CHANUTE ? Wonder what Pittsburg Post 64 thinks of the Lawrence Raiders now?

The Raiders left a lasting impression after plating 33 runs in just two baseball games against Pittsburg at the AAA American Legion state baseball tournament — 19 on Sunday, and 14 more in a 14-5 pounding of Pittsburg in the championship game Monday at Katy Park.

What’s to be said of the back-to-back state champion Raiders? Nobody in Chanute was a Raider-hater on Monday; they were either longtime Raider supporters or newfound Raider admirers.

Despite being thinned by injuries and despite being without head coach Reggie Christiansen — who was forced to bolt for his new job Sunday as head coach at South Dakota State — the Raiders (38-15) took care of business and let everyone know how American Legion baseball in Kansas can be summed up this summer: There are the Lawrence Raiders, and then there is everybody else.

“We felt really good about what we did offensively,” Raiders coach Tim Hill said. “It certainly proved to be a valuable part of the state tournament.”

Monday, Lawrence pounded out 15 hits (giving the Raiders 40 in two games), scored runs in six different innings, and proved — with great pain to Pittsburg — how complete the Raiders’ lineup is.

Taylor Martin, Lawrence’s hottest hitter of late, came to bat in the second inning following a Tyler Blankenship double. With first base open, Pittsburg gave him a free pass, loading the bases for Brett Lisher.

Lawrence catcher Carl Lisher flashes the championship plaque after the Raiders won the AAA American Legion state baseball tournament. Lawrence crushed Pittsburgh, 14-5, Monday afternoon at Katy Park in Chanute.

If ever there was hard evidence of intentional walks blowing up in a manager’s face, it came when Lisher tattooed an offering over the left-field wall for a grand slam. That made it 6-0 Raiders, and it was all the scoring they would need.

“That grand slam,” Pittsburg coach Bob Ratzlaff said, “did us in.”

When Lisher muscled up, Pittsburg had to pitch to Martin the rest of the game, which didn’t prove any more effective. Martin drove in at least one run every time he came to bat the rest of the day, including an RBI single in the third, a sacrifice fly in the fifth and a two-run double in the seventh.

“I knew after Brett’s grand slam that they’d be pitching to everyone after that,” said Martin, who has seven RBIs in his last two games. “The guys in front of me did a great job — even with two outs — to get on base and give me a chance to see some pitches.”

Martin’s first RBI put Lawrence up, 7-0. Pittsburg tried to come back, scoring two runs in the fourth on three straight singles and three in the seventh on back-to-back home runs.

Lawrence catcher Carl Lisher applies the tag to Pittsburg's Joe Curran in the first inning. The Raiders went on to win the championship game of the AAA American Legion state baseball tournament, 14-5, Monday at Katy Park in Chanute.

But the Raiders weren’t about to let them get close, scoring two in the fifth, two in the seventh and three in the eighth to wrap up their second consecutive state title.

Spence Chaney, who had been injured most of the summer, earned the victory in relief, allowing no earned runs and striking out five in 3 1/3 innings of work.

6Sports video: Raiders win state tournament

The pitchers, largely overshadowed in Chanute by the sluggers, could reclaim the spotlight in a couple of weeks, though. With the state title, the Raiders secured a spot in the regional tournament in Omaha, Neb., starting Aug. 12, and will continue playing toward the long-term goal — a trip to the American Legion World Series.

“We were very businesslike,” Hill said. “We’ve tried from the very beginning of the season not to get too high or to get too low. We try to stay on an even keel. I think the state tournament was a big example of how we operate.”

Lawrence Raiders coach Tim Hill congratulates his team after the Raiders beat Pittsburg, 14-5, in the AAA American Legion state baseball tournament championship in Chanute.