Falcons Stay Alive; Hawks Fall in North Dakota

Mike Hammett - Sat 09:01 AM 08/04/2012

The Salina Falcons won twice and are still alive at the Class AAA American Legion State Baseball Tournament in Manhattan. The Falcons rallied past Manhattan 11-8, then rallied again and held off Newton 10-8 to advance to play on Saturday.

Against the host team, the Falcons fell down 5-0 early. Trailing 7-2 entering the sixth, the Falcons scored seven times to take a 9-7 lead and hold on for the win.

In a rematch of their first-round loss to Newton, the Falcons fell behind 4-1, but scored four in the sixth to take the 5-4 lead, and wouldn't give it up. Newton made a charge late, getting within two at 10-8, but the Falcons turned a double play to end the game.

The Falcons will face Pittsburg at noon today for the right to face Hays in the championship at 3pm. The winner of the Salina/Pittsburg game would need to defeat Hays twice to take the crown.

The Salina Hawks suffered their second loss of the postseason on Friday, knocking them to the elimination bracket in the Class A American Legion Mid-States Regional Baseball Tournament in Fargo, ND. The Hawks lost to the host Fargo squad, 9-8.

The Hawks built an early lead, going up 4-2 after two innings, and built the lead to three at 7-4 after four.

However, Fargo rallied in the fifth, scoring five times to go up 9-7. The Hawks scored once in the seventh, but were unable to scratch across the tying run.

The Hawks will play at 2pm today in an elimination game. If they win, they play again at 7pm.

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