By STEVE MAZZONE

Sports writer

CUMBERLAND — In the first three games of the American Legion playoffs, top-seeded Hurd Post 14 has endured some close battles.
Tuesday night the Post 14 players gave manager Jim Dawber a reason to relax a little.
The Lincoln-based squad belted out 16 hits with eight different players contributing inside the batter’s box to fuel an eventual 17-4 quarterfinal rout of neighboring rival Upper Deck Post 86 at Tucker Field. The victory completes Post 14’s second straight sweep in the best-of-3 series and sends them to the Final Four, tenatively scheduled to begin on Thursday night.
That’s a step further than last year’s squad that despite capturing the division was knocked out of the quarterfinals by Shields Post 43.
“I am feeling far better at the end of this game this year than I felt a year ago,” Dawber said.
Among the 16 hits Post 14 had against four different pitchers for Upper Deck, eight were for extra bases, including home runs from Joe Landi (2-for-5, three RBI) and Kyle Morvan (2-for-2, three RBI). Tyler Santaniello (3-for-5, RBI), Kyle Jackson (3-for-4, three RBI) and Alex Ogilvie (2-for-5, two RBI) also finished with multiple knocks in Hurd’s convincing verdict and 18th consecutive win.
To add to ninth-seeded Upper Deck’s frustration, Post 14 also received another solid performance from its pitching staff, led by Ogilvie. The righthander hurled six innings, allowing just four hits and three earned runs. Landi and Zack Perry pitched the final three innings, yielding two hits.
A day earlier, John Kasmanian went the distance for Post 14 in its 5-3 win in the opener.
“They have some good pitching along with some equally good hitting,” said Upper Deck manager Idris Laisu. “You got to tip your hat to them the whole game. They had a couple more tools in the shed.”
Upper Deck held an early advantage in Tuesday's game. With Hurd holding a 2-0 lead, Upper Deck scored three times in the bottom of the second for a 3-2 edge. After Ogilvie hit leadoff batter Dillon Brennan with a pitch and followed that with a walk to Matt Lazarus, Justin Patrick knotted the score by crushing a two-run double to deep centerfield. An infield error on a hit by Jared Enright and an RBI sacrifice bunt from Carlos Guzman would give Upper Deck its one-run lead.
It would be short-lived, though.
Post 14 responded with three of its own in the top of the third, beginning with a leadoff double by Ryan O’Dell and finishing with a towering three-run homer from Morvan. Landi would follow with a two-run jack in the fifth and the rout would start to take shape.
With the game already getting out of hand, Post 14 would score eight runs in the final two innings, including six in the ninth. A solo homer by Brennan in the sixth would account for Upper Deck’s fourth and final run.
“Thankfully we were able to win like this,” Dawber said. “It’s really great for the fans to see a 5-3 game, but much more relaxing for a coach to win like this.”
The Post 14 manager, whose squad is 20-4 overall versus R.I. Legion teams this summer, felt the productive third frame was pivotal in the contest.
“That gave us some breathing room,” he said. “And it just seemed to deflate them a little bit.”
As for Laisu, he thought the turning point came far earlier.
“I felt (it was in) the first inning when we had our first error,” said Laisu, who squad finished with three for the night. “That showed me that we weren’t going to play a clean game.” 
Upper Deck finishes the season an even 11-11 overall against Legion competition, which includes it sweep of No. 8 seed Hurd Auto Mall in its opening-round series.
“That was the first series win in the program’s history. That’s not too shabby. The kids worked hard this year, but we were nothing without our college kids helping us,” said Laisu, while making reference to Ryan Innarelli, Matt Milano, Dylan Brennan and Mark Nunes.
Post 14 will continue its season against an opponent that has yet to be determined. With some series still going on, that may not be determined until tonight when R&R Construction faces West Warwick in Game 3 of their series.
Right now, O’Dell will get the nod as the starting pitcher in the opening tilt of the semifinals, which will take place at McCarthy Field.
“We have him set up if we need to,” Dawber said. “It really depends on our opponent.”