Oilers Rally from a 6-0 Deficit to Beat Oklahoma, 7-6

The Oilers display their trophy and flag, along with wide smiles. (Photos by Karen E. Segrave  kesphoto.com)

View the Photo Gallery of the Retif Oilers Winning the American Legion Mid-South Regional Tournament Championship Game

The American Legion World Series

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The Retif Oilers (31-6-1) are heading to the American Legion World Series Tournament in Shelby, NC.

Retif and the Southeast championss each drew a bye and do not play on opening day of the series, Thursday, Aug. 13. Retif’s first game is Friday, Aug. 14 against Connecticut, the Northeast champ, at 12:30 EST(11:30 N.O. time). There will be several ways to listen and watch the game. Try Here First.

Against  a tenacious Oklahoma team in the championship game on Sunday, the Oilers were six runs down and shut out until the bottom of the sixth inning when a two-run homer by Dan Edmund ignited a spark in the Retif dugout. In the bottom of the eighth, the Oilers rallied for five more runs to take a 7-6 lead over the Oklahoma state champions. The score held up and Retif remained undefeated (5-0) to win the Legion’s Mid-South Regional Tournament on Sunday in Conway, AR. Retif joins seven other teams in Shelby, NC, site of the American Legion World Series.

Mason Mayfield was pegged for four hits in the first inning and five hits in the second. The Shockers scored all six of their runs in those first two innings (three runs in each). It didn’t help that the Oilers commited two errors in the first inning and one in the third. It could have been worse as the Shockers left the bases loaded in each of the first two innings.

Against Oklahoma, Mason Mayfield survived a shaky start that had the Shockers from Oklahoma plating three runs in the first and three more in the second inning. Mayfield hung in, settled down, and went the distance of nine innings. His performance earned him the tournament’s MVP award.

“This is a great win for our boys, our school, 1st District American Legion, and the state of Louisiana,” said Coach Joey Latino, adding the Oilers are delighted to be going back to Shelby. “American Legion baseball is alive and well in our community.”

The Oilers’ last trip to Shelby was three years ago. In 2012, the Jesuit-based team won it all, Retif’s first American Legion World Series championship since 1960.

The format of this year’s World Series has the eight competing teams, champions of their respective regional tournaments, divided into two pools of four teams. The pools are called “Stars” and “Stripes.” Retif (Mid-South) is in the “Stripes” pool with the Northeast, Southeast, and Great Lakes teams. The “Stars” are the teams representing the Mid-Atlantic, Central Plains, Northwest, and Western regions.

Each team plays three games against opponents in their respective pools. The top two teams of each pool emerge to play in the semifinals on Monday, Aug. 17. The two winners of the semifinal games will meet Tuesday, Aug. 18 at 7:30 p.m. (6:30 N.O. time) to play for the 2015 World Series Championship.

Read More…

Kenny Trahan on SportsNola.com: Jesuit-based Retif Oil young, ready for American Legion World Series challenge

Kenny Trahan on SportsNola.com: Retif Oil completes sweep of Mid South Regional, earns Legion World Series bid

The N.O. Advocate: Retif Oil headed back to American Legion World Series

View Overall Stats for the Retif Oilers

View Statistics for All 8 Teams in the Mid-South Regional Tournament