Jesuit’s American Legion baseball team, the Retif Oilers, matched up with the best teams from the surrounding states in the Mid-South Regional tournament from Wednesday, Aug. 8, to Sunday, Aug. 12. Retif joined state champions from Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Tennessee in a chase for a spot in the American Legion World Series set for Aug. 16-21 in Shelby, N.C.

Catcher Parker Serio touches home plate and celebrates with the team after hitting a 3-run homer in the top of the third.

The Oilers finished the Mid-South Regional with one win and two very close losses.

View Photo Gallery from the 2018 Mid-South Regional

Elimination Round, Game 3 (Loss, 7-4):

Winning 3-2 before the rain delay, the Oilers snagged another run in the top of the 6th but were unable to hold their 2-run lead. Gauthier Amedee (GA), the Louisiana champions who outlasted Retif in the state final, found their spark in the penultimate inning by scoring five runs. The Wombats won the game, 7-4, and advanced in the double-elimination tournament after giving Retif its second loss.

The Oilers certainly went down swinging the bat. After Brian Valigosky walked and Zack Casebonne singled, catcher Parker Serio opened scoring in the 3rd with a three-run bomb over the left field wall. The Wombats quickly answered with two runs in the bottom half, but Retif pitcher Will Moran maintained his cool and allowed no runs in the 4th.

Then in the top of the 5th, Mother Nature put a halt on the Oilers’ momentum. Retif held its 3-2 lead and put two runners on base when the game was stopped due to rain. Two hours and 20 minutes went by before the top of the 5th continued. This ended Moran’s day on the mound.

Gauthier Amedee returned from the rain delay swinging their bat and putting runners in scoring position. The Wombats’ go-ahead run in the 6th came on a 2-RBI single. The next batter executed an impressive sacrifice bunt that scored one run, bringing GA to a 6-4 lead. The final hit of the inning was a double that scored one. Before GA’s bottom-half hot streak, the Oilers had a 4-2 lead when Valigosky hit a single and Casebonne hit an RBI-double.

Click this photo to view a Live Scorecast of each game in the 2018 Mid-South Regional.

Elimination Round, Game 2 (Win, 1-0):
College-bound seniors Sean Seghers ’18 and pitcher Andrew Cashman ’18 led Retif to a 1-0 elimination game victory over Salina, the Kansas state champions. Batting eighth in the lineup, Seghers struck a hard-hit ball through the third base-shortstop gap to score Matt Alexander ’18 in the bottom of the 2nd. Cashman protected Alexander’s run, throwing 6 1/3 innings of shutout baseball. Closer Brenden Berggren earned the save after helping Retif capture the final two outs.

At 10 a.m. on Friday, the Oilers were set to play the loser of the game between Gauthier Amedee (LA) and Tupelo, Mississippi. Gauthier Amedee was defeated, 2-0.

Game 1 (Loss, 2-1):
Jefferson City, the Missouri state champion, was the Oilers’ first battle on opening day. The game went down to the wire, but the Oilers fell, 2-1, on Wednesday night (Aug. 8). They face Salina, Kansas at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday in an elimination game.

Follow Jesuit’s Retif Oil on Twitter for in-game updates.

Follow the American Legion-managed Mid-South Regional Twitter Page (NEW!) for full tournament updates.

Tournament Schedule:
** – 30 mins. following conclusion of previous game

Wednesday, August 8
Game 1         Mississippi vs. Tennessee                        9:30
Game 2         Kansas vs. Arkansas                                   **
Game 3         Missouri (2) vs. Louisiana                        3:30 (delayed due to weather)
Game 4         Jeff. City (MO), 2, vs. Retif Oil (Host), 1 **

Thursday, August 9
Game 5         Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 3            9:30
Game 6         Salina (Kansas), 0, vs. Retif Oil, 1           **
Game 7         Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 3     3:30
Game 8         Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 4     **

Friday, August 10
Game 9         Retif Oil, 4 vs. Gauthier Amedee, 7     10:00
Game 10       Winner Game 5 vs. Loser Game 8         **
Game 11       Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8     **

Saturday, August 11          
Game 12       Gauthier Amedee vs. Loser Game 11    12:30
Game 13       Winner Game 10 vs. Winner Game 11   3:30

Sunday, August 12
Game 14      Gauthier Amedee vs. Winner Game 13   1:00
Game 15 (If necessary) If Winner Game 11 loses Game 13 or Winner Game 12 wins Game 14 – 4:00
Mid-South Regional Champion: Gauthier Amedee