The team didn’t last as long in the playoffs this season, but McLean Post 270 again continued its trend of winning once a postseason tournament began after having a losing regular-season record.
This summer, McLean finished 4-13 during the American Legion’s District 17 regular season, earning the bottom seed in the baseball league’s eight-team tourney.
In the first-round of the double-elimination competition, McLean upset No. 1 seed Fairfax Post 177 by a 6-4 score.
McLean then lost to No. 4 seed Kingstowne District 17 by an 8-5 final in its next game, then forfeited against Alexandria Post 24 once it fell into the losers’-bracket and was eliminated.
This was the third straight season McLean won in the playoffs after not winning often during the regular season.
Last summer, McLean went 6-11 during the regular season, then got hot and finished a combined 3-4 in the playoffs in district and state tournaments. In 2022, Post 270 also won only six times during the regular season, then finished 3-5 in the same two postseason tourneys.
In this season’s 6-4 playoff win over Fairfax, McLean scored three runs in the first inning and led the rest of the way.
Kiran Sharma had two hits and two RBI for McLean, Owen Henderson also had two hits and one RBI, Luke Greehan and Mark Zonavetch each had RBI singles and Chase Amour had an RBI groundout.
Keenan Doan started on the mound and pitched six innings to get the win. Owen Lochhead worked the final three frames in relief.
Against Kingstowne, J.P. Moore, Henderson and Lochhead each had two hits.