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American Legion: Back For More

Having the No. 1 seed at this year's 24th District American Legion Tournament is two-fold for Harrisburg Post 167 head coach Doug Emery.

Yes, the defending champs of last year's tournament are given the luxury of being able to save up on some pitching, but like Emery said, "It just seems more competitive this year."

"I think we have a good shot to win it," Emery said. "But I know it won't be easy. There are at least four teams that could win it."

Post 167 will play Sunday against the winner of Carrier Mills or Carmi at 1 p.m. in Carmi.

"There are four or five teams that can win this tournament," Emery said. "It'll all come down to who comes ready to play. Anyone is capable of beating anyone."

One key of Post 167's success this year, which saw them finish 13-5 overall and 9-3 in 24th District play, was the strong stable of pitching Emery has in his barn.

On Sunday, given the options he has, he said he expects to trot his son Bryce Emery out to the mound.

With the American Legion pitching rules being what they are - that you can only pitch 12 innings over a three period day - Emery feels confident in his ability to roll out other pitchers like Noah Vallette, Drew Woolcott, Jordan Gould, Austin Hefner, Adam Ninness, and Patrick Bittle.

"You have to keep the the pitching rule in mind," Emery said. "Depending on the weather, playing at one in the afternoon and it being 90 degrees with a heat index of 100, I may use several pitchers.

"One of our strengths is our pitching," Emery said. "When we have all of our players, our defense is probably one of the best in the district. Our pitching and our defense will make us hard to beat."

In regards to Sunday's game between either Carrier Mills or Carmi, Post 167 knocked off Carrier Mills 2-1 and 3-1 to start the season and spilt with Carmi, losing 11-7 and winning 8-2. Harrisburg also split with Fairfield, winning Game One 7-2 and dropping Game Two 9-4 and McLeansboro, falling 4-3 on the road and winning 5-1 at Gibbs Field. Two of Post 167's overall losses came at Evansville.

Last year, Harrisburg won the district tournament in their first year back after a long layoff. Emery feels that experience last year could be beneficial this year.

"Hopefully what we went through last year will help us this time around. We should be good with all the players we have and it's likely I'll be bringing up a few players from the junior American Legion team."

Michael Dann covers prep and college sports for the Harrisburg Daily Register. Follow him on Twitter: @spydieshooter.

24th District American Legion Baseball Tournament

<p><strong>24th District American Legion Baseball Tournament</strong><br /><strong>at Carmi</strong><br /><strong>Saturday, July 9</strong><br />GAME 1 — Carmi (4) vs. Carrier Mills (5), 1 p.m.<br />GAME 2 — Fairfield (3) vs. Shawneetown (6), 4 p.m.<br />GAME 3 — Metropolis (2) vs. McLeansboro (7), 7 p.m.<br /><strong>Sunday, July 10</strong><br />GAME 4 — Harrisburg (1) vs. Game 1 winner, 1 p.m.<br />GAME 5 — Game 2 winner vs. Game 3 winner, 4 p.m.<br />GAME 6 — Game 2 loser vs. Game 3 loser, 7 p.m.<br /><strong>Monday, July 11</strong><br />GAME 7 — Game 1 loser vs. Game 5 loser, 1 p.m.<br />GAME 8 — Game 4 loser vs. Game 6 winner, 4 p.m.<br />GAME 9 — Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 7 p.m.<br /><strong>Tuesday, July 12</strong><br />GAME 10 — Game 8 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 4 p.m.<br />GAME 11 — Game 9 loser vs. Game 10 winner, 7 p.m.<br /><strong>Wednesday, July 13</strong><br />GAME 12 — Game 9 winner vs. Game 11 winner, 4 p.m.<br />GAME 13 — Game 12 winner vs. Game 12 loser, <br />7 p.m. (if necessary)<br /><br />All games will be played at Eckerle Park.</p>