Coach Joey Latino

“Tonight’s game has been cancelled due to field conditions.” This is the message that Coach Joey Latino and his young Legion squad have heard too often this season. Five times, to be exact.

On Monday, Retif Oil made up a cancelled game against De La Salle-based Best Chevrolet at Kirsch-Rooney Stadium. After loading up the bases in the first inning and getting two early runs, the Oilers settled in comfortably. With 10 hits and no errors in five innings, the scoreboard read 10-0. Rising senior Lee Blosser pitched five shutout innings for the Oilers, which was all they needed to play according to the 10-run rule. These two teams play again tonight at 6 p.m. at John Ryan Stadium. Retif will also play a doubleheader against Lakeshore on Saturday at 1 p.m. at John Ryan.

View the Photo Gallery of Monday’s Game Against Best Chevrolet

With a record of 9-4, Coach Latino hopes to finish the season strong by eliminating the physical and mental errors that led to those four losses. Of those four, one was a 1-0 game against Lakeshore and another was an extra-inning game against Ponstein’s, which ended 8-6. “Being as young as we are, this whole summer is one huge learning experience. Our four losses have come from both physical and mental mistakes, and that’s to be expected. We are learning, and we will continue to learn and work towards the magic C-word — consistency,” Latino explained.

After Saturday’s upcoming doubleheader against Lakeshore, only one game remains on the schedule before postseason play. There may be time for one or two more makeup games depending on the weather.

Retif Oil will be the host team for the Mid-South Regional tournament on August 2-7 at Kirsch-Rooney. John Ryan Stadium will serve as the backup site if there is excessive rain during the tournament. Regardless of their performance in the City, Southeast Louisiana, and State tournament, the Oilers will compete as one of the final 8 teams in the Mid-South Regional tournament. The winner of the Mid-South Regional advances to the American Legion World Series tournament in Shelby, NC.

View the Scores and Schedule on the Blue Jay Baseball Website