Neale surpasses Mitch Johnson's as program's all-time winningest coach with 207 wins

The opening weekend of the season for the Watertown Post 17 American Legion Baseball team couldn't have been better.

Post 17 combined to win four games on Saturday and Sunday in Iowa and helped head coach Ryan Neale become the program's all-time wins leader in the process.

Watertown defeated Storm Lake 6-4 and Iowa Great Lakes Okobojis 10-5 on Saturday in Storm Lake and turned around Sunday to recorded 3-0 and 10-0 wins over Moville Post 303 in Moville.

"It's like I told the guys, in the six years that I've been back this is the best opening you can imagine as a coach. The guys were ready for the competition," Neale said. "As a coaching staff, we couldn't be more pleased with where we're at after four games."

Watertown is scheduled to visit Harrisburg Maroon in a 5 p.m. doubleheader on Friday that will count in the state's playoff seeding standings.

Saturday's Highlights

Kadece Rylance, Nash Berg and Markus Pitkin combined on a five-hitter with 11 strikeouts in the win over Storm Lake. Rylance started andfanned seven in three innings. Berg and Pitkin each went two innings.

Post 17 trailed 3-2 before plating four runs in the top of the sixth. Nathan Briggs, who doubled, and Will Engstrom each collected two of the team's eight hits. Marcus Rabine and Talan Jurgens also hit doubles.

A seven-run third inning lifted Watertown past Iowa Great Lakes. Jurgens, Carter Buisker and Luka Lessin combined on a five-hitter with nine strikeouts. Jurgens went three innings and Buisker and Lessin each two.

The Lakers managed only three hits (singles by Treyton Himmerich, Mitch Olson and Pitkin) but were helped by 10 walks.

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Sunday's Highlights

Pitching was definitely the story for Post 17 on Sunday and six Watertown hurlers combined to allow only two hits with 20 strikeouts in the two shutouts.

Hayden Ries fanned six in three innings in the first game with Olson and Briggs each providing two innings of relief. Engstrom started and went three innings in the second game. Dylon Rawdon added two innings of relief and Ashton Rabine one.

Post 17 had only two hits in the opener, a double by Rylance and a single by Pitkin.

Olson and Marcus Rabine had two hits apiece for Post 17 in the second game. Briggs, Rylance and Pitkin also singled. Rabine drove in two runs.

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Coaching Wins Record

Neale, a Watertown native and former Post 17 player, is in his second stint as the head coach of the program. He guided Post 17 to a 62-28 record in the 2010 and 2011 seasons and returned to lead the program in 2019.

The four wins pushed his career record with Post 17 to 207-168 in eight seasons.

Mitch Johnson held the wins' record, leading Post 17 to a 205-138 record over six seasons from 1991-96. His 60-percent winning percentage is a program record. Jeff Planteen followed Johnson as head coach and led Post 17 to a 195-142 record in six seasons (1997-2002), including back-to-back state Class A runner-up finishes in 1997 and 1998.

Johnson was inducted into the Watertown Baseball Hall of Fame in 2022 and Planteen in 2023.

"I'm at a loss for words to be honest with you," Neale said. "It's an honor to be in the same sentence with Mitch Johnson and Jeff Planteen.

"When you do something like this, it's reallya bout your assistants and I've been fortunate to be around Travis (Schmidt), Nick (Geffre) and Brody (Ries) and even Tommy (Mattingly) back in the day. They provide the inside stuff that a lot of people don't see."

Neale also knows the wins don't come without a lot of good kids who have come up through the program.

"I've been fortunate to be around enough talented players," Neale said. "These are good kids. They play hard."

More thanks to go around

Neale, a 2002 Watertown High School graduate, came up though the Watertown Baseball Associaton programs and played VFW baseball with the Black Sox and White Sox before playing with Post 17 and head coach Jeff Planteen. He also played one year at Southwest Minnesota State in Marshall (Minn.) before turning to coaching.

He served as the co-head coach for Watertown's club high school team in 2005 and as its head coach in 2010 and 2011. He also coached the Red Sox from 2007-09 and led the team to the state Class AA title in 2009.

Neale said he didn't start out coaching with the goal of getting the record, but he does admit he definitely loves being around the sport and the program.

"I would love to spend my next 30 years coaching baseball but I don't know if that's realistic."

He saved his biggest thanks to his wife Crystal and their two daughters Paisley and Kollins.

"You can't do what you want to do as a coach without the support of your family," Neale said. "I really owe a lot of Crystal, Collins and Paisley for allowing me to do this and be on the road as much as I am."

Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on X (formerly known as Twitter) @PO_Sports or email: rmerriam@thepublicopinion.com

This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Neale surpasses Mitch Johnson's as program's all-time winningest coach with 207 wins