For Will Yoder, Senior Legion is one last hurrah at organized baseball.

Yoder just finished his senior season at Green Hope. But he is still playing and collecting highlights, including his three-run home run to lead Cary Post 67 to an 8-7 win against Apex Post 124 on Saturday night at Apex High School.

"It feels good," Yoder said of his 380-foot homer over the center field fence in the eighth inning. "I'm a line-drive hitter, so I probably haven't had a bigger home run."

Yoder, who is attending N.C. State in the fall to study engineering, wasn't considered a college prospect by recruiters. But that hasn't stopped him from testing himself against Legion rosters that include a sprinkling of college talent.

"I've played Legion ball all through high school," he said. "It's a lot of fun and I wanted to finish up."

For Chris Williams, playing for Cary Post 67 keeps his game sharp before he reports to N.C. State in the fall on a baseball scholarship. He was 3-of-4 with one run scored while playing shortstop, second base and pitching one inning.

"I love Legion ball," said Williams, an Athens Drive product. "It's a great chance to get together with kids from area high schools that I normally play against and people who come back from college."

For Gerrit Van Genderen, playing for Cary Post 67 has rekindled his love of the game. The 2010 Athens Drive graduate says he didn't realize how much he missed baseball until he spent the past spring as a student at Appalachian State and baseball season came and went without him.

"I'm absolutely loving this," Van Genderen said of the Legion season. "Over the course of the past year in college, I missed baseball like crazy."

Against Apex 124, the 19-year-old first baseman was 2-of-5 with a two-run home run, one run scored and three RBIs.

Van Genderen says he now plans to ask Appalachian State coach Chris Pollard for chance to join the Mountaineers as a walk-on next season.

He might gain some support from a Cary 67 teammate.

Joe Pistacchio is a Green Hope alum who spent last spring as a redshirt pitcher at Appalachian State. Against Apex 124, he struck out seven in 5 2/3 innings.

He left the game with a 5-4 lead after having allowed only two earned runs.

"Gerrit can make it," Cary 67 coach Robert Stephenson said. "He can play multiple positions and he's a power hitter. He's at a Division I school, and that's rarefied air, but a lot of colleges would love to have him."

Cary 67 improved to 4-2 with the win, while Apex 124 dropped to 2-4.

Kyle Tighe, who just finished his senior season at Apex High, led Apex 124 as he was 2-for-3 with three runs scored.

"We just have to get more hits when we put guys on base, but we're going to be OK," said Tim Harrell, an Apex High assistant serving as Apex 124's head coach.