RIDGE, Md. – So close, but yet so far.

Wheeling Post 1 was within three outs of advancing in the first round of the Mid-Atlantic American Legion Region 2 Baseball Tournament Wednesday morning, but Cherry Hill, N.J., rallied for two runs in the bottom of the seventh for a 5-4 victory at Joe Cannon Stadium.

The tough-to-swallow loss sends Wheeling (31-8) into the loser’s bracket, with a win-or-go-home game set for Thursday at 9:30 a.m. against the loser of the Pennsylvania runner up, Bristol, and Maryland state champion, Cecil County.

“We just need to flush that one and move on,” Post 1 manager Jon-Michael Brunner said via telephone. “Now we’ve got to go out and try to win one game at a time. We, as coaches, have all the confidence in these kids.”

Wheeling, the designated visitors, led 4

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