No fluke here. Idaho Falls repeats as American Legion World Series champs.
It took 93 years for the first Idaho team to win an American Legion World Series title.
Now an Idaho team has won two in a row. And it might be three in a row if not for a global pandemic.
The Idaho Falls Bandits repeated as national champions Wednesday with a 6-1 win over Hawaii’s Team Central in Shelby, North Carolina. Idaho Falls won the 2019 tournament, then saw the 2020 tournament canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“We’ve had our eyes on the prize since Day One,” Idaho Falls pitcher Merit Jones said in an interview posted to the American Legion website. “I’m just so happy we competed our butts off to go get it.”
Idaho Falls is just the sixth team to repeat as Legion World Series champs since it started in 1926, and the first since New Jersey’s Brooklawn in 2013-14. But only a single player — Kai Howell — remained from the 2019 title team as Idaho Falls began the summer.
That didn’t slow down the Bandits (45-10-1), who kept rolling with a new cast, cruising through the state and regional tournaments undefeated to return to the World Series.
Idaho Falls and Hawaii battled in a scoreless tie Wednesday for much of the game, which was nationally televised on ESPNU. But the Bandits broke it open with a six-run fifth inning.
Eliot Jones drew first blood by lining an 0-2 fastball into left field to score Chandler Robinson. Nate Rose made it 2-0 by scoring on a throwing error when Mac Jephson stole second base. Ace Webb, Merit Jones, RJ Woods and Bradley Thompson tacked on RBI singles in the inning.
Idaho Falls nearly squandered much of the lead in the bottom half of the inning, as Merit Jones walked the bases loaded with no outs. But the incoming senior at Idaho Falls High retired the next three batters to escape the jam.
Bandits coach Ryan Alexander told ESPNU in a postgame interview that he nearly pulled his pitcher as he struggled with his command. But Jones rewarded his faith, holding Hawaii to a single run on five hits, while striking out eight before hitting the pitch count limit after 6 ⅓ innings.
“You don’t know how close I was to making that move, and then he got the third out,” Alexander said. “That’s a long game. That’s a tough thing in this heat. We usually don’t do a lot of two-way with him when he’s on his pitching day. Today, we kind of felt like we had to.”
Alexander explained that he tries to avoid asking Merit Jones to hit on days that he pitches, but he felt he needed his bat as Howell played through a broken bone in his wrist.
After going undefeated at the 2019 World Series, Idaho Falls ran into a bit of adversity this year, falling 10-2 to Dubuque County, Iowa. But the Bandits — who draw players from Idaho Falls, Skyline, Bonneville, Hillcrest and Thunder Ridge high schools — bounced back with three straight wins to earn another championship banner.
“Those first two games were certainly not what we’re accustomed to,” Alexander said. “The kids just kept battling and kept grinding and putting better at-bats together as we went on in the tournament.”
Rose received the American Legion player of the year award in a ceremony after the tournament. He, Jephson, Howell and Merit Jones were also named to the World Series’ all-tournament team.
This story was originally published August 19, 2021 at 11:46 AM.
