PEMBROKE — Attempting to win its second Area 2 Conference game in as many nights, the Hamlet American Legion junior baseball team let an early lead slip away Tuesday.
Heading east to Purnell Swett High School, Post 49 faced Pembroke Post 50. Despite having a lead through the first three innings, Hamlet fell 10-2.
Both of Hamlet’s runs were scored in the top of the first inning and Pembroke scored a solo tally in the home half. Post 49’s one-run lead held until the bottom of the third when Post 50 knotted it at two runs.
The difference maker was a seven-run bottom of the fifth inning for Post 50, which saw three different players pitch for Hamlet. Pembroke added its final run in the sixth frame.
Facing starting pitcher Dakota Locklear, Hamlet manufactured a pair of runs in the first.
Back-to-back one-out singles by Conner Phifer and Drew Gause put runners on the corners for cleanup hitter Steve James. Putting the ball in play, James recorded a run batted in on a fielder’s choice up the middle, scoring Phifer.
After James moved to second uncontested, Preston Fann powered an RBI triple that bounced around in the right field corner. Racing home from second was James to make it 2-0.
“We came out aggressive and attacked the fastball,” head coach Anthony Hailey said. “We also ran the bases aggressively, which helped us get on the board early.”
Colton Brown made his first start of the summer for Hamlet and escaped a big inning in the bottom of the first. With the bases loaded and two outs, an RBI single to left field cut Hamlet’s lead in half.
Preserving the lead was left fielder Michael Osentowski, who hosed a runner at the plate trying to score from second. Applying the tag was catcher Jabari Douglas.
A two-out walk by Colton Nelson in the top of the second saw him left stranded. He would be the final base runner for Post 49 until the top of the seventh inning.
Using Locklear and two other pitchers, Pembroke retired Hamlet in order in the third through sixth innings.
“(Pembroke) started throwing some breaking balls that kept us off balance,” Hailey explained. “I think we need to get the ball out of the air. We’re getting too far out in front and hitting too many pop flies.
“Once we start hitting line drives and putting the ball on the ground, that will give us a better opportunity to get on base.”
Fann started a 5-4-3 double play in the second inning for the first two outs and Brown again left the bases loaded by getting the final out on a fly ball to Steve James in center.
Brown, who threw four innings, faced just four batters in the third. In the fourth, a one-out single eventually scored on a wild pitch to the backstop to make it 2-2.
A dozen batters came to the plate for Pembroke in the seven-run fifth inning. The first three batters reached and a two-RBI single to left field gave Post 50 a 4-2 lead. That ended Brown’s outing with a line of six earned runs on seven hits and three strikeouts.
Noah Stubbs took over and inherited two runners in scoring position and no outs. In his one-third of an inning of work, Stubbs allowed three earned runs on two hits and sat down one batter on a strikeout.
Pembroke added to its lead with a two-RBI double and an RBI infield single. Trailing 7-2, Stubbs was replaced by Cooper Gainey, who pitched the final 1.2 innings of the game for Hamlet (one run, two hits).
With the bases loaded and one away, Pembroke used a two-RBI single to score its final two runs of the big inning.
Fann and Douglas saved a run at the plate on a 5-2 fielder’s choice for the second out and Nelson tracked down a pop up in shallow right field for the third out.
Post 50 used a one-out walk and an errant pickoff attempt to first base to tally its final run. Right fielder Julius Bowden later kept a run off the board by fielding a ball and starting a 9-3-2 relay to allow Douglas to nab another runner trying to score.
Hamlet’s final base runner of the game came in the top of the seventh when Stubbs hit a fly ball along the left field line and hustled into second for a double.
“Colton had a good start but he got wild in the later innings by giving up a couple of walks,” Hailey said. “He got behind in the count and struggled to find the strike zone.
“Noah did good and we wanted to keep his pitch count low because of the games we’ve got coming up,” he closed. “And Cooper did what we asked of him by throwing strikes.”
Falling to 1-4 this season, and 1-1 in Area 2 play, the Hamlet junior baseball team will host the Hope Mills Post 32 Tigers Wednesday. The home conference game is set for 7 p.m.
The Richmond Observer will publish a photo gallery of Tuesday’s Area 2 game soon.
