LANCASTER - The bunt admittedly is not a big weapon in the Newark Post 85 arsenal.

On Thursday, however, the lineup fell in the right spot. Jacob Sites and Matthew Rollison laid down back-to-back successful bunts during the seventh inning to help Post 85 rally for a 4-1 victory against Chillicothe Post 757 in an American Legion Junior state tournament game at Beavers Field.

Post 757 right-hander Brandon Barker threw a gem, but a few short hits went a long way in helping Post 85 steal the win. Rollison's squeeze bunt followed Sites' bunt hit and scored Cedric Thomas with the tying run.

"I like the pressure pretty well," Rollison said. "I always wants to be the guy that comes through for the team. ... We kept our heads up. We were fighting the whole game. He was a good pitcher, but we played a good game."

Jed Sherrick lined a two-run single to left-center two batters later to give Post 85 the lead. Post 757 also committed three errors in the pivotal top of the seventh.

"(Barker) pitched his butt off today. There is nothing more we could have asked from him," Post 757 coach Seth McGuire said. "That's how it's been all season really. We just have one or two plays, and we have to make them. We don't concentrate for the whole seven innings, and it comes back and bites us in the butt."

Newark, which is all Newark High School players, plays Pickerington Post 283 at 5:30 p.m. Friday in the fourth of four quarterfinals at Beavers Field. Post 283, which is mostly Watkins Memorial players, rolled past Cambridge Post 84 9-0 later Thursday.

"I think we got a little lucky," Newark assistant coach Rod Rollison said. "We don't do much small ball, but we have some guys who can bunt."

Post 757 took the lead in the fourth inning when Zach Coats singled to start the inning, stole second and then scored on Garrett Wilburn's RBI single up the middle.

Chillicothe had a base runner in four innings against right-hander Jud Sherrick, but he bowed his neck. Sherrick stranded two on base in the first and fourth innings and later finished strong, allowing just a walk during the final three innings.

"It was kind of getting away from me the first two innings," said Jud Sherrick, who allowed four hits and struck out four. "I had to stay tight and keep it going, throw strikes. It's competitive. I like that part of it."

Thomas, Sites, Rollison and Michael Pound each reached base twice for Newark, and Coats had a game-high two hits for Chillicothe.

Barker struck out 10, and he did not allow a hit to the outfield until Jed Sherrick's tiebreaker. He put the Post 757 on his back and delivered.

"I've been preaching to them all year that nothing really matters until the state tournament," McGuire said. "Everybody comes in here 0-0, and it comes down to how bad do you want it. Hat's off to Newark. They didn't give up through the first six innings."

ksnyder@newarkadvocate.com

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Twitter: @newarkurt