0 run through the Western Regional held in Fairfield, Calif.
Ryden struck out 12 in five innings while yielding one hit in a 7-0 victory over Reno (Nev.) in the regional opener, then pitched a two-hitter with 13 strikeouts in a 7-1 victory over Wellsville Hyrum (Utah) Post 47 in the tournament final.
The unbeaten regional mark was only threatened in a 13-12 fourth day win over the host Fairfield Expos in a 3 1/2-hour contest ended by Sanders’ walkoff home run in the bottom of the seventh inning.
“It’s been pretty smooth sailing,” Ryden said. “I wouldn’t say easy because we’ve had some tough games.”
Ryden, a recent Clear Springs High School graduate, watched League City’s title run a year ago and was eager to be a part of the opportunity to help Post 554 pursue another championship.
“I had a lot of buddies on the team and they told me it was a great experience and I wanted to play,” Ryden said. “We’re trying to go back-to-back. We’re all ready to go and it means a lot to us.”
League City Post 554's pool play schedule (all times ET):
Aug. 15: vs. Fargo (N.D.) Post 2, 10 a.m.
Aug. 16: vs. Hudson (Mass.) Post 100, 4 p.m.
Aug. 18: vs. Troy (Ala.) Post 70, 7 p.m.
