HAMLET — A lot will be on the line for Hamlet Post 49 Monday.
The local American Legion baseball team will get to play in front of its home crowd one last time this season while going for the Area 2 Conference playoff championship.
After cruising through the first two rounds of the postseason, Hamlet will host Wilmington Post 10 for the Area’s outright title.
Head coach Chip Gordon is calling on fans to “come out to Memorial Park and cheer us on. Having the stands full of people gives us a lot of confidence and energy.”
As the two remaining teams still representing Area 2, both Hamlet and Wilmington have already clinched their spot in the state tournament.
Hamlet swept Moore County and defeated Beaufort to advance to the championship. Wilmington earned series wins over Hampstead and Hope Mills.
Monday’s showdown will be the second meeting between Post 49 and Post 10 this season.
Playing at Memorial Park June 15, Hamlet rolled to a 6-0 win, the second in a string of 13 consecutive victories.
In that game, James Eason (Richmond) pitched six innings of shutout baseball and allowed just three hits. Jason Walker (Richmond) pitched the final inning.
All of Hamlet’s runs were scored in the first inning. Landon Taylor (Richmond) had two runs batted in, with Eason, Riley Brown (Richmond), John Carre (Pinecrest) and Maddox Locklear (Scotland) each driving in a run.
The winner of Monday’s game will earn the No. 1 seed for Area 2 in the state playoffs, which will start Friday in Cherryville, N.C.
Hamlet (22-5) and Wilmington (18-4) will begin play Monday at 7 p.m. The price of admission is $5 per person.
