Festus Post 253 Begins American Legion Baseball World Series Thursday

(Shelby, NC) Today is a big day for Festus Post 253 who begins Pool Play of the American Legion Baseball World Series in Shelby, North Carolina.

Post 253 punched its ticket to the big dance by defeating Bryant in the Mid-South Regional championship game this past Sunday in Nebraska. This is the 2nd-ever trip to the World Series for Post 253 who participated in the prestigious tournament back in 2009.

The squad is led by Herculaneum Blackcat head baseball coach Zac Bone, who has been coaching the Festus legion team for the last 8 years. Coach Bone didn’t fully commit to saying he knew this team would get to the World Series but did say that the signs were there.

 
Coach Bone goes over the series of events for the boys the last couple of days since landing in North Carolina.

 
Not mentioned in the tape cut was the team’s participation in the opening festival Wednesday night at the LeGrand Center in Shelby.

As for player reactions to being in the World Series, catcher Isack Hamilton, who will be a senior at Hillsboro and was also the one with the decisive bases-clearing double in the regional title game, is thrilled to be a part of this.

 
Jake Leitner, a 2018 Festus grad, is savoring this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

 
Since ESPN is covering the World Series, Leitner has a comment about that too.

 
Soon-to-be Herculaneum Blackcat senior Jordan Duncan talks about the whirlwind summer he and the guys have gone through to get to this point.

 
Last but not least, Perryville High School’s Brendan Smock shares his thoughts on Coach Bone handing him the ball for game 1 today.

 
Festus is in the “Stars” Pool of the World Series and is guaranteed three games. The winner and runner-up of each of the two pools will advance to the semifinals on Monday. Festus begins its journey to a World Series title with Albuquerque Post 13 out of New Mexico today at noon.

AM 1400 KJFF will have coverage beginning at 11:30, courtesy of KTC Broadcasting’s WCSL 1590 AM out of Cherryville, North Carolina.

Additional links for American Legion World Series coverage here and here.

Full Festus Post 253 Coach and Player Reactions