Legion: Bedford 8, Jacksonville 7
- Updated: August 16, 2026
Photo courtesy American Legion Baseball (Chet Strange)
NOTE: This story is being run with the permission of American Legion Baseball
By Richard Walker
Bedford Post 54 picked a good way to go out.
Post 54 won 8-7 over Jacksonville (Fla.) Post 316 on Jason Topf’s walkoff home run in the bottom of the seventh Saturday for its first American Legion World Series victory in Game 9 at Keeter Stadium in Shelby, N.C.
Bedford and Jacksonville each finished 1-2 in pool play. Midland (Mich.) Post 165 (2-0) plays Portland (Ore.) Post 158 (1-1) on Sunday. Even if Bedford, Jacksonville and Portland all finish 1-2, Bedford is eliminated because they lose the first tiebreaker for a three-way tie, which is total runs allowed.
But that didn’t diminish Post 54’s historic achievement.
Topf’s heroics came after Jacksonville scored three runs in the top of the seventh inning to forge a 7-all tie.
“We just talked about getting on base however we could and having good at-bats,” Topf said. “(Starter Zach Papik) and (reliever and winner James Gilbert) kept us in the game.”
Topf was the leadoff batter and hit the first pitch he saw over the left field fence to set off a celebration near home plate with he and his teammates.
“My pitch is a low inside fastball and I went up to be aggressive and I got that pitch,” said Topf, who had hit two home runs previously this season. “I was just trying to get on base but it got up and got out of here.”
Noah Durham (3 hits, 3 RBIs), Topf (2 hits, home run, 3 RBIs) and Jack Hinton (double, 3 walks) led Bedford’s offense and Papik (5 innings, 5 strikeouts) and Gilbert (2 innings, 2 strikeouts) handled the pitching chores.
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